New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe has been suspended four games for elbowing New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler on Monday night. After reviewing the play, the NHL Department of Player Safety deemed the hit to be illegal.
Late in the second period, Rempe went to lay a big hit on Siegenthaler when he raised his elbow and made contact with Siegenthaler’s head. The Devils’ defenseman left the game with an injury, and Rempe was assessed a game misconduct.
Rempe had a hearing with the Department of Player Safety on Tuesday, and he wound up getting a four-game suspension. In its explanation video, the league said the hit was not the result of unfortunate timing from either party.
“This is not a case in which a sudden movement by a player receiving the check turns a legal check into an illegal one,” the DoPS said in its video. “Nor do we believe this is incidental contact as a player is bracing for the boards or another player.”
The league also asserted that Rempe chose to “flare his elbow up and away from his body” once he realized he might miss his check.
This is the second consecutive game between these two games in which Rempe has thrown an illegal hit. On Feb. 22, Rempe received a match penalty for his hit on Nathan Bastian.
In his postgame press conference, Devils forward Kurtis MacDermid said he offered to drop the gloves with Rempe as retribution for that hit on Bastian. MacDermid said Rempe declined and then ripped the rookie for the way he went about the situation.
“After a hit like that, it kind of goes without saying that you should answer the bell in some way and be a man about it,” MacDermid said. “Game goes on, and he throws another hit like that and gets kicked out. Possible suspension. There’s a right way to go about things and a wrong way. I kind of lost a lot of respect for him tonight.”
Rempe will now miss games against the Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins, and New York Islanders. He’ll be eligible to return on Tuesday night against the Winnipeg Jets.
