Opinion: Rempe’s reckless attack on the Stars’ Heiskanen must result in a significant suspension

The New York Rangers’ recent woes are the Original Six franchise’s primary concern, but the antics of Rangers right winger Matt Rempe provide a notable distraction from the Blueshirts’ woes. And with Rempe scheduled for an in-person hearing Friday for his brutal hit on Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen, it’s time for the league to take a tougher stance on Rempe and punish him to the full extent of the collective bargaining agreement.

You can make all sorts of excuses for Rempe, but here’s the ugly truth: The 22-year-old has played 22 NHL games, and in that time, Rempe has been ejected from a game four times. This is no coincidence. This is completely under Rempe’s control. And the NHL’s player safety department must now take action against Rempe’s reckless hitting and suspend him for six or more games.

Rempe’s previous suspension – a four-game suspension in March for elbowing New Jersey’s Jonas Siegenthaler – didn’t stop him from incurring another serious elbow penalty against Heiskanen on Friday. This is a significant problem for the player safety department, and it needs to send an even harsher punitive message to the 6-foot-2 Rempe and others like him. This message: You can’t blame your big body for hurting opponents, you have to control your body like every other NHL player has to, and if you can’t do that, you won’t play in the NHL. It really is that simple.

Before being called up to the Rangers, Rempe spent his time in the American League. And in 18 AHL games, Rempe only scored three goals and five points. Meanwhile, Rempe has averaged just 6:15 minutes of ice time per game in the five NHL games he has played this season. This is not an NHL player who can influence the game in any way except through his over-the-top actions that constantly harm opponents. This is not a legitimate NHLer.

Related: Rangers’ Matt Rempe sent off for fourth time in 22 career NHL games

Certainly strong players could play in the NHL without constantly posing a major threat to their teammates. Look at Zdeno Chara and Tyler Myers. Players like these two giants have shown that they can play by the rules and not constantly hurt their opponents. Rempe hasn’t shown he can do the same.

For this reason, the league has to suspend Rempe – in our opinion for more than six games. For this writer, eight games should be the starting point for a Rempe suspension for his hit on Heiskanen. That’s about 10 percent of the season. That’s a lot of time. And if Rempe continues to violate NHL rules, his next suspension should be for 10 or more games. If the Rangers actually want to continue to throw out a player who is not a capable NHL player, the NHL needs to step in and stop that player from continuing to hurt people.

Rempe and the Rangers can argue their hearts out over the player safety process, but the evidence of Rempe’s destructive impact is right there on video for all to see. Surely Rempe should use his upcoming suspension to change his game. And if he doesn’t change that, the NHL will likely deprive him of the opportunity to play in the top ice hockey league.

Being in the NHL is a privilege and Rempe’s recent actions should severely limit his privilege to play in the NHL. If Rempe doesn’t stop hurting his opponents, the league needs to take control and keep him off the ice until he finally figures out how to play the game properly. The NHL game is a physical game, but there are limits to that physicality, and Rempe has consistently pushed those limits. Enough is enough with this guy.

It’s not a crime to be 6’3″ in the NHL. But it’s a crime to throw your big body around knowing full well it will hurt players on the other team. Until Rempe understands and accepts this reality, the league should blame him.

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