Matt Rempe takes cautious approach to Rangers return, ‘It can’t happen again’
After watching the eighth and final game of his suspension from the press box, a 5-4 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars, New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe is eligible to return to the lineup for Thursday night’s game against the New Jersey Devils.
Rempe was handed the longest suspension of his brief career after an elbow to the head of Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen on Dec. 20 earned him his fourth game ejection in just 22 NHL games. This time around, Rempe knows he’s on thin ice.
“That wasn’t a great hit,” Rempe explained. “I’ve got to be smarter there. I make a lot of hits like that when they’re close against the wall, but it’s the ones when they’re a foot away that are dangerous. I was coming in with too much speed, I’m too big of a guy to be coming in with that much speed. It can’t happen again, or it’s going to be a huge suspension.”
Rempe makes a good point. He was given an eight-game suspension because the NHL Department of Player Safety classified him as a repeat offender after a four-game suspension last season. If he gets suspended again, it’s likely to be for much longer than eight games.
As a young player trying to earn a regular role in the NHL, Rempe will have to learn to control his towering 6-foot-9 frame.
Rempe could suit up vs. Devils after 8-game suspension
While there’s no decision announced yet regarding when Rempe will return to the lineup, the Rangers may turn to the physical forward against their Hudson River rivals, who’ve outscored them 10-1 in winning both meetings this season.
“(Rempe) is learning and we talk to him about everything,” coach Peter Laviolette said Wednesday. “Certainly the times that he’s been suspended, and what he needs to do in order to not have that happen. So there are those conversations that take place.”
Rempe seemed to be on the right track with the Rangers after his most recent call-up. He was playing a very effective game against the Stars, and drew three penalties in the second period alone. For playing just 5:32, he certainly had an impact on the game.
That was, of course, until the hit on Heiskanen that landed him in the press box. However, with Chris Kreider on injured reserve and Filip Chytil dealing with an upper-body injury, it’s likely that Rempe could draw into the lineup as soon as Thursday.
“I don’t have to make every hit, if that makes sense,” Rempe said. “I’m so big, and I can get going, I’ve got to be able to pick my hits. When I make the hit, I have to make sure that it’s going to be a good hit, because I can make a big impact with that. If I’m going to make every hit, some of them are risky. Guys are trying to duck out of the way at the last second, and I’m so big that I catch a piece, I’m gone 20 games then. So I can’t let that happen.
It’s good to see Rempe learning from his mistakes, but how will that translate to his performance on the ice? Rempe has zero points, one shot on goal, and 24 penalty minutes in the five games he’s played this season. The 22-year-old figures to have a short leash, to say the least, if he does get the chance to suit up again.
Nonetheless, there’s no denying the fact that Rempe brings a different kind of energy and spark to New York’s lineup. Despite his limited ice time, the Rangers are 16-4-2 when Rempe suits up. If he wants to continue that trend, he’ll have to play a style of hockey that does not earn him an ejection in 18 percent of games played — his current rate.
“I don’t know if he’s trying to do too much,” Laviolette explained. “I think part of his game is physicality, but (suspension) hasn’t happened at the AHL level, and it’s happened here, so those are things that we talked to him about. Playing a cleaner game, and even prior to that happening we had more conversations about the way he needs to play. He also has to make sure that he brings his game and his element, he’s got to keep it between the lines.”
We’ll see what happens when Rempe does return to the lineup, hopefully having learned a very valuable lesson.
“I’m a marked man right now,” he said, “so I’ve got to keep it clean.”
More About:New York Rangers News
Read This Next
