Rangers send Matt Rempe down to AHL after struggling to crack lineup
The Rangers sent Matt Rempe to the Hartford Wolf Pack after Thursday night’s 3-1 loss to the Panthers.Rempe watched from the press box for the second straight contest and the fifth time this season, which is presumably at the center of why the Blueshirts opted to assign the 6-foot-8 ½ forward to the AHL.Word is the Rangers still believe Rempe has a bright future, but management believes more playing time in Hartford is the most beneficial thing for the 22-year-old right now.The emergence of Adam Edstrom, who had a much stronger training camp than Rempe, and head coach Peter Laviolette’s preference for Jonny Brodzinski, left big No.73 in street clothes in five of the Rangers’ seven games.Even in the two games he played, Rempe logged just 3:47 and 7:37 of ice time, respectively.After making a name for himself with his blistering hits and fists in just 17 regular-season games and 11 playoff contests last season, Rempe strived to improve his all-around game this past offseason.He refined his game in certain areas, but it was largely overshadowed in training camp by other rookie performances from Edstrom, Victor Mancini and Brett Berard.There is clearly still a hesitancy from Laviolette to play Rempe, who didn’t get much of an extended chance to secure the right-wing spot on the fourth line.Jimmy Vesey skated with the Rangers Thursday morning for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury in the preseason.Wearing a green non-contact jersey, Vesey participated in the team’s morning skate ahead of Thursday night’s game.
It’s an encouraging sign for Vesey, who fell in training camp practice Sept.29 and subsequently was put on long-term injured reserve Oct.
7.“It’s part of the progression,” Laviolette said.“The next step in his long road back.
That was good to have him out there.He looks good.”On LTIR, a player must miss a minimum of 10 games.
Thursday counted as the seventh contest Vesey has missed, meaning the earliest the 31-year-old w...