Rangers send Matt Rempe to AHL Hartford to make room for returning Jimmy Vesey

Matt Rempe has officially been sent back to AHL Hartford, paving the way for the Rangers activate experienced striker Jimmy Vesey ahead of Sunday’s game against the Islanders at the Garden.

Vesey has been on long-term injured reserve for the first 10 games of the season with a lower-body injury, but skated on the fourth line in Saturday’s practice with Adam Edstrom and Sam Carrick.

“He’s been training hard and we’ll make those decisions,” Peter Laviolette said of Vesey. “We’ve only just finished training, but it’s great that he’s fully ready. Every day he looked better and better. He’s a guy who plays hard, has skill, is physical, is a penalty killer and means a lot to the team.”

Rempe earned folk hero status at the Garden last spring with a series of fights and 71 penalty minutes in 17 games, but the 6-foot-9 winger has appeared in just three of 10 games for the Blueshirts this season, including a healthy start scratch. in Friday’s win over the Senators.

He also traveled to Hartford last weekend to play in two games for the Wolfpack.

The 31-year-old Vesey, who also suffered an upper-body injury in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Panthers last spring, has been practicing without restrictions with the Rangers over the past week.

Given the jumbled lineups at Saturday’s practice, Vesey could replace forward Johnny Brodzinski in the lineup against the Islanders.

Asked if he expected the eight-year veteran to play on Sunday, Laviolette added: “We’re working on that right now, having just finished training.

We still have to make a decision on what to do with the lines and what to do with the players who are available.”

Sunday’s game will be the first of four meetings against the Islanders, who announced Saturday that forward Mat Barzal and defenseman Adam Pelech are expected to be sidelined for 4-6 weeks.