Rangers’ Matt Rempe suspended 8 games for elbowing/boarding

The NHL Department of Player Safety has announced that New York Rangers winger Matt Rempe has been suspended for eight games for boarding/elbowing.

The incident occurred in the middle of the third period of Friday’s 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars. Miro Heiskanen was approaching the boards to collect the puck and chip it out of the Stars’ zone when Rempe came up from behind and hit him hard into the boards, extending his elbow into the back of the blueliner’s neck. Rempe received a two-minute minor penalty and a 10-minute game misconduct for the infraction.

The Department of Player Safety cited the incident including multiple infractions (boarding and elbowing) and Rempe being a repeat offender for the reasoning behind the length of the suspension. Rempe was suspended for four games in the 2023-24 season for elbowing, and has now been ejected from a game four times in his 22-game career.

The suspension came in Rempe’s first game back in the Rangers’ lineup after being recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolfpack. He has been held without a point in 5 NHL games, and has 3 goals and 2 assists for 5 points in 18 games in the AHL. He also has 24 penalty minutes in those 5 NHL games, while he only has 22 in the AHL.

Jimmy Vesey entered the lineup in place of Rempe for the Rangers’ 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. Vesey has 3 goals and 1 assist for 4 points in 18 games this season.

The Rangers will look to build some momentum and get out of their current 4-12-0 funk when they visit the New Jersey Devils on Monday at 1 p.m. EST, their last game before the three-day Christmas break. The Rangers currently sit in sixth in the Metropolitan Division with a 16-16-1 record, and are five points behind the Ottawa Senators for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.