Matt Rempe's stagnant performance means, an expected benching

He didn't take part in practice Thursday, which is an indication he'll again ride the pine tonight.

This will be the third consecutive game of 2024-2025 which would see Rempe sat out of the lineup. A lot of hype during the offseason about Rempe's self-improvement drove excitement throughout the Rangers fanbase.

Yet despite all the fanfare, he's yet to crack a major role in the lineup thanks to Peter Laviolette he's only appeared in one game, posting 3:43 time on ice.

It seems that Rempe has yet to gain Laviolette's trust to be able to stay in the lineup despite all the work he put into his game during the offseason.

In place of Rempe, Laviolette has relied upon fourth-liner, Jonny Brodzinski who adds more of a scoring touch than an intimidation factor.

In his place on the fourth line are: Sam Carrick, Adam Edstrom on the right wing, and Jonny Brodzinski on the left.

While he is still loved by the Rangers fanbase and in the locker room he's yet to find a regular role on the team.

Though with injuries happening often, he could still find himself on the fourth line at some point in the season, just a matter of when and not if.

But in the meantime, Laviolette and GM Chris Drury haven't yet found a reason to send him to AHL Hartford and that is a positive for himself and the team.

While Rempe remains out of the lineup he needs to figure out how best to prove himself as a valuable piece for the Rangers, and head coach Laviolette.

He did find himself winning over the fans by being a pure NHL enforcer, which any team needs a guy who will stick up for his teammates.

But as the modern NHL moves more towards speed, skill, with grit as an added option(albeit not a negative connotation) he should ask Adam Lowry to train with during the off-season.

What better than to learn from your fellow competitors, and see how they were successful?

He built the foundation of his future success this post-season, but he'll need to build upon it further to remain relevant in a highly-skilled league.