Marc Del Gaizo wasn't even a name most Rangers fans noticed on July 1. He's making sure that changes at camp.
The 26-year-old defenseman signed a two-year, two-way deal with New York on a busy free agency day that also brought in Marcus Pettersson, Sean Durzi, and Joonas Korpisalo.
Pettersson posted just 18 points in 82 games last season, and Durzi added 27 points in 60 games, giving Del Gaizo real competition just to crack the lineup.
On the first day of camp scrimmages, Del Gaizo went right after 6-foot-9 forward Matt Rempe, giving up nearly ten inches without hesitation.
"I'm an Italian kid from New Jersey. So you know I have some piss and vinegar in my game," Del Gaizo said.
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Rempe wasn't thrilled about it, even yanking Del Gaizo's helmet off during one of their scrums.
But Del Gaizo insisted it wasn't personal. "Me and Remps, we trained together this summer. I love Remps. He really took me under his wing a little bit," he said.
Why his edge isn't just a camp gimmick
This isn't new behavior. Del Gaizo got into it with Will Cuylle back in December 2024 during a game between the Rangers and Predators.
Cuylle posted 38 points in 82 games last season, and that same physical streak has followed Del Gaizo across every stop of his career so far.
He played 46 games with Nashville that season, posting 9 points with 21 penalty minutes, a third of them coming in that same Cuylle incident.
Del Gaizo spent all of last season with Laval, Montreal's AHL affiliate, giving him 55 total games of NHL experience across three organizations now.
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He'll have to beat out Matthew Robertson, Urho Vaakanainen, Scott Morrow, and top pick Alberts Smits just to earn the seventh defenseman job.
Morrow posted just 6 points in 29 games last season, so the depth chart isn't as settled as the names alone suggest.
The odds remain long for Del Gaizo to make the opening night roster. But a camp performance like this one is exactly how depth players start forcing real conversations.
Will Marc Del Gaizo make the Rangers' opening night roster?
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