The 2025-26 campaign will be the biggest season of Matt Rempe’s career.
When he played his first games for the New York Rangers in 2024, Rempe was a raw prospect with size, but his overall skill set was still lacking.
Rempe wowed fans with his constant fighting through his 17-game audition during the 2023-24 season.
However, Rempe really just served as an enforcer, and his role didn’t really go beyond that.
To start the 2024-25 season, the 23-year-old forward struggled to find a consistent role with the Rangers and was even sent down to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League for a period of time.
During the second half of the year though, Rempe played the best hockey of his young NHL career for the Rangers and seemed to unlock a part of his game that we’ve simply never seen before.
Rempe was playing with a physical edge, yet he was being smart about his hits, trying to avoid costly penalties or suspensions.
On top of that, Rempe was more reliable from a defensive standpoint and we even saw him become more impactful offensively.
During the offseason, Rempe signed a two-year, $1.95 million contract extension with the Rangers.
This upcoming season could be the first time Rempe can solidify a consistent spot in the Rangers’ lineup.
The improvements and strides he made in his game from year one to year two were extremely prevalent, so there are now expectations he’ll take another big leap.
Going into his third season in New York, we’ll see what Rempe is truly made of.