New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe has been offered an in-person hearing with the NHL’s department of player safety after a game misconduct for elbowing Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen on Friday night.
Rempe is considered a repeat offender by the department. He was suspended four games last season for elbowing New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler in March.
The date of the hearing has yet to be determined.
The NHL offers a player and his representatives an in-person hearing when a suspension could be six or more games, which would make it eligible for appeal to a neutral arbitrator after a first appeal to commissioner Gary Bettman.
At 7:13 of the third period, Heiskanen played the puck with his back to Rempe. The Rangers forward skated in, raised his arm and drove Heiskanen’s head into the glass, causing the Dallas defenseman to fall to the ice and the players to come together in a skirmish.
Rempe was given a major penalty and a game misconduct for elbowing, forcing the Rangers to kill off a five-minute major penalty with a 2-1 lead in the third. New York won the game 3-1. Heiskanen finished the game for Dallas.
This was Rempe’s first game for the Rangers since Nov. 25, having been recently recalled from AHL Hartford. He earned 17 penalty minutes in 5:32 of ice time, registering one shot on goal and zero points.
Rempe became a sensation in 17 regular-season and 11 playoff games last season for the Rangers thanks to his size (6-foot-9), big hits and energetic fights. He earned 71 penalty minutes in 17 games but also the adoration of Rangers fans, who chanted his name at home games despite him averaging 5:37 per game.
He said before the season that he had spent the summer perfecting his overall hockey skills rather than just his fighting prowess, doing 1½ months of power skating drills in preparation for this season. But Rempe has appeared in just five games for New York, failing to register a point in earning 24 penalty minutes. He had three goals and two assists in 18 games with AHL Hartford.
The Rangers host the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon.
