The Rempe Effect
As if the cross-river rivalry wasn’t already reignited from last year's playoff series, Wednesday night's matchup just made it even better. Before last season, the New Jersey Devils were amid a full on rebuild trying to piece together a competitive group for the future. They achieved that goal and earned themselves a spot in the 2023 playoffs for the first time in four seasons. This paired them up with a first-round matchup against the New York Rangers, which went the full length of seven games and resulted in a Devils win. A competitive series full of intense moments, this is the rivalry that everyone missed.
Image from The Hockey News
Fast forward to the 2023-24 regular season, the Rangers knew they were missing an enforcer to their lineup. They decided to call up Matt Rempe from the Hartford Wolfpack. Rempe at 6’7 and 21 years old is a rookie for the Rangers and both teams learned quickly that Rempe will be a key factor of this rivalry for years to come. On Feb. 22, the two teams squared off in which Rempe laid a huge body check on Devils’ forward Nate Bastian that left Bastian bleeding as he left for the remainder of the game. Devils’ defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler answered the bell and attempted to fight Rempe following the hit which ended poorly for him after just a few punches from Rempe. A few days later, on Mar. 1, the Devils then realized they were missing an enforcer as well, they acquired forward Kurtis Macdermid from the Colorado Avalanche and for only one reason.
The two teams squared off again on Mar. 11, which became a revenge narrative for injuring Bastian last game and a similar result occurred. In the second period, Rempe hit Jonas Siegenthaler with a high elbow to his head, which left Siegenthaler now hurt. When newly acquired enforcer Macdermid tried intervening to stick up for his teammate, Rempe wanted no part of him and was ejected from the game. He then waved at the Devils bench to taunt them even more. The final matchup between the two teams occurred on Apr. 3 and it was the most entertaining of them all. On the opening faceoff, just two seconds into the game, all ten players on the ice engaged in a line brawl and one of the brawls being Rempe and Macdermid. All 10 players were ejected from the game, and this would cap off this year’s rivalry of the Devils and Rangers.
Not only did Rempe injure Devils players, but the Rangers ended up winning all four matchups between the teams. It's clear Rempe terrorized the Devils roster, and the Rangers also exacted their revenge of last year's playoff series. Being 21 years of age, this rivalry is nowhere near over and will be entertaining to watch for years to come.
