Rangers’ Matt Rempe Under Fire for Controversial Elbow Hit vs. Predators
New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe is facing heavy criticism from NHL fans after his high elbow on Nashville Predators defenseman Nick Blankenburg on Sunday night. The hit, which came in the first period at Madison Square Garden, left Blankenburg shaken and led to an immediate fight between Rempe and Andreas Englund.
Replays showed Blankenburg’s head snapping back into the glass, adding to concerns about the hit’s severity and a possible suspension handed out by the NHL Department of Player Safety. Many fans took to social media to call for a lengthy suspension, with some even suggesting that Rempe should be removed from the league, given his antics. Rempe with the big hit and an even BIGGER scrap with Andreas Englund pic.twitter.com/aJNpoxA1se — B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 3, 2025 “He needs to be expelled from this league,” one user posted on X. “Permanently suspend this animal!” another account wrote.
A more measured fan accounted for Rempe’s size when discussing the hit and how the Rangers enforcer approaches the game of hockey. “He’s just a little clumsy. It doesn’t look like he’s trying to do be dirty but he just doesn’t have good body control,” the user wrote. “At his height, his elbow and shoulders are always at head height for other players when in a skating posture.” He’s just a little clumsy. It doesn’t look like he’s trying to do be dirty but he just doesn’t have good body control. At his height, his elbow and shoulders are always at head height for other players when in a skating posture. — Matthew Kodama (@GEG_LAS_HNL) March 3, 2025 Another fan noted Rempe’s
history with dubious hits and suspensions.
Another fan noted Rempe’s history with dubious hits and suspensions.
“NHL has to get him under control. He can’t stay away from a dangerous hit. If it were me, suspend him through the rest of the season + playoffs (if they make it).”
Rempe’s history of dangerous play fueled the outrage. The young enforcer was suspended for four games last season for an elbow on New Jersey Devils’ Jonas Siegenthaler. He already served an eight-game ban earlier this season when he completed an illegal check on Dallas Stars’ Miro Heiskanen. Speaking on that latest ban, the longest on-ice suspension issued by the NHL in the last six seasons, Rempe acknowledged his wrongdoings.
“I’ve got to be a lot smarter. I’m a marked man right now,” Rempe said after learning about his latest suspension. “I’ve got to keep it clean.”
Despite the controversy, Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette defended Rempe after the game. “Remps is just such a big man. He was forechecking,” Laviolette said, per Mollie Walker of the New York Post. “When he hits, he’s just higher than everybody else. I don’t think he hit him, I think he maybe grazed him a little bit. I think it was more of a
miss. “That’s his game, as well. He’s got to do it within the rules, but we also need him forechecking.” Some fans echoed Laviolette’s sentiments. One posted about Rempe’s style by arguing that the officials always call penalties on Rempe “for just being tall and playing the game.”
