The Rangers shook things up Wednesday by trading away former No. 2 overall pick Kaapo Kakko, then made an eyebrow-raising follow-up move by calling up hard-hitting Matt Rempe from their minor league team.
The trade wasn’t exactly shocking. Kakko had been struggling to meet the sky-high expectations that came with his draft position, and things came to a head when he publicly criticized the coaching staff after being benched in a recent game.
But it’s the Rempe call-up that has people talking.
The 6-foot-7 enforcer hasn’t quite found his groove in the NHL yet, but the Rangers clearly see something they like in the physical forward from Hartford.
This creates an interesting situation for New York’s forward lines. They now have a hole to fill in their top-nine after moving Kakko, and Rempe brings a very different style of play to the table.
The timing is particularly notable as the Rangers head into the crucial final stretch of the regular season. They’ll need to figure out their new lineup chemistry quickly if they want to maintain their strong position in the standings.
For Rempe, this could be his big chance to stick with the big club. The Rangers clearly value his intimidating presence, even if he’s still developing other aspects of his game.
