NHL Hands Down Hefty Suspension For Massive Matt Rempe Elbow

A huge elbow to the head has cost huge New York Rangers center Matt Rempe a huge suspension. It's a four-gamer for the behemoth forward for delivering this shot to the jaw of New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler:

Matt Rempe has been suspended 4 games for elbowing Jonas Siegenthaler pic.twitter.com/rJUn1bXzOx

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 12, 2024

Siegenthaler is no pipsqueak himself, standing 6-foot-2, but he was dwarfed by the 6-foot-7 Rangers big man. Rempe was handed a major penalty and a game misconduct. Siegenthaler suffered an injury on the play.

NHL Player Safety has ruled that this illegal hit to the head wasn't accidental, as far as they're concerned. 

“This is not a case in which a sudden movement by the player receiving the check turns a legal check into an illegal one. Nor do we believe that this is accidental contact... Rempe is clearly committed to throwing a check... and chooses to flare his elbow both up and away from his body in dangerous fashion,” said DoPS in its ruling.

Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette said it's a matter of keeping Rempe aggressive, but just not crossing that line.

#NYR coach Peter Laviolette on Matt Rempe learning from this 4-game suspension:

“We talked to Matt before that hit. We talked to him about his game, on the ice, his physicality, what he brings to the team. It’s a young player and we look to always talk with him and teach him...

— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) March 12, 2024

“We talked to Matt before that hit," said Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette. "We talked to him about his game, on the ice, his physicality, what he brings to the team. It’s a young player and we look to always talk with him and teach him It’s a learning process. He’ll serve the games and move on.”

The 21-year-old Rempe, in 10 games, has one goal, six fights, 54 penalty minutes, and one match penalty, one game misconduct... and now one 4-game suspension.