The more the Rangers rule their playoffs and the more fourth-liner Matt Rempe ruins rivals, the more negative attention Remps is inheriting.
No, this isn't a Matt Rempe version of "The Caine Mutiny On Ice," nor, for that matter, an NHL version of "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial."
But the more the Rangers rule their playoffs and the more fourth-liner Matt Rempe ruins rivals, the more negative attention Rems is inheriting. (And positive notices, too, as you will see.).
The fact that Rempe's latest Caps victim, Trevor Van Riemsdyk, won't be in uniform tonight has moved critics to anger.
Mark Lazerus of The Athletic saw Rempe's "hard hit" as a combination of interference and charging, not to mention an illegal check to the head.
And if that isn't La Grand Combo of illegals, then my name is Darth Vader.
But don't get The Maven wrong; I'm not anti-Matt in The Athletic manner, nor are others, such as Larry Brooks of the New York Post.
"The vigilante constables want the 6-8.5 menace in cuffs," wrote Brooks. "The hit on Van Riemsdyk was probably legal and hardly venal."
Dan Rosen of NHL.com accurately portrays Rempe as "A villain on the road; a player who has the eyes of the NHL media on him."
Meanwhile, Blueshirts coach Peter Laviolette is aware of The Rempe Effect. To wit:
A. Matt is a diamond in the rough. Very rough: B. The Rangers almost always win when Remps is on the fourth line; C. He, Lavvy, is determined to tame this terror to become a force leading New York to The Stanley Cup.
"We're trying to manage him as Matt continues to develop. He brings a lot to the table."
Here's the trick. Rempe is no dope. He succeeded in the intense Major Junior
Hockey realm as well as the competitive AHL. Plus, he knows where he's at and all the ballyhoo about him.
More than anything, he's dedicated to becoming a useful, permanent Ranger. And he's well aware of his critics. (By the way, some of the naysayers are even Rangers.
fans.)
One of them, magazine author-critic-and decades-old Rangers fan Steve Viuker of Brooklyn, takes a dim view of fighting on the ice.
Viuker also is concerned about The Rempe Effect and the rookie's future.
Viuker: "I hope Matt can stay around and show his talent,t and in twenty years, he'll be able to walk on the Garden ice under his own power."
Critics notwithstanding, the Rangers high command knows exactly what it has in Rempe and, furthermore, that a bunch of NHL teams would just love having him on their roster.
WHL Portland Winterhawks manager-coach Mike Johnston told me on these pages
the other day, exactly what smart hockey men think about The Remper: Mike knows, having coached against Matt when Rempe skated for Seattle.
"If you have a guy on your team who can get in on the forecheck with that size, it is a bonus. Rempe brings a unique skill set, and there are not many players in the
league like him."
So, the Rempe theme in Rangersville goes like this: Damn the critics, full speed ahead!