Oilers Interested In Matt Rempe, But Do They Really Need Him?

The Edmonton Oilers are reportedly interested in acquiring Matt Rempe from the New York Rangers, and who wouldn't want a 6-foot-9 forward in their bottom six?

According to Frank Seravalli, Mike Babcock has been pushing for more size and physicality in Edmonton's lineup, and Rempe has emerged as a potential trade target.

The 24-year-old has played just two games for New York this season, and with the Rangers struggling to find a regular spot for him, there might be an opportunity for Edmonton to make a deal.

Rempe is enormous, willing to fight just about anybody, and I can see why that would appeal to the Oilers.

Babcock has spent much of the opening month asking his bottom six to play harder, win puck battles, and spend more time in the offensive zone. Rempe would help with the physical side of things, although he likely won't contribute much offensively.

In 87 career NHL games, Rempe has recorded five goals, 11 points, and gotten 154 penalty minutes while averaging just 7:56 of ice time. That is evidence enough of the role he's been expected to play.

Edmonton has been struggling to get consistent production from its depth forwards, and adding somebody with 11 career points, while taking somebody else out of the lineup, isn't going to help with that.

Colton Dach has been playing some pretty good hockey lately, scoring against Detroit and earning praise from Babcock for his physicality and work around the net. Isaac Howard is slowly developing, and Trent Frederic is trying to earn back the coach's trust after a healthy scratch shortly after fighting Jack McBain, who had cross-checked Draisaitl.

Clearly, being willing to drop the gloves isn't enough to keep somebody in Edmonton's lineup.

Rempe has also had his share of disciplinary problems, including an eight-game suspension in December of 2024 for an illegal hit on Dallas Stars defenceman Miro Heiskanen.

Physicality is useful, but it doesn't do the Oilers much good if they're spending half the night killing penalties.

Still, Rempe would give Edmonton one of the biggest players in the league, and having somebody who can finish checks, fight, and be scary isn't necessarily a bad thing.

His contract is also pretty reasonable at a $975,000 cap hit while becoming a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

The Rangers reportedly could be looking for a mid-round draft pick, but the Oilers have already traded away plenty of draft picks and prospects, and their organizational depth isn not impressive.

The Oilers are 9-2-2, sitting near the top of the NHL standings, and starting to get some encouraging results from players like Dach, Mathieu Joseph, and Kasperi Kapanen.

Babcock has been pretty clear about what he wants from his bottom six, and while Rempe could certainly help Edmonton become a more physical team, he'd still need to prove he can contribute elsewhere.

If Stan Bowman can acquire him for a late-round pick, it'd be interesting to see what Babcock could do with him, but if the Rangers want anything more substantial, Edmonton has better ways to spend its remaining assets.