The Rangers will welcome back Jimmy Vesey to their lineup tomorrow against the Islanders after he spent the first few weeks of the season on LTIR. In a corresponding move, the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Matt Rempe has been re-assigned to AHL Hartford.
Vesey was injured partway through training camp, sustaining a lower-body injury that has kept him out of all ten games the Rangers have played so far. With the 31-year-old basically being a full participant in practice for the past week, it comes as no surprise that he was activated as soon as he was eligible.
Vesey was a solid depth scorer for New York last season, notching 13 goals and 13 assists in 80 games despite averaging just 12:23 per game, a career low. He’s playing in the second and final season of a two-year, $1.6MM contract, a deal that has proven to be a team-friendly one thus far.
His return means that Rempe’s second stint with the Rangers this season was rather short-lived. New York sent him to Hartford last week, recalling him just four days later after a pair of outings with the Wolf Pack. The 22-year-old has played in just three games this season with New York and has been held off the scoresheet while averaging just 5:26 per game. Given that he’s waiver-exempt, it makes sense for him to go to Hartford and play more of a regular role with them for the time being.
That 4th line just gets better.
It does get better but this team is soft. Our D is terrible. Miller is a poke check defenseman. We need a stay at home punishing defender. We still won’t beat FLA in playoffs.