What a crazy couple of weeks it’s been for Matt Rempe. The rookie is the NHL’s biggest fan favorite at the moment after participating in almost as many fights as he has played games.
Ahead of the Rangers’ match vs. the Maple Leafs this weekend, much of the pregame hype was about a potential heavyweight tilt between the 6’8” Rempe and Maple Leafs’ tough guy Ryan Reaves. And they didn’t disappoint.
Rempe and Reves dropped the gloves in the 4-3 Toronto win, and on Monday, Reaves talked openly about his opponent.
”He’s going to be a menace in the league,” Reaves, who has more than 75 fights in the NHL, said.
In previous games, Rempe has fought some real heavyweights in his first shift of the game. Against Reaves, it happened after a big hit from Rempe on Leafs defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin.
”He’s definitely the longest (person) I’ve ever fought,” Reaves said. ”He’s like 6-9 or something. He’s just really lanky, for sure the biggest guy I ever fought.”
In his first seven games in the NHL, Rempe had four fights, 37 penalty minutes, and two points, but his eighth game was quieter.
Rempe, who earned chants of his name from the Rangers crowd, was involved in a hilarious moment in the game that quickly went viral.
Rempe first threw a hit along the boards, which had Jonah Gadjovich going after him.
But as Gadjovich tried his best to get something with Rempe going, the Rangers’ rookie’s response was to laugh the Panthers player in the face.
On social media, everyone loved Rempe’s reaction.
”Glad Rempe is finally learning that he doesn’t have to fight everyone who asks him to,” one said.
”They just do not give the kid a break lol,” another said.
”This is hilarious lol. Rempe’s brought some interesting antics since he came up,” a third added.
”I love this kid lol. Rangers are white hot and they randomly get this kid on the roster,” a fourth added.
