It was a busy offseason for New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe, a sudden celebrity of sorts around Manhattan, who captured the hearts of fans for his penchant for fighting and riling up the opponent.

Matt Rempe was fighting and Georges Laraque did not like what he saw. “He was getting hit way too much in the face,” Laraque said. Laraque would know. Over the course of more than 150 fights ...

Matt Rempe was fighting and Georges Laraque did not like what he saw. “He was getting hit way too much in the face,” Laraque said.

Matt Rempe spent a few days over the summer on the ice with retired enforcer Georges Laraque learning the finer points of fighting. But that is not all he did to try to round out his game.

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 ...