Rangers’ Matt Rempe faces a game misconduct penalty upon his NHL return

It didn’t take long for New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe to make his mark after returning to the NHL lineup.

During Friday night’s game against the Dallas Stars, Rempe hit Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen from behind into the boards. Rempe received a five-minute major penalty and a game-misconduct penalty for the play.

Stars striker Roope Hintz immediately took offense at standing up for his Finnish compatriot and attacked Rempe.

As the melee was broken up by the referees, a helmetless Rempe emerged, running away with his hand to his ear and taunting the star-studded audience.

Prior to his nomination, Rempe had five points in 18 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack, a Rangers American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate.

The 22-year-old scored 1 goal and 1 assist for 2 points and 71 penalty minutes in his 17 regular season games last season. He also recorded 1 goal and 10 penalty minutes in 11 playoff games as the Rangers lost six games to the Florida Panthers in the third round.

Rempe also played 43 games with the Wolf Pack in the AHL, recording 8 goals and 4 assists for 12 points and 96 penalty minutes.

Rempe was a 6th-round pick of the Rangers in the 2020 NHL Draft from the WHL, and after two more seasons with the Seattle Thunderbirds, he made his professional debut in 2022 with the Wolf Pack, where he spent parts of two seasons before making his debut made NHL debut earlier this year.

Rempe is in the final year of his three-year, entry-level contract with a cap hit of $820,000 and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.