When the Rangers unveiled their lineup Friday for the preseason finale, it served as “the closest thing to a full lineup that we’ve had of any of the exhibition games to this point,” head coach Mike Sullivan said.
And that’d mean that fourth-line winger Matt Rempe and rookie defenseman Alberts Smits are seemingly in the driver’s seat for the final two spots for the Blueshirts’ opening night group.
Nothing will become official until the Rangers make their final cuts and trim their roster to — at most — 23 players by Monday, but the scene at their morning skate before a match against the Islanders at UBS Arena that essentially served as a dress rehearsal was telling.
Rempe was with the fourth line. Smits, as he has all preseason, skated with Braden Schneider. The extras who stayed on after the session as likely scratches included defensemen Matthew Robertson and Scott Morrow as well as forwards Taylor Raddysh and Jaroslav Chmelar.
While Sullivan didn’t provide many hints about the final calls, he said that Smits — picked No. 5 overall in June’s draft — has “certainly made a compelling argument through his play that he’s capable of playing in the NHL.”
Smits impressed Sullivan with his physicality and sharp passing as an 18-year-old, but similar to the Rangers’ call with Gabe Perreault last training camp, when they sent him to AHL Hartford, they want to ensure that Smits can be an impactful player on their roster.
Both the left-handed Robertson and right-handed Morrow would have to clear waivers before getting assigned to AHL Hartford, while the left-handed Smits is waiver-exempt.
“I think it’s been evident to us that he has that already,” Sullivan said of Smits’ physical stature, “and it’s only gonna get better.”
The presence of Rempe alongside Tye Kartye and Joe Veleno continued the trend throughout training camp with the 6-foot-9 forward settling back in after being limited to just 26 games last year. He underwent two procedures on his left thumb, limiting what he could contribute with his stick.
Rempe would need to clear waivers, too, while Chmelar can get assigned without the risk of being picked up by another team.
Rempe knew entering training camp that he had a lot to prove, said he “wants to be here bad” and then collected eight hits during the Rangers’ preseason game against the Devils on Thursday.
And Sullivan, who reiterated that Rempe simply needs to play games, said Friday that the 24-year-old can be more than someone capable of fights and a few hits, too.
“I think he has to be,” Sullivan said. “When you look at the nature of how the game’s being played today, if a player, if their value is only in their ability to fight, how many fights does the average NHL fighter get in the course of a season? Half a dozen?
“So if he’s only gonna make an impact five or six times a year … you would all say that there needs to be other elements to a player’s game. And I think Remps brings other elements. I think players of his, in his category I think around the league bring more elements than just their ability to stick up for their teammates. They can be unnerving to the opponent. They can create anxiety on the ice just by their presence.”
Nathan Aspinall, Liam Greentree, Drew Fortescue, Cole Beaudoin, Jackson Dorrington and Carey Terrance were all assigned to the Wolf Pack.
