Rangers center Matt Rempe suspended eight games

New York Rangers center Matt Rempe of Calgary, Alberta has been suspended eight games according to Andre Leal of The Hockey News on Sunday. The reason for the suspension is because he elbowed Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen of Espoo, Finland into the boards on Friday. Rempe was given 17 minutes in penalties from the infraction. He had a 10 minute misconduct penalty, five minutes for elbowing and two minutes for roughing. Despite the rough act by Rempe which came with 12 minutes and 47 seconds left in the contest, the Stars were unable to tie the game up at two on the power play, and eventually lost 3-1 to the Rangers at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Longest Suspension in Six Years

The eight game suspension is the longest suspension since the National Hockey League disciplined Washington Capitals right winger Tom Wilson 20 games on October 3, 2018 for a hit to the head on St. Louis Blues center Oskar Sundqvist of Boden, Sweden in a meaningless preseason game on September 30, 2018. Wilson’s suspension was 20 games.

Second time suspended

This is the second time in Rempe’s NHL career he has been suspended. He was suspended four games for elbowing New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler on March 11, 2024.

Rempe’s Career Statistics

This season, Rempe has zero points in five games. He has 24 penalty minutes, one shot on goal, one blocked shot, one takeaway, and 12 hits. The shot on goal came in the Rangers win over the Stars on Friday, and the blocked shot came in a 4-1 Rangers win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 19.

Last season in 2023-24, Rempe had one goal and one assist for two points in 17 games. He was a +1 with 71 penalty minutes, 12 shots on goal, four faceoff wins, five blocked shots, 50 hits, and one takeaway. The goal was a game-winning goal and came in a 2-1 Rangers win over the Philadelphia Flyers on February 24, 2024. Rempe scored from Barclay Goodrow of  Toronto, Ontario and defenseman Braden Schneider of Prince, Albert, Saskatchewan on an all-Canadian goal at 6:31 of the third period to break a 1-1 deadlock.

Out of a Playoff Spot

The Rangers were expected to be Stanley Cup contenders in 2024-25. At this time they have 33 points and are five points back of the Ottawa Senators for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.