It appears one of the New York Rangers’ fiercest rivals is tired of being pushed around by Matt Rempe and company. So, the New Jersey Devils have made a concerted effort to bulk up physically this offseason and provide more pushback after the Rangers swept the four-game season series in 2023-24.
Throughout last season, Rempe and the Rangers pushed around the Devils, winning a majority of the puck battles, outscoring the Devils 17-8. In addition, some hits by Rempe, were not only massive but the Devils believed to be borderline or over the line.
Matt Rempe leads the way physically for Rangers
In the first meeting after Rempe was called up to the Rangers on February 22, 2024, he was given a match penalty for his hit on Devils forward Nathan Bastian 2:25 into the first period. This hit stung Bastian, and while he returned to the game, Jacob Trouba struck Bastian again. This caused Bastian to fight Trouba. Already dealing with an injury, this fight was the last time we saw Bastian. He left the game and missed the rest of the regular season with an upper-body injury.
Trouba, after the game, talked about how the Rangers play their best when using the speed and playing with a physical edge. That physical edge dates back to the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs in the first round when Trouba hit Timo Meier in Game 7.
Again, the Devils had no answer for the Rangers physical play. While Jonas Siegenthaler tried to stand up for his teammates, he was no match for Rempe. The Devils needed an answer. Getting tired of being pushed around, New Jersey traded for Kurtis MacDermid. However, it took some time before New Jersey stood up to the Rangers.
Rempe was given a five-minute and a-game misconduct for elbowing Siegenthaler in the meeting after the trade deadline. However, before MacDermid could get his hands on Rempe and stand up for his teammates, the referees broke up the two players and kicked everyone out of the game. Rempe was suspended four games for his hit on Siegenthaler. But this was far from over between the Devils and Rangers.
Fight Night for Rangers and Devils
The Devils’ and Rangers’ final meeting on April 3, 2024, was Fight Night at Madison Square Garden. The game started with the feel of the line brawl from 2012. Tensions were boiling between Rempe and MacDermid. MacDermid did not like the wave of “bye-bye” in the prior meeting. However, this time, the Devils would not be pushed around.
Travis Green, the Devils head coach at the time, started his fourth line, and the Rangers coach, Peter Laviolette, matched with his fourth line. Two seconds into the game, the Devils did not waste any time, as Curtis Lazar asked Jimmy Vesey to fight. MacDermid squared off with Rempe, with Chris Tierney, Kevin Bahl, and John Marino matching up with Barclary Goodrow, K’Andre Miller, and Trouba.
With Lazar and Vesey starting the initial fight, the rest of the players, including Rempe, Goodrow, Miller, and Trouba, were thrown out. The Rangers had pushed the Devils to the limit regarding physical play. New Jersey had enough of being tossed around by a bigger, stronger team.
Rangers rivals get bigger, stronger this offseason
Outside of Kurtis MacDermid, the Devils did not have anyone on their roster to match the physicality the Rangers brought to every match-up. It is not on Nico Hischier or Timo Meier to go out of their weight class to fight a guy like Matt Rempe. That will change after New Jersey added size and strength to their lineup.
So, that’s why their first move this offseason was to re-sign MacDermid, after the heavyweight was acquired ahead of the trade deadline last spring.
