Matt Rempe announces his return to the Rangers lineup ahead of a blockbuster showdown in Toronto

The New York Rangers are off to a red-hot start in 2024/25, posting a 3-0-1 record through their first four games of the year, but they now face their biggest test of the season with a Saturday night showdown on the road against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Now, it appears the team may be unleashing one of their most popular young names, with towering Matt Rempe confirming that he'll make his return to the lineup against Toronto, likely to combat Ryan Reaves' impact on the game for the Maple Leafs.

This comes after the 22-year old has skated in just one game this season, recording no points and a differential of 0 in the team's 6-5 overtime loss to the Utah Hockey Club this past week. Now, Rempe gets another shot to make a good impression this season after he burst onto the scene a year ago in astonishing fashion, with the Rangers likely holding him back to protect him this year given how many fights he saw in such a quick amount of time a season ago.

A year ago, Rempe fought some of the NHL's biggest heavyweights in Matt Martin, Nic Deslauriers and Kurtis MacDermid, but it was his tilt with Reaves that was the most anticipated. Now, Rempe is back in the lineup against the veteran Reaves for the first time since the fight, and while this isn't a particularly heated team rivalry, it's safe to say both teams will anticipate more action between them.

With both teams suffering just one loss early in the season, this will be a must-watch game between arguably the Eastern Conference's two best teams, and with Rempe back in the lineup, things become that much more dangerous.