Rangers forward hit with hefty suspension in first game back in NHL

New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe’s NHL career is only 22 regular-season games old, and he has just been hit with his second significant suspension.

The NHL Department of Player Safety announced Sunday that Rempe was being suspended eight games for his hit on Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen during Friday night’s game.

Rempe, 22, was playing his first game since being recalled from the Hartford Wolfpack of the American Hockey League. He received a five-minute elbowing penalty and a game misconduct for the third-period play, the fourth ejection of his young career. Heiskanen returned to the game and was able to finish it.

The suspension was for both elbowing and boarding.

‘It is important to note that during an extended period of time and during the lead-up to this hit, Rempe sees nothing but Heiskanen’s back,’ the department said in its suspension video. ‘Rempe is in complete control of how this play develops and it is Rempe’s responsibility in this situation to avoid the contact, change the angle such that he does not hit a defenseless player directly from behind or at very least to minimize the force of an imminent collision.’

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Instead, he delivered a hard hit from behind and raised his elbow and forearm ‘recklessly’ while doing so, the department said.

Last season, the 6-foot-9, 255-pound Rempe was suspended four games for elbowing New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler in the head, leaving him with a concussion.

That infraction cost him $17,083.32 in pay. Friday’s penalty will cost him $80,000 because of the longer sentence and a higher per-game cost due to him being a repeat offender.

Rempe was a Rangers fan favorite last season because of his numerous fights against some of the league’s heavyweights. That led Toronto Maple Leafs tough guy Ryan Reaves, who fought Rempe, to say he was ‘going to be a menace in the league.’ He also called him ‘a really nice humble kid.’

This season, Rempe has spent most of the season in the AHL to work on his overall game. Friday was his fifth NHL game of this season.

(This story was updated to add more details about the suspension.)