Matt Rempe‘s time with the Rangers‘ AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, was brief as he is set to rejoin the NHL club.
Sent down after Thursday’s 3-1 loss to the Florida Panthers, a game in which the 22-year-old did not play, Rempe appeared in two games with Hartford, registering two shots on goal and was a minus-3.
New York won its one game after Rempe was sent down, 2-1 over the Anaheim Ducks.
The Blueshirts have not made the move official, but the transaction came across the AHL transaction page, as noted by Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today. New York had already made a corresponding move, sending forward Jake Leschyshyn to Hartford.
Rempe, who earned a lot of fans in New York with his physical play and penchant for dropping the gloves, only appeared in two of the Rangers’ first seven games before his demotion. In that time, he failed to register a point and logged five hits, one takeaway and one block in 5:39 average time on the ice. Rempe had one shot off target and went 0-for-2 in faceoffs.
“He’s got an opportunity to go out and play some games and get some minutes, continue his development,” head coach Peter Laviolette said Friday about the move. “…I think that’s really important for a young player. He’s played in a couple of games up here. He practices at a certain level and I think all that’s positive for him. But I do think going down and playing more minutes and more responsibility, I think that also builds growth inside of a player.”
In 17 regular season games last year, he tallied two points (one goal, one assist) on 12 shots on goal and was a plus-1 while averaging 5:38 time on ice. He logged 71 penalty minutes to go along with 50 hits in 95:38 total time on the ice.
Rempe appeared in 11 playoff games during his rookie campaign, scoring a goal on five shots on goal and was a plus-2 with 6:07 average time on ice. He had 38 hits and 10 penalty minutes during New York’s time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Leschyshyn, selected off waivers from the Vegas Golden Knights last January, logged 6:28 time on ice in his one appearance with the Blueshirts this season and was a minus-1.
The Blueshirts travel to Washington to face the Capitals on Tuesday. Rempe played in all four games of the sweep over the Caps in the playoffs last year.
