Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images

Rangers Make Matt Rempe Move Amid Olympic Break

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Feb 21, 2026 10:24 AM ET

The New York Rangers will return from the Olympic break sitting last in the Eastern Conference at 22–29-6, with 50 points and no realistic way of making a late-season push toward the playoffs, trailing the second wild-card team by 19 points with 25 games left.

As league play resumes Feb. 26 with the Rangers facing the Philadelphia Flyers, the team will have to adjust its lineup once again following the latest news coming out of New York.

Rangers forward Matt Rempe will undergo another procedure on his left thumb and has been placed on injured reserve, according to multiple reports.

Mollie Walker of the New York Post first reported the news on X, writing, “Some #NYR news from Milan: Matt Rempe will have another procedure done on his thumb. He is going on IR.”

New York Rangers center Matt Rempe (73) during a stoppage of play.Danny Wild-Imagn Images

The 23-year-old sustained the injury during an Oct. 23 fight against San Jose Sharks enforcer Ryan Reaves.

Rempe later revealed he had broken his thumb in “many places” and required surgery, forcing him to miss 24 games, including the entirety of November.

“You don’t realize how much a thumb impacts you,” Rempe said in late January. “Like, any time I don’t catch a puck perfectly, it felt like a hot potato on my stick. And like stick battles, I was dropping my stick multiple times a game, and any stick battles, if someone’s stick-lifting me, that puck’s gone.”

Some #NYR news from Milan: Matt Rempe will have another procedure done on his thumb. He is going on IR.
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) February 20, 2026

Rempe returned in mid-December and played intermittently before the Olympic break, appearing in the Rangers’ final five games prior to the pause.

The third-year forward has one goal in 26 games this season, along with 11 penalty minutes and 86 hits while averaging 7:58 of ice time and posting a minus-4 plus/minus.

According to the reports about his placement on IR, the Rangers have not set a timeline for Rempe's return, and the team will continue to evaluate his recovery.

The team will evaluate Rempe's injury as he recovers. He hasn't been ruled out for the season.
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) February 20, 2026

The Athletic's Peter Baugh reported that the Rangers have not ruled out Rempe for the remainder of the season yet.

The Rangers selected the 6-foot-9 winger in the sixth round of the 2020 NHL Draft, and through 85 career NHL games, Rempe has five goals, 11 points, and 149 penalty minutes.

New York hosts Philadelphia on Thursday, with puck drop set for 8 p.m. ET.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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