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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
New York Rangers rookie forward Matt Rempe was suspended four games by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Tuesday after elbowing New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler in the head on Monday. the night.
It is the first suspension of Rempe’s 10-game NHL career. Rempe will lose $17,083.32 and the money will go to the players’ emergency assistance fund. He can appeal the suspension to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who would have the final say on that appeal.
Rempe was called for a foul with 30 seconds left in the second period of the Rangers’ 3-1 win over the Devils.
Siegenthaler stayed near the red line after shooting the puck into the attacking zone. Rempe skated toward him and stretched out his left arm to connect with Siegenthaler’s head. The on-ice referees conferred, reviewed the play and confirmed that Rempe had earned a five-minute major penalty for elbowing and game misconduct.
Siegenthaler did not return for the third period, and Devils coach Travis Green said he is “not doing very well” when asked about his status.
After the game, the Devils called for Rempe to be suspended, and Green said the Rangers forward had “some intent to injure” with his hit.
“He’s a huge guy and he moves his elbows like that,” Devils forward Kurtis MacDermid said of the 6-foot-7 Rempe. “You have to learn to hit correctly and not injure the players.”
In its ruling, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety believed Rempe raised his arm toward Siegenthaler’s head after realizing he had miscalculated his control.
The counterargument from Rempe, the Rangers and the NHLPA was that contact was inevitable because Siegenthaler stopped dead and that Rempe could have been bracing for the impact against the boards.
The NHL disagreed. “Rempe is clearly committed to controlling this play. Having ended up at an angle of approach that would take him across the front of Siegenthaler’s body and potentially miss him completely, Rempe chooses to extend his elbow up and away from his body in a dangerous manner. , driving it directly into Siegenthaler’s head with substantial force,” the league said in its ruling.
The four-game suspension means Rempe will miss Tuesday night’s critical game against the Carolina Hurricanes, as well as games against fellow Eastern Conference teams, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins, in addition to Sunday’s matchup at Madison Square Garden against the New York Islanders.
Rempe has quickly become one of the NHL’s most divisive players during his brief career in the league. In addition to being 6-7, he plays a physical game. Rangers fans have chanted his name at Madison Square Garden, as Rempe has become a cult hero despite not seeing the ice as often. Following the win over the Devils on Monday, Rempe has almost as many penalty minutes (54) as minutes played (56:28) in his NHL career.
He debuted in the Rangers’ Stadium Series victory over the Islanders at MetLife Stadium on February 18, fighting in his first NHL shift in that game.
This was Rempe’s second misconduct in as many games against the Devils. On February 22, Rempe received a match penalty for an illegal check on the head of Devils forward Nathan Bastian just 2:22 into the first period. The NHL opted not to impose any additional discipline on Rempe for that hit. Bastián has not played since then.
MacDermid attempted to pick a fight with Rempe several times during Monday’s contest to avenge Bastian, but Rempe refused. After the hit on Siegenthaler, MacDermid took off his gloves to fight Rempe and was again pushed back, with the officials on the ice also intervening.
“I asked him. There’s a code. I thought he would have answered that. I don’t know what they told him, but he said no,” MacDermid said of Rempe. “And after a hit like that (on Bastian), it goes without saying that you have to answer the bell in some way and be a man about it. Then he throws another hit that gets him sent off and with a possible suspension. So “There’s a right way of doing things and wrong way.”
MacDermid received a 10-minute foul for trying to fight Rempe after the hit on Siegenthaler.