New York Rangers: Where does Matt Puempel fit in?

Late last November, the New York Rangers acquired Matt Puempel from the Ottawa Senators through waivers. The question is, does he fit in the big picture?

The Windsor, Ontario born forward by the name of Matt Puempel was drafted in 2011 by the Ottawa Senators. The Rangers, a team built around wing depth, may not have a spot for the youngin. Although Puempel played 27 games for the Rangers last season, producing nine points, there are 13 wingers looking for roster slots.

Puempel had some bright moments last season, highlighted by his hat trick against the Coyotes in Arizona. Despite the bright moments, Puempel struggled a bit, too. In fact, he went 13 games without a point in Ottawa before being waived and claimed by New York.

Centralized Issues

Puempel has had some mixed possession results, according to the advanced statistics on Hockey-Reference. In 27 games with New York, Puempel boasted a 44.7 Corsi For percentage. There is not much of a positive nature to that stat, although being a winger, it is slightly better than a situation in which Puempel is a center.

The Rangers have quite a lot of depth on the wing. This is what the projected forward group is set to look like at the start of this season, as per RosterResource.com).

Chris Kreider – Mika Zibanejad – Pavel Buchnevich

Rick Nash – Kevin Hayes – Mats Zuccarello

J.T. Miller – David Desharnais – Michael Grabner

Jimmy Vesey – Christoval Nieves – Matt Puempel

Let us not forget center prospects such as Adam Tambellini, Lias Andersson, Filip Chytil, and Vinni Lettieri. There are also left and right wing prospects like Ryan Gropp and Robin Kovacs.

The final right wing spot could very potentially end up in Jesper Fast’s hands when he returns to the lineup in mid-November. Fast will be recovering from hip surgery. Although leaving winger Tanner Glass unsigned leaves the Rangers with an open slot on the roster, both Jimmy Vesey and Pavel Buchnevich are able to fill that role.

Sample Size

Puempel has a chance to breakthrough in this one-month time span. Given that he’s available to play between when the season opens and when Fast returns to the lineup, Puempel can make a lasting impression on Alain Vigneault.

The Canadian winger has shown quality play around the goal and below the goal line. Puempel demonstrated this by scoring his hat trick against Arizona. He used his great hand-eye coordination and awareness in the offensive zone to make it happen.

Puempel has also demonstrated great skill in 2-on-1 situations.

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Puempel provides a decent filler role for the time being until Jesper Fast’s return. Perhaps he will make an impact that will force Vigneault to think about a new lineup. Some scoring ability in the bottom-six is never a bad thing, and Puempel might be a decent piece to work with.

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