It didn’t take long for Matt Rempe to become one of the most talked about players on the New York Rangers roster. In just 22 games played with the Rangers, Rempe has built a reputation around the league and with hockey fans, and it’s not thanks to his scoring ability.
Oct 19, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Rangers center Matt Rempe (73) waits for the faceoff against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the first period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Ever since joining the NHL, the six-foot-nine Rangers forward has focused primarily on big hits, fighting, and using his size to his advantage. One big issue, however, is that Rempe hasn’t learned how to clean up his hits.
Over the course of his 22-game career, Rempe has been ejected four times and suspended for a combined 12 contests. Being ejected from 18% of the games you lace up for in the NHL doesn’t seem very useful to any team in the league, especially when you follow those ejections with entire games missed thanks to suspensions.
Rempe is currently on the shelf with an eight-game suspension for elbowing against the Dallas Stars. His previous suspension was also for elbowing against the New Jersey Devils, and that cost him four games.
Even when Rempe is listed in the Rangers lineup, it’s not like he’s on the ice for very long. He averages 5:46 of ice time per game. Looking at the rest of his numbers, it’s clear there isn’t much attention being given to driving offense.
Rempe has one goal and one assist in 22 games played but has piled up 95 penalty minutes. That’s an average of 4:31 penalty minutes per game. In any given game, Rempe will spend about as much time as he does in the penalty box as he does on the ice.
That doesn’t seem very useful for a team currently riding a 4-13-0 losing skid.
Fighting has been Rempe’s calling card, but fans have wondered if that’s even been taken too far. As a 21-year-old in 2023-24, Rempe was fighting some of the biggest NHL heavyweights, and usually getting beaten pretty bad.
In a little under two months, Rempe dropped the gloves with Matt Martin, Nicolas Deslauriers, Mathieu Olivier, Ryan Reaves, and Curtis MacDermid.
Rempe has a playing style that is reminiscent of the NHL in the 1980s. Huge penalty numbers with a lengthy fight card and not very much offensive production.
It’ll be interesting to see if the Rangers decide to keep giving him cracks at the NHL roster. He vowed to be a better producer this season, but has yet to show any signs of change.
