Matt Rempe Slammed With Major Suspension by NHL

A crushing hit has turned into a massive suspension for New York Rangers' giant forward Matt Rempe. The 6'9", 255-pounder laid a devastating hit into the boards on the Dallas Stars' Miro Heiskanen, and has been slammed by the NHL Dept. of Player Safety with an 8-game suspension.

Matt Rempe has been suspended 8 games for boarding and elbowing pic.twitter.com/gVnyqYiFks
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 22, 2024

Rempe has been ejected 4 times in his 22-game NHL career. And the 8-game suspension is the longest for on-ice conduct since Tom Wilson’s 20-game ban in October 2018.

Rempe was handed a five-minute major for elbowing and a game misconduct after the hit, but NHL Player Safety obviously ruled that much more of a punishment was in order.

As DoPS notes in its ruling, Rempe "violated multiple NHL rules.

"Rempe explodes upwards into a hard check into the back of a defenseless Heiskanen, while at the same time, extending his elbow and forearm up into the back of Heiskanen's neck, driving him dangerously... and violently into the boards and glass."

The hit violated both the boarding and elbowing rules.

The 22-year-old previously received a four-game suspension last season for an elbowing violation, and his repeat offender status led to the hefty ban this time around. He'll forfeit $80,000 in salary.

Rempe now has zero points and 24 penalty minutes in 5 NHL games this season.

And as for the Rangers, they suffered yet another defeat, 3-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes, New York's 12th loss in its last 16 games.