New York Rangers enforcer Matt Rempe is going to be out “longer-term” after sustaining an upper-body injury in a fight with San Jose Sharks’ winger Ryan Reaves, head coach Mike Sullivan told Vince Mercogliano of The Athletic. Mercogliano later specified that Rempe’s injury isn’t expected to be season-ending, but could span multiple weeks, if not a few months.
Rempe was filling slightly larger shoes than last season through New York’s first nine games. He notched one goal and seven penalty minutes, while averaging a career-high 9:48 in ice time each game. He also recorded 30 hits – putting him on pace to register over 220 hits across a full 82 games.
New York awarded top prospect Brennan Othmann with his season debut in Rempe’s absence. He recorded no points and a minus-one in the outing, and now could be headed for a healthy scratch in favor of Jonny Brodzinski, per Mercogliano. Brodzinski has already played in two games this season, with no scoring and one shot on net.
The Rangers shouldn’t have to spar between depth wingers for too much longer. Top-six centerman Vincent Trocheck returned to skating on Monday, marking a big step in his return from an upper-body injury sustained on October 9th. Trocheck was placed on long-term injured reserve on October 11th, and won’t be eligible to be activated until November 1st. The injury ended an ironman streak that spanned the last three seasons (and all but one game of 2021-22). Trocheck spent all three years of that streak with New York, racking up 200 points in 246 games over the stretch. That’s the fourth-most of any Ranger since 2022. He even managed a career-year in that mix, posting a career-best 77 points in the 2023-24 season.
Trocheck should return to his second-line center role as soon as he’s back from injury. He began the year between wingers Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafrenière, though New York has since broken up that duo in favor of icing Panarin with captain J.T. Miller. No matter who he’s centering, Trocheck should find a quick path back to high-impact minutes within the coming weeks.
Rempe’s sister posted that he broke his thumb.
Good, clowns like Rempe with less than ECHL skills shouldn’t be in the NHL. The one dimensional goon period is over.
Nah, Rempe is good.
Clown comment bro…
Dude you are on a website that contains access to actual NHL data, you should look into using it.
Rempe has posted a 60 Corsi this year, with 63% defensive zone starts. He’s a very effective player.
He’s a +9 for his career, with 5 goals in 68 games, which when taken into the context of his ice time, (7:58 per night) is actually fairly productive for a 4th line player.
He also works his tail off and is beloved by his teammates. He can very much carve out a nice career for himself as a valuable bottom 6 piece.
And in the NHL, not the ECHL.
Seems that you are new to hockey.
Not to mention he keeps teams honest from taking shots at their star players. He can certainly reciprocate if needed.
Kael likes kale with his soy latte…
Some people like to assume that because a player can fight, he’s one-dimensional. His skills are decent.