Matt Rempe spent most of last season hurt, and now he's walking into camp trying to convince the Rangers he still deserves a real spot.
A Forever Blueshirts poll asked fans directly what his role should look like, and 36.2 percent said he belongs in the lineup full time as a fourth-line winger.
Another 24.0 percent wanted him waived to Hartford, 21.3 percent preferred the 13th forward role, and 18.6 percent said trade him outright.
That's a genuinely split fan base for a player whose 6-foot-9 frame and willingness to drop the gloves make him one of the more talked-about names on this roster, even in a limited role.
Rempe posted just 1 goal and 1 point in 26 games last season, derailed by two separate IR stints that both eventually required surgery.
That goal itself deflected off his leg while he was lying in the crease, hardly the kind of highlight that settles a debate on its own.
Skating concerns fuel the 'goon' debate around Rempe
Supporters keep coming back to what he provides physically. Kathy Geraci pointed to the roster's smaller players needing protection.
"With Carrick gone, there's no one to stand up for the smaller players like Perreault, Fortescue and Sykora," she wrote.
Perreault posted 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points in 49 games as a 21-year-old, exactly the kind of skilled young player fans want protected on the ice.
Other fans floated the 13th forward role as a compromise, saving Rempe for physical matchups specifically.
"He's the 13th forward you bring in on heavy-hitting games like Capitals-Tom Wilson," Daniel Reardon wrote. "On softer teams, put in someone who produces like Chmelar."
Chmelar posted 4 goals and 2 assists for 6 points in 28 games, a reasonable alternative on nights where physicality matters less.
Some fans even pushed for something more creative, suggesting Rempe compete for the fourth-line center job instead of staying strictly on the wing.
"Matt Rempe is listed as a center. It's not an accident," Robert Skettini wrote. "He was drafted as a raw center project."
Others want him used purely as a net-front presence, screening goalies and battling for loose pucks rather than being asked to drive play himself.
The criticism side isn't subtle either. Where supporters use the word enforcer, detractors keep reaching for a much different one.
"He can't skate, he can't shoot, he can't pass, he can't fight," John Perratti wrote. "He's a waste of a roster spot."
Others questioned whether leaning on fighting and physicality is even sustainable long term.
"He can hit, but he can't fight," Greg Torrey wrote. "Unfortunately that's what everyone wants him for, and it's going to end his career early."
Combined, nearly 43 percent of voters were ready to move on from Rempe entirely, either through waivers or a trade.
Even fans still holding out hope aren't handing him anything automatically. Most want him to actually compete for his spot in camp against New York's other depth forwards rather than assuming a fourth-line job is guaranteed.
Source: Rangers fans favor fourth-line role for Matt Rempe: poll
Should the Rangers keep Matt Rempe as a full-time fourth-line winger this season?
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