Matt Rempe suspended four games for elbowing Jonas Siegenthaler in the head
Matt Rempe, the most electric man in hockey entertainment, has finally done something wrong enough to find him in trouble with the NHL.
Matt Rempe has been suspended 4 games for elbowing Jonas Siegenthaler pic.twitter.com/rJUn1bXzOx
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 12, 2024
The NHL announced Tuesday afternoon that the Rangers’ forward was suspended four games for the play.
The 6-foot-7, 241-pound enforcer performed what some would term a heinous act of violence by elbowing former Capital Jonas Siegenthaler in the head during the New York Rangers’ 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Monday night.
Per an NHL Department of Player Safety press release:
Rangers’ Rempe Suspended Four Games for Elbowing
NEW YORK (March 12, 2024) – New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe has been suspended for four games, without pay, for elbowing New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler during NHL Game No. 1028 in New York on Monday, March 11, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.
The incident occurred at 19:25 of the second period. Rempe was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for elbowing.
Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Rempe will forfeit $17,083.32. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
In an accompanying video, DoPS defended the extended suspension, calling Rempe’s elbow utterly unnecessary and hazardous.
Recognizing that he might miss his hit entirely, Rempe raises his elbow up and into the head of Siegenthaler with force, causing an injury,” DoPS explains. “It is important to note that while we acknowledge that Siegenthaler is stopping up as he dumps the puck in, this is not a case that a sudden movement by the player receiving the check turns a legal check into an illegal one. Nor do we believe this is accidental contact as a player is bracing for impact with the boards or another player.
“Rempe is clearly committed to throwing a check on this play and having ended up at an angle of approach that would take him across the front of Siegenthaler’s body and potentially missing Siegenthaler entirely, Rempe chooses to flare his elbow both up and away from his body in dangerous fashion, driving it directly into the head of Siegenthaler with substantial force.”
Rempe was assessed a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for elbowing during the game. Making matters worse, he then cheekily waved to the Devils bench as he was escorted off the ice.
Siegenthaler did not return to the game due to the headshot and missed the third period entirely.
Coming into the contest, the Devils were already looking for retribution after Rempe’s hit on Nathan Bastian on February 22. Bastian suffered a lower-body injury on the play and has not played since.
Rempe turned down a fight with Devils defenseman Kurtis MacDermid when they first stepped onto the ice.
“I knew about the hit on (Nathan) Bastian going into this game. First shift, I asked him,” MacDermid said postgame. “There’s a bit of a code, and I thought he would have answered that, but I don’t know what he was told, but he said no.
“After a hit like that, it goes without saying you should answer the bell in some way, and be a man about it. Then the game goes on then he throws another hit like that. Gets kicked out and possible suspension. There’s a right way to go about things and a wrong way. I lost a lot of respect for him tonight.”
Rempe’s suspension comes after an astonishing high-event pace during his 56:28 of ice time in 10 games. Rempe has six major penalties and 54 penalty minutes while averaging 5:38 of ice time per game, meaning he’s sitting out due to penalties (5:40) more than his average ice time.
“We talked to Matt before that hit, talked to him about his game,” Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette said. “It’s a learning process. It’s over and you learn from it. He plays the game hard, he’s a young kid. He’s learning about the game, how fast it is.”
Over the last month, Rempe’s fight card includes bouts with Matt Martin (Islanders), Nicolas Deslauriers (Flyers), and Mathieu Olivier (Blue Jackets). His fight against Martin at the Rangers’ Stadium Series game went viral.
On March 2, while already sporting black eyes, Rempe even dropped the gloves with Ryan Reaves. Rempe, incredibly, towered over the Leafs’ notorious enforcer.
Despite being a sideshow early, Rempe drives play when he can actually stay on the ice, according to Natural Stat Trick. Rempe has positive differentials at five-on-five in shot attempts (47-44), scoring chances (29-17), and high-danger chances (10-5). The Rangers have outscored their opposition 4 to 1 when Rempe is on the ice at five-on-five.
