It may be best for Rangers if Matt Rempe starts season in AHL

Matt Rempe has value to the Rangers in his Agent Chaos fourth-line role even that far exceeds his ice time. He is an important and unique part of the dynamic. He deserves to be in the opening lineup in Pittsburgh on Oct. 9. 

But I wonder whether Rempe would have more value to the Blueshirts down the stretch and in the playoffs if he were to start the season in Hartford, where the idea would be to provide the 22-year-old with a heaping tablespoon of minutes with which he could learn and adapt to a more dedicated checking role. 

It is a question, not an answer. 

The entire marathon lays ahead. The Rangers should be a very good team, but not good enough to take the 82-game season for granted. Championship building blocks are laid throughout the journey. There are no shortcuts to success. 

At the same time, though, this season will not be considered a success if it does not end with a ride through the Canyon of Heroes. That’s the burden this team carries, but not because of 1994 and not because of 1940 but because of last spring and the spring before that and the one before that with this core that has pretty much been in place since 2020-21. Jobs will be on the line. This is a Last Ride. 

So I get it. I get why the club traded for 33-year-old Reilly Smith to fill that top-six right wing hole instead of leaving it open so that perhaps Brennan Othmann or maybe Will Cuylle could grow into it.