The unofficial mascot of the New York Rangers, Matt Rempe is certainly an interesting player. Initially a side show, Rempe has worked hard to fine tune his game into an effective fourth liner. He showed promise over the last two seasons, including his 26 games in 2025-2026, but it’s been clear he needs more time to grow as a player. Injuries have sidelined him and derailed much of his ability to grow, as his reputation as that side show from his first year has forced him into fighting situations that he’s best off avoiding in the future.

Matt Rempe is not about goals and assists, and his one goal in 26 games this season is evidence of that. He did put up 3-5-8 in 42 games in 2024-2025, and though this looks like a setback, we must remember that Rempe broke his thumb fighting Ryan Reaves in the 9th game of the season. Rempe missed two months and then returned, but was clearly ineffective and rather bad. Then news came that he had been playing through the injury, as it never healed properly, and finally was put on IR and his season ended in February.

Matt Rempe is hoping he can be an effective fourth liner in his career, but that is becoming less and less likely the more he is forced into these sideshow situations. He’s still learning how to use his size without borderline killing people on the ice, and he is making significant progress in that department. Unfortunately the Old Time Hockey heads still want him to be Mr. Punchy, and until that stops, he won’t be able to be what we hope he can be.

Assuming Rempe is with the Blueshirts next season, he’s likely going to be a 13th forward and used sparingly. Several players–Jaro Chmelar, Adam Sykora, Tye Kartye–have passed him on the depth chart. Conor Sheary has been far more effective in what should hopefully be a fourth line role if he’s still with the Rangers next season. There just aren’t enough roster spots, and Rempe is fighting an uphill battle to stick with the club. Luckily for him, his main competition is looking like they won’t be back, as Jonny Brodzinski will get a better contract elsewhere and Adam Edstrom is in a similar spot.

2025-2026 Matt Rempe report card grade: INC

Live From the Blue Seats is back as Producer JL talks the Dylan Larkin trade request and how it impacts Vincent Trocheck. JL also tackles the big question: Did Chris Drury overplay his hand in waiting to trade Vincent Trocheck until the summer? Will Larkin’s availability mean the Rangers hold onto Trocheck or take a lesser package? It’s hard to say, since they are such different players at different points in their careers.

As always, Live From the Blue Seats asks for your questions each afternoon before we record. Submit them via social media or directly here on BSB!

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2025-2026 Record: 34-39-9 (8th in Metro, 30th in NHL)
Last Poll’s Results: 3.07

Top stories last week:

• In this week’s Patreon post (subscribe here!), Dave talked the Rangers leadership group and why changes are needed.
• Live From the Blue Seats talked how Dylan Larkin impacts Vincent Trocheck, and whether Chris Drury overplayed his hand. Be sure to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel!
• It’s report card season, and we checked in on Vincent Trocheck, Will Cuylle, Taylor Raddysh, Tye Kartye
• The Rangers need to break the never ending cycle of mismanaging defense prospects.
• Perhaps the Vincent Trocheck trade market is cooling, or perhaps it was an overreaction to Dylan Larkin’s trade request.
• Speaking of big trades, Brandon highlighted why the Rangers must trade for the second overall pick.
• It seems the Rangers are likely to lose Jonny Brodzinski to free agency this summer.
• It’s rumor season, and Brandon reviewed 3 rumors that make no sense.
• JL concluded his series on moments from this past season that didn’t suck with part 5 of the series.
• Darren Turcotte was a fun Ranger. It’s too bad he wasn’t a part of the club for more years.
• And finally, the Rangers made a great hire in Hartford with Jay Leach as their new head coach.

Please take a second to answer the NY Rangers Fan Confidence Poll below and give us an idea of how confident you are in the Rangers, their direction, coaching, management, prospects, and overall quality on the ice. You can click the tag “Fan Confidence Poll” to view historical polls.

There’s always plenty of rumors that happen around the NHL offseason, and with the regular season over, that’s the case this year as well. We’re hearing all types of rumors about the New York Rangers, and while some make sense, there are many Rangers rumors that make no sense. These Rangers rumors that make no sense range from big blockbuster trades to overall team structure. There’s a lot for us to digest as the Ranger are going to be involved in many offseason rumors, but here are 3 Rangers rumors that make no sense at all.

Adam Fox to San Jose Sharks

I can’t ever tell if the whole Adam Fox to San Jose rumor is coming from people wanting to see a top five pick traded, the Sharks actually being interested in such a move, or both. Still, this is number one of Rangers rumors that make no sense, as it simply makes absolutely no sense for the Rangers.

The argument is that the Rangers could get the 2nd pick in a deal for Fox, then use the 2nd pick on, say, a top forward, while using the 5th pick on a top defenseman. That’s great in theory, but doesn’t mix with the timeline the Rangers have been working on at all.

Losing Adam Fox would be catastrophic to the Rangers playoff hopes. They would essentially have zero puck moving defensemen, unless the player they draft can be a star in the NHL immediately.

New York cannot be in a quick turnaround retool and also trade Fox. It doesn’t work.

Pavel Dorofyev to the Rangers

At least Pavel Dorofyev to the Rangers makes some sense, as there’s a need and Vegas needs cap relief. Even then, the Rangers do not have the assets to make such a trade. Even less likely is the Rangers somehow finding a way to offer sheet Dorofyev without their 2027 2nd round pick.

Dorofyev is an excellent player who would absolutely help the Rangers, but the Rangers don’t have the pieces to make a trade for him work. Additionally, even if they did, they’d be better off using those assets on a defenseman or a center. I do think this one has more validity to it than the rumors about Adam Fox being traded, but I don’t see a world in which the assets line up for the Rangers to acquire Dorofyev.

The Rangers are a piece or two away

For some reason, there are corners of the internet who seem to think that the Rangers just need a defenseman and a bottom six forward and then suddenly they are playoff contenders. That’s not the case, nor is it close to the case. The Rangers need a top line forward, a clearly top six forward, about three defensemen, and likely more. New York might have a chance at inching into the playoffs if absolutely everything goes right, but looking at this team as a close team is one of the silliest things you can do this offseason.

It may be two familiar teams in the Stanley Cup Final, but Vegas and Carolina have put on a great show through two games. Vegas took Game 1 before blowing a third period lead and dropping Game 2 in overtime. Now the series shifts to Vegas where the Golden Knights will look to continue their opportunistic approach to Carolina’s heavy shot volume approach. Carolina is beatable if you are patient, force them to low danger chances, and capitalize on the chances they give you. The Rangers followed this approach, and Vegas appears to be doing the same.

Use this thread to discuss the games. Keep it civil please. We are all adults, remember that.

Per Peter Baugh, the Rangers are likely to lose Jonny Brodzinski to free agency. Brodzinski, who has been with the Rangers organization since the 2020-2021 season, has been a great story for the Blueshirts. Named Hartford’s captain in 2021, Brodzinski defied the odds to become a mainstay in the Rangers lineup during the 2023-2024 season. That year he put up a career high in assists (13) and points (19) in 57 games while helping stabilize the Rangers’ fourth line.

Jonny Brodzinski’s performance in 2023-2024 earned him a two year contract extension and a permanent place with the Rangers. Brodzinski was one of the Rangers’ lone bright spots in a tumultuous 2024-2025 season, setting a career high in goals (12) and matching his career high in points (19) in 51 games. This past season he scored six goals and 16 points in 55 games.

With a glut of bottom six forwards, the Rangers were always likely to lose Jonny Brodzinski in the offseason. Given the dearth of available centers, Brodzinski might find a team willing to give him multiple years on a contract that simply wouldn’t make sense for the Blueshirts.

While the Rangers certainly have enough players to manage losing Brodzinski on the ice, he was a great leader in the locker room. Many of the kids coming up from Hartford leaned on Brodzinski to help transition to the NHL game and pro hockey life.

Brodzinski’s Rangers career likely ends with a line of 27-32-59 in 207 games. He also put up 56-73-129 in 113 AHL games.

The New York Rangers suffered some poor lottery luck when the 2026 NHL Draft order was announced. Rather than drafting in the top three picks like they would have if the status quo was maintained, the Rangers fell to the fifth overall pick. This draft has certain tiers to it, and to me, there’s a top four tier that the Rangers are just missing out on. That tier includes in no specific order: Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, Chase Reid, and Caleb Malholtra. But this can be rectified with a hopefully aggressive Chris Drury looking to trade for the 2nd overall pick.

As it currently stands, the belief is that the Toronto Maple Leafs will take Gavin McKenna with the first overall pick. While he would have been a great fit for the Rangers, it’s okay that they won’t get him. The Rangers should target the 2nd overall pick, as it’s clear San Jose needs defensemen and they may be willing to drop down a few spots to get a top defender in the draft while also adding another key asset to their roster.

Though for the Rangers to accomplish this, they need Mike Grier to be willing to pass on Ivar Stenberg, the second best player in the draft, to address his blue line needs. While Stenberg is considered the second best player in the draft, the Sharks would be drafting a player who might be awkward fit on their roster. This has led to rumors that the Sharks will select Chase Reid or trade the pick.

With the latter set of rumors, one proposed trade stuck out to me: The Rangers would acquire the 2nd overall pick from San Jose in exchange for Braden Schneider, the 5th overall pick, and at least one of their four 3rd round picks. It’s something that’s been discussed on Live From the Blue Seats a few times, and the more it’s talked about, the more it makes sense.

As mentioned above, the Sharks would get a strong defense prospect, as there are plenty of top defensemen available in the top five picks. They’d also get a young right defenseman in Schneider whom they have coveted for a long time. This helps San Jose’s desire to turn the corner from rebuilding to competing for a playoff spot.

The Rangers would get to choose their own destiny in the draft while saving cap space by letting Schneider go. Suddenly, the Rangers could get that elite talent they so desperately need in Stenberg, or they could jump in front of Vancouver, who appears likely to take Malhotra. Both would be solid picks at second overall and address significant team needs.

An added layer of the Rangers trading up to the 2nd overall pick that hasn’t been discussed much is that the Canucks could be enticed to trade with the Rangers if they feel the Blueshirts might steal Malhotra from them. It seems pretty clear that Vancouver wans Caleb Malhotra, and if they feel the Rangers might take him with the 2nd overall pick, then they could be enticed to swap the second and third picks so that they could draft Malhotra. But this would require some creativity that we haven’t seen out of Chris Drury or any other NHL GM.

There is a huge difference in being able to pick second and fifth in the draft. This draft appears to have a tier that cuts off after the first four players. New York desperately needs a star in this draft, and this would be the best way to acquire such a player.

Very few top five picks are ever traded in the NHL these days, but it’s time for it to happen again. San Jose and New York have a great relationship, and Chris Drury must lean on that to acquire the second pick.

The chase for a Hartford Wolf Pack head coach has come to an end, with the Rangers hiring Jay Leach to head their AHL team in desperate need of better leadership. Leach joins the Wolf Pack after five years as an assistant with Seattle and Boston. Leach comes with an impressive resume as the Rangers hope he can stabilize the Wolf Pack, develop youth, and hopefully turn Hartford’s direction around.

Jay Leach is a defensively minded coach, which truly helps Hartford as it was an area they struggled with over the last few seasons. Hope pointed out that Leach is strong with accountability, which should help some of the struggles between vets and rookies. He’s a guy that comes with a clear structure and idea in mind, again something the Pack has lacked in recent years.

This is a very good hire by the Rangers organization as they hope to develop more talent and accelerate the retool/rebuild.

Dylan Larkin shocked the hockey world yesterday by going public with a trade request from the Detroit Red Wings. The Michigan native appears to be frustrated with the club’s direction and wants to compete and win. Naturally as Rangers fans, the first question that ran through our minds wasn’t about Larkin, but how this can impact the Vincent Trocheck trade cost from Chris Drury. At first, it seemed like this would negatively impact the Rangers, but taking a step back, this may actually be a good thing.

There are two key factors that set Larkin apart from Trocheck and how this may not impact the Trocheck trade cost. First is Larkin’s full no trade clause, which severely limits Detroit’s negotiating power. The second is simply the players themselves. Larkin is a premier 1C and will cost as much. Trocheck is more of a 2C and likely soon to be 3C, so the Trocheck trade cost is going to be significantly lower.

Simply put: There are many teams who won’t be in on Larkin because they either can’t afford him or he won’t waive his no-trade to go there. So while there may be some impact to the Trocheck trade cost, it’s hard to determine since there are unique variables with Larkin. Just look at Artemi Panarin and his pitiful trade return. There’s more to this than just comparing the two players.

Another factor is Trocheck’s no-trade clause. It is 12 teams now, reduced to 10 on July 1. Trocheck has stated he doesn’t want go to the Western Conference. Larkin will likely be fine in the Western Conference, and it’s likely Yzerman’s preference to get him out of the Eastern Conference. Again, since there’s likely little overlap with the two centers, the Trocheck trade cost likely remains the same.

Should the Rangers be in on Dylan Larkin?

After the initial shock and Trocheck trade cost discussion, naturally the conversation shifted to whether the Rangers should be in on Larkin. It’s a two part answer.

Of course Drury should be calling Steve Yzerman on Larkin. It’s part of his job just to see what the acquisition cost will be. Maybe there’s a chance Larkin only wants to go to New York, and that phone call would kick start the negotiations. It’s unlikely, but crazier things have happened.

The second part of the answer is a bit more complicated. Yes the Rangers should be kicking tires, but it’s highly unlikely that 1) Larkin waives to come to the Rangers, and 2) the Rangers have the pieces to pull this off should there be a bidding war.

The Rangers are not a good team and don’t project to be a good team for a couple of years. That timeframe may accelerate a little bit if the Rangers acquire Larkin, but it’ll be a very short window as the pieces the Rangers would likely need to sacrifice–assuming there is a bidding war–would impact their 3-5 year future. Going for Larkin is a win-now move for the Blueshirts, and the pieces needed to make that happen would set them back in the long run.

Again assuming Larkin doesn’t force his way to the Rangers, there isn’t much Drury can offer up to Yzerman that helps the Red Wings recoup assets. Noah Laba is their best center trade chip, as it’s difficult to see Yzerman accepting Trocheck in a trade package like this. After that, the best young pieces right now are Alexis Lafreniere and Gabe Perreault. That’s really it for NHL ready pieces that move the needle in a Larkin trade. There are many competing teams that can offer far more.

If Yzerman accepts futures, than the 5th overall pick is probably a deal breaker for both sides. I just don’t see a fit unless Larkin forces his way to the Rangers.

Prediction: Larkin winds up in Vegas in some kind of flip for Tomas Hertl and William Karlsson. This keeps Detroit’s window open, replaces Larkin with Hertl, and gives them another solid middle six piece. For Vegas, this gives them the best player in the trade and cap space to re-sign Pavel Dorofyev. It makes too much sense.

A wild card: Anaheim in a Mason McTavish swap.

How does this impact the Trocheck trade cost?

The Trocheck trade cost is pretty much set at a young NHL player and a top, close to NHL ready prospect. Since we’ve established there likely won’t be too much overlap between both markets, it’s unlikely the Trocheck trade cost softens. After all many teams are going to be priced out. Larkin will simply refuse to waive his no-trade clause for other teams as well.

For the teams in the East, and potentially the Minnesota Wild, the trade cost is likely the same. It seems Danila Yurov was the breaking point for Minnesota, but with Charlie Stramel signed there’s a chance Yurov is a bit more expendable. Other teams with rumored interest are Boston, Toronto, and possibly Buffalo, but we haven’t heard much about Trocheck in a bit.

All in all, the Trocheck trade cost is likely going to remain the same. There just isn’t enough overlap between the two players to warrant that much of a bidding war. Perhaps the Rangers lucked out a bit.

Related thought: If Larkin’s trade only brings back futures to Detroit, I wonder if Detroit ups its pursuit of Trocheck after moving Larkin.

Breaking our own rules since Tye Kartye only played 24 games with the Rangers this season, but we felt he deserved his own report card since he had a significant impact on the Rangers when claimed off waivers. Immediately thrust into a third line role, Kartye found chemistry with Noah Laba and Conor Sheary. When Laba went down with an injury, he had that same chemistry with JT Miller. Funny enough, it didn’t matter who the center was, it was the Kartye-Sheary combo that drove the Rangers third line down the stretch.

In Tye Kartye’s 245 minutes with Sheary, the duo put up a very solid 50.45% shot share (CF%), a whopping 56$ goal share (GF%), a solid 50.28 expected-goals share (xGF%), and a very solid 51.25 high danger chance share (HDCF%). Given how bad the Rangers looked across the board on these metrics, this is very good and hopefully promising for the future, at least with Kartye.

Aside: Since Tye Kartye only played 24 games with the Rangers, his Evolving-Hockey Player Card doesn’t hold much actual value, so there’s no point in including it. Most of his time was with Seattle, so

Beyond the numbers, Tye Kartye brought in a tenacious forecheck and speed that the Rangers simply didn’t have until after the trade deadline. Kartye, alongside recalls Adam Sykora and Jaro Chmelar, changed the vibes with the Rangers. There’s a strong argument that Kartye was the catalyst to this turnaround and the hope, as the Rangers third line became a strength and not just a mess of throwing things and seeing what sticks.

A solid third line is something the Rangers may not actually need to build this offseason, one of the few areas on the team that looks like a strength. It’s worth noting Sheary was a significant part of that line, and we will get to that with his report card later, but Kartye and Laba are two-thirds of that line that will definitely be returning. A wild card is Adam Sykora, who looks like he can be another pest on that line. Kartye is looking like a gem on the waiver wire, a stroke of fortune that has eluded the Rangers for some time.

It’s unlikely Kartye keeps his scoring pace from last season, where he put up 5 goals and 9 assists in 24 games. He shot 18.3% in that span, well above his career 11% average. That’s fine, since Tye Kartye brought a lot more to the ice than his improved scoring line. He brought a youthful energy and tenacity that Mike Sullivan needs in his bottom six. With another year remaining at $1.25 million, Kartye has a chance to land a nice extension with the Blueshirts if his play style continues.

2025-2026 Tye Kartye report card grade (Rangers only): A