Rangers center Matt Rempe has been assessed an eight-game suspension by the league’s Department of Player Safety for a boarding/elbowing infraction against Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen, the league announced Sunday.
Rempe laid the hit on Heiskanen (explained further here) in the third period of Friday’s 3-1 win. He was ejected on the play, the fourth time he’s faced such discipline in his 22-game NHL career. He was also assessed a two-minute minor for elbowing on the play, as well as an additional roughing minor in the aftermath.
Unsurprisingly, after being suspended four games for a similar infraction against Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler in March last season, he was offered an in-person hearing, which gives DoPS the option of suspending him for six games or more.
Rempe already missed Sunday’s loss to the Hurricanes, so he has seven more games to serve. He’s considered a repeat offender under Player Safety guidelines and will forfeit $80K in salary during his suspension, relays Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic.
He’ll still count against the active roster and the team’s salary cap during that time, reducing the Rangers’ flexibility for an extended period. He can appeal the suspension to league commissioner Gary Bettman, so he might be back earlier than Jan. 9 against the Devils if he’s successful.
The incident was one of many controversial ones in Rempe’s young career. The 22-year-old, who the Blueshirts selected 165th overall in the 2020 draft, has accumulated 95 PIMs in just 22 appearances over the last two seasons while averaging 5:46 of ice time per game.
The wealth of time spent in the dressing room or the penalty box has limited his effectiveness offensively and put the Rangers in more short-handed situations than they’d like, although it’s also worth noting he’s drawn the most penalties per 60 minutes of any Ranger over the last two seasons.
The 6-foot-8, 240-pound winger has spent most of this season on assignment to AHL Hartford, where he has three goals, two assists and 22 PIMs in 18 showings with a -3 rating. His game against Dallas was only his fifth NHL appearance of the season.
In the meantime, Rempe’s absence will secure more ice time for developing depth options like Brett Berard and Adam Edstrom. They still have veteran Jonny Brodzinski on hand as an extra forward to enter the lineup if necessary.
