Instead of game day in Hartford with the Wolf Pack, Brennan Othmann will be flying over the Canadian Rockies with the New York Rangers on Friday as they head to Calgary to open an important four-game road trip this weekend.
The Rangers recalled Othmann from their AHL affiliate after Matt Rempe sustained an upper-body injury in a 6-5 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night. Rempe was ruled out of the game after his first-period fight with former Rangers enforcer Ryan Reaves . No further update's been provided on the towering 6-foot-9 forward.
Othmann failed to impress Mike Sullivan and the new coaching staff in New York during training camp and the preseason, and was assigned to Hartford to begin the 2025-26 season. The 22-year-old forward had one point in four games with the Wolf Pack, a secondary assist in the AHL season opener, before his recall.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman recently reported that the Rangers are having "conversations" about Othmann, and his name continues to pop up in trade rumors.
To that end, Morning Cuppa Hockey co-host Jonny Lazarus joined the Rink Rap podcast this week and explained to Forever Blueshirts why the Rangers should "hang on" to Othmann right now.
Othmann was New York's first-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. He scored 50 goals in 66 games with Flint of the OHL in 2021-22. And two seasons later, he was second on Hartford with 21 goals as a rookie pro. In 98 games over parts of three seasons with Hartford, Othmann has 70 points (33 goals, 37 assists).
However, he's yet to score a goal in 25 NHL games, including 22 last season. Playing primarily a fourth-line role, Othmann had two assists with the Rangers last season.
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Othmann's recall is not exactly merit based. He didn't bang down the door and force the Rangers to call him back up with his play and production down at Hartford. No, Othmann is here because Rempe is hurt.
Now, it needs to be determined how hurt Rempe is. He was on the receiving end of some serious blows to the head and face during that fight with Reaves. Without further information, we don't want to speculate, but a concussion is not out of the realm of possibility. Rempe also landed quite a few punches. Did he injure his hand? But is that "upper body"?
So, yes, determining Rempe's injury and its extent factors in to whether Othmann is here as an extra forward and insurance policy, or if he's called up to play, with Rempe sidelined.
No matter the circumstances, this is an important opportunity for Othmann. The best way for him to stand out and impress Sullivan is to produce when inserted into the lineup. That's obvious.
But Othmann can change some of the negative narrative about him even if he doesn't play during this recall. This is an opportunity to be in front of the coaching staff again, just a few weeks after he was cut. Even if it's just in practice, Othmann must show that he's making positive strides in the areas the Rangers coach deemed deficient, especially on the defensive side of the puck and with his overall confidence.
Every day with the varsity is an opportunity for Othmann to regain his position alongside Gabe Perreault and Brett Berard as a top forward prospect in the organization.
If Rempe is sidelined, the simple solution is to replace him in the lineup with Jonny Brodzinski . The 32-year-old is the extra forward, a good soldier, and a trusted option. Brodzinski could slot into Rempe's spot at right wing alongside Sam Carrick and Adam Edstrom . Or the Rangers could give Carrick more ice time, with Taylor Raddysh and Juuso Parsinnen flanking him, and slide rookie Noah Laba between Edstrom and Brodzinski.
But if the Rangers want to replace Rempe with a forward that brings similar traits — like size and physical play — Othmann makes more sense than Brodzinski. He could easily fill that role, and perhaps even showcase his offensive skill with some time on the second power-play unit.
In both the short- and long-term picture, playing Othmann if Rempe is out feels like the right call for the Rangers.
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