The Matt Rempe vs Ryan Reaves Fight At Center Ice Was Epic, But Should Probably Be His Last Fight Of The Season
Michael Chisholm. Getty Images.Matt Rempe made his NHL debut on February 18th in the Stadium Series. That was quite literally just 2 weeks ago. It feels like a lifetime already because at this point, Matt Rempe has completely taken the NHL by storm.
He fought Matt Martin outdoors before his first career NHL shift technically started. He got tossed almost immediately from the Rangers' game against the Devils just a couple days later. He fought Nicolas Deslauriers in their next game against the Flyers. He fought Mathieu Olivier in their next game against the Blue Jackets. There aren't a ton of heavyweights left in the NHL, but Matt Rempe managed to fight 3 of them in just his first 5 games. And he probably would have fought another time, too, if he didn't get the boot so early against New Jersey.
Fact of the matter is that this kid has been making waves, and he's been answering the bell every time one of the baddest dudes in the league come knocking at his door. So last night, it was Ryan Reaves' turn to take a crack at the kid.
The fight itself wasn't anything ridiculous. But it's center ice in Toronto during Hockey Night In Canada. Quite literally in the center of the hockey universe, Matt Rempe drops the mitts and goes toe-to-toe with Reavo. His 4th heavyweight tilt in literally just 2 weeks in the league. Chances are the fight wasn't anything ridiculous considering Rempe already came into the fight with 2 black eyes and was just looking to not add a broken nose to the mix.
I love this kid. I think he's great for the sport of hockey. However….I think he's done his job already. Hockey needed someone to inject some violence back into the game, and Rempe did exactly that. 4 massive fights in 2 weeks. But if we want this kid's career to last longer than just 2 weeks, then maybe it's time to shut this menace down for the season.
He's answered the bell enough times to prove himself. There needs to be a code here that Rempe needs to follow, and the rest of the guys in the league need to follow as well. If anybody else in the league goes into a game just looking to get a fight out of him, they're a massive asshole. I know the Devils just traded for Kurtis MacDermid the other day, and they have a date with the Rangers coming up soon here. That trade was probably for that exact reason. But Matt Rempe doesn't need to fight Kurtis MacDermid, and Kurtis MacDermid shouldn't have to fight Matt Rempe.
On the other end of that deal, though, Matt Rempe needs to make sure he's not giving guys a reason to give him his 5th fight in 3 weeks. So Rempe probably shouldn't sprint halfway across the ice to destroy guys like this if he wants to keep his brain in solid form.
The past 2 weeks of Matt Rempe have been electric. There's no two ways around it. But it would be even more electric to have this guy stick around in the league for a few years instead of just a few weeks. That's all I'm saying.