The New York Rangers' disappointing end to the best season in franchise history had at least one bright spot to it in the regular season- the emergence of now the NHL's most feared man, Matt Rempe.
When you're nicknamed after the Empire State Building, given your height, something is obviously going on. But the 22-year-old Calgary centre easily fits that description, standing at an astonishing 6'9", making him one of today's tallest players in the entire NHL alongside the likes of Vancouver's Tyler Myers (6'8"), Seattle's Jamie Oleksiak (6'7") and arguably the most famous big man in NHL history, Boston's Zdeno Chara (6'9"). But here's the main thing- Rempe was just a rookie last season, making his NHL debut at the Rangers' February 18 outdoor duel as part of the NHL's Stadium Series.
He may have only scored 1 goal in the regular season against the Flyers in a 2-1 win, also adding a fighting major to that plus 1 goal in the playoffs against the Capitals in Game 1, but Rempe's presence had long been felt before that.
Rempe played in 11 games during the 2023/24 regular season, but keep in mind he only started playing in the NHL entirely in mid-February. A 2020 6th-round selection by the Rangers, Rempe had spent most of his time with the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds and then the Rangers' AHL affiliate in Hartford, CT, before jumping to the NHL.
That said jump was historic for a couple of reasons, mainly the fact that Rempe became the first and so far only player to make their NHL debut at an outdoor game at a football stadium rather than one indoors in a full arena. Where Rempe lacks in offensive production, he more than makes up for in physicality- despite the 11 regular season games, since he wasn't super high on the Rangers' depth chart at the time of his debut, he logged 71 total penalty minutes in the 2023/24 season. Pretty high numbers for so few games.
Rempe has spent the 2023/24 offseason doing some rather interesting tasks. Just days after the Rangers' season ended, he ended up taking a class or two with former NHL slugger Georges Laraque, who in his day was the league's most feared man during his 12-year career spent with the likes of the Oilers, Penguins, Canadiens, and Coyotes. 3/4 of that was spent with Edmonton, from 1997-2006.
The player also decided to stay in New York rather than head back to his hometown Calgary for some offseason training with star LW Chris Kreider. But at the very least, Rempe has seemingly fallen under the veteran Kreider's wing, which will greatly amplify Rempe's role in the 2024/25 season.
Matt Rempe may see more defensive ice time, given the departure of another veteran, Barclay Goodrow, who was waived by the team during free agency day on July 1. The San Jose Sharks eventually claimed Goodrow from that waiver in the Sharks' hard rebuilding efforts. Recently acquired centre Sam Carrick was initially expected to fill the gap left by Goodrow, but Rempe could definitely one up the former Oiler when training camp comes around.
Of course, the biggest test for the biggest man in the NHL right now will be related to his best trait- physicality. If Rempe wants a starting spot on the Rangers' front defensive lines, he'll have to up his offensive power a bit while maintaining his defensive strengths and maybe staying out of the penalty box a bit more often.