The Rangers picked up Matt Puempel on the waiver wire from the Ottawa Senators on November 21st, 2016. It turned out to be one of the better waiver wire claims in recent Rangers history. The winger displayed great speed and showed considerable skill as a part-time player in the Rangers bottom-six forward group.
Before being claimed by Jeff Gorton Puempel played the first 29 games of his career with the Senators. He scored just four goals and two assists with Ottawa but failed to break out of the AHL and make the Senators main roster. His brief tenure with the Rangers last season was the best hockey of his NHL career.