- Matt Rempe says his surgically repaired thumb is finally in a “really good spot”
- The 6-foot-9 forward played 26 games last season and enters the final year of his deal
- Read below for Rempe’s full injury update and the roster fight waiting for him in camp
Matt Rempe spent his whole summer getting his left hand to work like a hockey player’s hand again, and he knows what is riding on it.
The Rangers forward was asked Thursday where he stands heading into training camp, and he told Mollie Walker of the New York Post that he is not treating this like any other September.
“Extremely motivated,” Rempe said. “I played nine games, and after that, I was shelved. I got a lot to prove. I got to showcase myself and come back a lot stronger. Most motivated you can be.”
He broke the thumb on Oct. 23 in a fight with Ryan Reaves, and it took two surgeries to repair. A December return came too soon, and Rempe later admitted he still could not grip his stick properly. His final game of the season came in early February.
Here’s the scrap that cost him the year:
Reporters asked him about the thumb before Thursday’s Shoulder Check Showcase, and the answer was the most encouraging one he has given since the injury:
“It’s gotten a lot better. It’s been a work in progress and done a ton of work on it this summer and a lot of people are helping me with that and happy where it’s at now. Still some time until the season. We’re in a really good spot.”
The charity game at Sacred Heart put him back on the ice with Adam Fox, J.T. Miller, Gabe Perreault, Pavel Dorofeyev and Drew Fortescue in front of a packed Martire Family Arena.
Catch Rempe on camera from the event:
His 2025-26 line reads 26 games, one goal, no assists and 11 penalty minutes. That is 85 NHL games total for a 24-year-old about to play out the last season of his contract.
Nothing about his roster spot is settled. Rempe is no longer waiver exempt, which gives New York a reason to keep him rather than risk losing him for nothing.
Jaroslav Chmelar and Adam Sykora looked like a real pair down the stretch last season, and both are chasing the same bottom-six minutes. Juuso Parssinen and Cole Beaudoin are in that mix too.
Shipping Adam Edstrom to Nashville this summer thinned the group by one. The Rangers have also spent the offseason shopping for forward help outside the organization, which does not soften the competition any.
Mike Sullivan liked what Rempe did to a building early on, and that ability to flip a game’s energy with one hit is the whole pitch. Then Rempe vanished for four months and other prospects got their look.
Camp opens next month. Big No. 73 gets one healthy run at convincing Sullivan there is still room for an enforcer on the fourth line.
