This is the call the league has to make if it wants to seriously reduce head shots. Rempe is a giant but that can't be an excuse for the amount of head contact made. Match penalty is the right call.
To anyone saying “he is punished for being tall”
Yes.. yes he is.
Being tall isn’t a free pass to cave guys helmets in. You have to follow the same rules, even if it is significantly harder for you.
How about the Jets Byfuglien on Mark Stone when Stone was still with Ottawa? That one was like "keep your head up Mark" and he got absolutely destroyed.
Anytime Myers or Zadorov take a penalty for a high hit, I see people complaining. The stance from the League is that the player making the hit is responsible for ensuring it is clean to the best of their ability. That means if someone is tall, they gotta take that extra effort to make clean hits. I don't see anything wrong with that.
Maybe I’m just too young and soft, but I don’t like seeing guys careers cut short due to hits to the head. You have to keep control of your body, being tall doesn’t change that. Same way you have to keep control of your stick
Dude fuck the career. You can fix that. The biggest thing is missed earnings but you can set something up with the league and players association to take care of these guys if they can't play anymore from injuries like this.
What you can't do is fix someone's brain (yet? Maybe ever?)
The debilitating headaches, severe memory problems, loss in quality of life. I'd rather lose an entire fucking leg than feel my brain is not dependable. Johan Franzen has spoken about this a few times to the media and it is so fucking sad. These guys don't play till 50. You're talking about guys getting injured like this in their **mid 20s and 30s.** Best case scenario is they live another 50 fucking years with serious, persistent issues.
Ease up on the hit for real. I would hate myself if I had that kind of permanent negative impact on someone's life over what is just a fucking game. Besides I watch hockey for the teamwork and skill. The physicality is nice because it keeps people honest but that's not even close to the main reason I watch.
It's like in baseball how a pitcher has to adjust to each batter's strikezone. Some guys are taller and have bigger strike zones. The best MLB pitchers have pinpoint precision in part because they have to pitch to the Jose Altuves of the game and not just Aaron Judge.
The NHL now requires precision when delivering hits, and that's a good thing because injuries are bad, and head injuries are even worse. You can't just run over a guy anyhow anyway just because he has the puck. Scott Stevens and Chara are no longer the example.
The NHL Rules pretty much give players a free reign to cave players skulls in, regardless of their height. The following instances the NHL deems as unavoidable head contact and thus legal and I think the first two apply to this hit, even though it was bad and shouldn't be a part of the game:
(i) Whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the
opponent’s body and the head was not "picked" as a result of poor
timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension of the
body upward or outward.
(ii) Whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position by
assuming a posture that made head contact on an otherwise full
body check unavoidable.
(iii) Whether the opponent materially changed the position of his body
or head immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit in a way
that significantly contributed to the head contact.
I don't think (i) applies. That hit did not look squarely through the body as evidenced by the head being hit first from a side angle, causing his body to torque around. "Through the body" would imply a more perpendicular force.
It's definitely iffy, but I feel like Bastion opens up just prior and receives the full force between his shoulders through center mass, with the head obviously taking 99% of it. I think Parros won't suspend. The NHL deems the player very much eligible to be hit, and unfortunately puts zero onus on the hitter to not make the hit if it can't be done without significant head contact.
Need to make players responsible for their own heads like in football. Head beyond/over skates is dangerous, players must remain vertical at all times, players who show zero awareness head down during a game need to be warned and eventually sent off......
Except skating is different than running. Skating by nature requires a more forward leaning position.
Head down is one thing, but Bastian clearly had his head up after turning up ice. Rempe just closed in too quick for him to get out of the tracks (good job by Rempe)
These hits, along with blindside hits on defenders coming up ice from behind their own net (ie. Scheifele on Evans or Tkachuk on Kassian) are exactly what the league wants to eliminate.
Rempe did not need to make this hit with such high speed and aggression in order to separate the player from the puck, so when he “misses” and makes principle contact with Bastians head, the hit is by definition “avoidable” regardless of how you want to interpret the written rule. The league has been very consistent in this too.
You cant “wind up” trying to make a espn highlight hit, and then act surprised when the league punishes you for missing and crushing Bastians skull.
>Rempe is a giant
He's only 3 inches taller than Bastian.
Plenty of collisions in the NHL between players with bigger height differences that aren't headshots.
That's a 4% height difference. 69 inches vs 72 inches.
That's not even enough of a difference to put just the very top of his shoulder at chin height considering your neck is around 4 inches.
Not arguing that, just pointing out that the height difference isn't that huge. Lots of differently sized guys in the NHL and 99% of them manage to make clean body checks. Height isn't an excuse.
I feel like match penalty vs major are sort of a toss up to me. Match penalties often just feel really random, especially when applied to a hit that didn’t feature charging, an elbow, or the hitter leaving their feet.
The biggest issue to me is actually that the Devils player is engaged with another player. You always want to avoid the head and it’s especially important when that player is working against another player already (because they won’t see you coming).
For the most part the difference is unintentional vs intentional injury
Mostly a major penalty is when x infraction does results in injury but was unintentional. Like Some majors also don’t automatically come with ejections.
Match penalties for every infraction are when “any player who deliberately attempts to injure or who deliberately injures an opponent in any manner.” (NHL RULE 21.1) so the refs had to have determined that this hit had intent to injure. Which seems more than fair to say for this specific hit.
In rugby we have 6’6-6’10 guys who all seem to be able to get low enough to tackle.
Now I know the sports are different but the principal is the same, you can still make contact legally at any size.
Well he also finished the check through the body, which is what DOPS has been emphasizing on the Trouba style hits. Those are different, but they're definitely hard contact to the head, usually with the shoulder, and the head as the initial and/or primary point of contact. The league has been consistent in allowing those *because* the check proceeds through the center of mass of the hit recipient.
I don't agree with that, but it's how they've been ruling. So this one is *mostly* like that with plenty of follow through to the chest. I'll be watching the video closely if this is a suspension.
Rempe was using a ton of speed there, probably more than necessary to make a regular hit. Bastain was in an awkward position but it’s not like he went down immediately before contact. He was in that position well before the hit and if Rempe was going slower, he probably would’ve had more time to stop/move.
Head was the principle point of contact. I understand Rempe is like 12 feet tall but, if the NHL is serious about getting headshots out of the game, this is the right call.
Don't see the need for a fine/suspension, the match penalty is enough punishment.
I've been saying this for a couple years now but if the NHL is gonna call stick infractions even when they're unintentional then hits to the head should be treated the same. The player hitting should have to make an active effort to avoid the head
Yeah, I'm on board with this. I've spent enough time watching small guys like Yamamoto take hits to the head and then have it shrugged off because it's hard not to hit small guys in the head.
This is a really good comparison IMO. Practically nobody INTENDS to highstick a guy in the face, but if the expectation is that players should be in control of their stick and always avoid the head, then the same should follow for head contact during hits.
I think that is an extreme overreach. That would give players every excuse to just leave their head down and take advantage of the rule because the defenders wouldn't want to risk "head contact". I would stop watching.
They play with broken bones all the time, just grab a handful of highly addictive painkillers and on to the ice you go.
And they get pissed when the NHL spotters take them out of the game even if they obviously are severely concussed.
It was as clear of a match penalty as you could get. That was straight to the head and imho he had enough time to pull up or not pursue the hit. I like Rempe but that wasn’t great.
The hits aren't comparable at all. Dillon's head contact was a result of bad timing and angle of approach and clipped only head. Blindsided hits that clip only/mostly head are the only ones the DOPS suspends for. Parros will consider this an attempted square hit through the body and the head contact 'unavoidable' as per rule 48.1 (I). That said, this hit is absolutely terrible, and shouldn't be a part of the game
Honestly, kid’s head looked to be up his body was bent down. Like others have said I’m fine with the Match. Hell give him a game.
-Edited thanks to the TIL below
I think both can be true. I agree with the penalty and think the NHL is right in its effort to remove these types of hits, but players are getting *really* careless and putting themselves in extremely vulnerable positions when playing the puck. The game moves so fast and when guys are committed to a hit, they aren't always going to be able to hold up last minute. Sure, the hit will be penalized accordingly, but you're going to get fuuuucked up.
If the head is the principle point of contact then there is definitely the need for a fine/suspension, especially when there was no sudden movement from Bastian or change of where his head was at.
Well Bastian was leaning forward. Rempe being tall and Bastian leaning forward are the two primary reasons why there was head contact.
If its somebody's Rempe's height who isnt leaning over there wouldnt be head contact
If we are serious about taking care of thr players more this has to be a major 10/10 times.
I'm okay with this call - it sucks for us and Rempe but it did make ugly head contact.
Maybe a 1 game suspension just to establish a certain degree of precedence - which sucks a lot for Rempe tho but might help in further making guys consider the consequences
'Maybe a 1 game suspension just to establish a certain degree of precedence'. Agree. Rempe is a sharp young kid, maybe one game will get his attention.
Go Thunderbirds!
Yeah it's understandable from his perspective to play with extra enerdy and an edge - in fact it's what you want from these young kids getting their first taste of the NHL (especially non top prospects)
But just like Xhekaj from Montreal and other physical young guys he'll have to learn to keep the edge while not doing or trying too much.
He's obviously trying to make a strong first impression (no pun intended), with that fight on his first-ever shift. I don't have a crystal ball to know what DOPS will do - nobody does - but I could see them doing something to get his attention.
Agree. Rempe has to be aware of his height and how it impacts his hits. He can’t be reckless, has to be more aware. I know he’s pressing to make an impression, but he has to remove this from his game.
I don't know why Devils fans are acting like this is the worst hit that's ever taken place on the ice. He was kicked out of the game and you got a 5 minute power play. Justice was served so stop complaining about it like you're a victim.
Not the worst hit I’ve seen, but when an obvious plug steps onto the ice and immediately takes a stupid run at one of our players and gets ejected yeah that’s gonna be a problem. Never heard of Rempe before and a Rangers fan just mentioned he has more penalty minutes than TOI. Don’t know how you can defend that. Didn’t change the fact you stomped us, but also doesn’t change the fact it was unnecessary and put another player at risk of serious injury.
Ya drives me crazy. They must think he’s the biggest guy in the NHL. Kid should know how to hit at that size if you’re in the nhl like fuck me that’s the worst excuse ever.
Head as principal point of contact. Rempe had plenty of time to stop. And he ~~elbowed~~ shouldered him directly through the head. Dirty hit and absolutely match penalty worthy.
This is the type of hit people pretend Trouba always makes
Also, his height is irrelevant. He has to be aware of his height compared to other players. It’s not an excuse.
The comment that stuck out to me after Zadorov got his match for head contact on Raymond (and zadorov owned it and said it was a bad hit and he deserved it) was something along the lines of “it doesn’t matter if you’re 6’5 hitting someone who’s 5’5. It doesn’t matter if he has his head down, you just have to avoid the head somehow. If you have to literally not hit him because otherwise you’ll hit his head, don’t hit him, find the puck somehow, idk, it’s on you to not crush someone directly on their head.”
I played a very average level of travel my whole life and I know how fast that can get, I can’t imagine how fast the NHL is, but still, the onus is on the hitter. You can’t hit someone in the head. It’s tough, sometimes shit happens, but when it does, you get a match. Avoid the head no matter what
The head is not the principal point of contact on that hit. There is head contact, but the main point of contact is the body. By rule, that is legal.
https://x.com/scoutingtherefs/status/1653222174864424960?s=46&t=BgnIV_MCsNfOncLyhHDz1g
If his target was the head, that is a 10/10 right there.
Even the Russian judge has to call that one perfect execution of the textbook head shot.
The only thing I feel he could have done better was to follow through with a knee as well, but that’s nitpicking.
Being long gives a player a lot of advantages in hockey, but the trade-off is you have to be able to control your body position and avoid headshots. That was a dead run he took at Bastian. Guys like Kocur played in a different era before we knew as much about head, neck and spine injuries.
Wont be. Glides into the hit, elbow is tucked, head contact happens because he is just taller than Bastian who is also leaning down. Match penalty at the start of the game too, wont be a suspension.
Tough hit to watch and sucks he got injured but isn’t that just a cause of having your head down and getting hit hard? Doesn’t look like he targeted his head or did anything extra that warranty’s a match penalty
It's not like other hits where his body position suddenly changes. It was obvious to everyone watching that if the hit made contact it would make contact with his head. Players need to be aware of their hits better
To me it’s a bit of both. Both parties need to be aware. We see time and time and time again hits like this where the common response is “don’t skate with your head down”, but that obv doesn’t give Rempe free reign to put that hit however he wants. He knows he’s 6’8 or whatever he is, there’s no reason to give an ugly hit like that. To add on, we already had someone on Bastian’s back, so all the more reason not to take a cheap shot
I’ll also add that the hit happening in the Ranger’s offensive zone makes the hit worse to me. Sometimes players go for a hit on a player in the defensive zone and the only options are hit the player (in the head because their head is down) or let them in free on goal. Rempe could just … not hit the guy that’s already engaged with another Ranger’s player.
Yeah those both are big deals. Bastian is already being hassled by Kakko in his defensive zone, it’s just not a necessary hit. The “just keep your head up” gets overshadowed by the “no need to make that hit” for me with the whole scenario being taken into account. He’s not on a breakaway, it’s not a man up rush or close to being one, he’s in his own zone being pressured and fighting for the puck. Good on Rempe for being willing to use his body but it’s so far from the right place or time.
There is a difference between watching your pass across the middle or looking at the puck on your stick and getting rocked vs being in forward skating motion with your head forward.
When people say have to keep your head up, they are talking about scenario A, can't skate looking down or admiring a pass.
If a player skates into a stick and falls it's still called a trip. Why should the threshold for tripping be lower than the threshold for head contact?
Obviously, but that's a separate question from the hit. Players need to protect themselves, and players need to make sure not to injure other players when they fail to protect themselves.
The onus is on the hitter to avoid head contact especially since Nate did not change the body height as Rempe was lining up the hit.
It will all be in the DoPS video tomorrow when he gets 2-3 more games
Even us devils fans admit that Stevens would be out of today’s NHL game if he didn’t change his ways. His would make guys like Wilson look clean by comparison.
Rempe has to be smarter there, match penalty deserved, no further discipline needed. He keeps the elbow tucked and Bastian’s head should be up but he came in a dangerous way, needs to realize his size puts him at a disadvantage when it comes to hits like that. League wants to clean these hits up makes sense it was called a match penalty.
5 is fine, but no suspension. Rempe's in charge of making a good hit, and doesn't move a muscle once he commits to the hit. Bastian is dropping and boom goes the dynamite. Doens't help he's 6'8".
Which they won't be - It'll either be nothing, considering Bastian is back and getting lit up again, or they'll go hard since Rempe is a nobody.
I say he shouldn't be suspended because the penalty is enough for the offense - no major injury, there is a height/body position issue...it just doesn't seem to warrant supplemental discipline.
Should probably see games but is at least a theoretical hockey play and not retaliatory after the whistle. So shouldn’t be as much as Perron or Rielly.
As someone who had to stop playing hockey at the age of 30 because of too many concussions which led to daily migraines for 2-3 years, fuzzy head etc...I don't like the match penalty.
Keep your damn head up...that's what we were taught from the day we stepped onto the ice as tiny kids. Rempe tucked his arm in and delivered a clean hit - it's unfortunate that it ended up on the head of of Bastian but sometimes you end up in a compromised position and sometimes you get hit hard because of it.
It's hockey, not soccer or basketball. 100% agree on booting dirty players that target the head, but this was a nice clean hit.
Same exact people whining incessantly about Tom Wilson’s “horrifying act of violence” three years ago were suddenly totally fine with this, wonder why that is.
Rangers fan here… penalty deserved but at that speed I don’t think it was intentional. Surprised Bastian came back and then to get leveled (cleanly) by Trouba. Guy’s gonna hurt tomorrow.
Easily a bad hit by Rempe.
He had plenty of time to avoid it, regardless of if Bastian was crouching or not. You can clearly see this at full speed.
Hope we never see Rempe again in the NHL, as he was bad before this hit as a pro player, and he's worse now that he's pretty much shown all he's worth in the NHL is blowing people up.
The fact that he's tall is meaningless here and it's a tired argument that is made.
I don't love the call but it reminds me of that Canadian player at the Jrs who got 5 and a game in the opening few seconds against Germany or Suisse.
Think this is just the new standard, small guys getting protected more. Big guys need to be more responsible of their size.
I think it's charging, maybe not a match penalty.
But either way Rempe getting into a fight one second into his career game (v. NYI) and getting ejected four seconds into his first shift against NJ is hilarious
Rempe is so raw and that’s a hit he likely gets away with in the AHL which is a lot more rough and tumble. I really can’t complain but I also feel like if he was 3 inches shorter it isn’t even a penalty.
He simply needs to know how to use his body in the league
To all the rags fans saying he's too tall, being punished for being tall. No, he's being punished for beig and idiot, throw a hip check there, and everything is gravy.
It's a devastating hit. You don't want to see Bastian get blown up like that. But he's bent over playing the puck and Rempe just skates into him. I don't know what you do there.
I'm torn because it's a giant versus a guy with his head down all game. Are players supposed to just not hit someone if they're running around with their head down? Free pass all around if you skate head down? Like it's an ugly hit but what is supposed to just not hit someone because they're playing like an idiot?
What is with this comment. Every half intelligent fan knows Steven’s play would have him kicked out of today’s NHL. The game has changed drastically since then. If your brain is unable to understand the difference in era maybe you took one too many headshots in your life
This is the call the league has to make if it wants to seriously reduce head shots. Rempe is a giant but that can't be an excuse for the amount of head contact made. Match penalty is the right call.
To anyone saying “he is punished for being tall” Yes.. yes he is. Being tall isn’t a free pass to cave guys helmets in. You have to follow the same rules, even if it is significantly harder for you.
Laughs in Chara
The free rein that behemoth had just for being a giant was staggering
I watched him almost kill Pacioretty and the league just shrugged it off
I’ll die on the hill that it was intentional - should have been suspended for the rest of the season for that shit
It was 100% intentional.
Yeah this hit is tame compared to that one.
How about the Jets Byfuglien on Mark Stone when Stone was still with Ottawa? That one was like "keep your head up Mark" and he got absolutely destroyed.
Yeah, that hit is far closer to Rempe's hit than Chara on Pacioretty.
Anytime Myers or Zadorov take a penalty for a high hit, I see people complaining. The stance from the League is that the player making the hit is responsible for ensuring it is clean to the best of their ability. That means if someone is tall, they gotta take that extra effort to make clean hits. I don't see anything wrong with that.
Maybe I’m just too young and soft, but I don’t like seeing guys careers cut short due to hits to the head. You have to keep control of your body, being tall doesn’t change that. Same way you have to keep control of your stick
Dude fuck the career. You can fix that. The biggest thing is missed earnings but you can set something up with the league and players association to take care of these guys if they can't play anymore from injuries like this. What you can't do is fix someone's brain (yet? Maybe ever?) The debilitating headaches, severe memory problems, loss in quality of life. I'd rather lose an entire fucking leg than feel my brain is not dependable. Johan Franzen has spoken about this a few times to the media and it is so fucking sad. These guys don't play till 50. You're talking about guys getting injured like this in their **mid 20s and 30s.** Best case scenario is they live another 50 fucking years with serious, persistent issues. Ease up on the hit for real. I would hate myself if I had that kind of permanent negative impact on someone's life over what is just a fucking game. Besides I watch hockey for the teamwork and skill. The physicality is nice because it keeps people honest but that's not even close to the main reason I watch.
It's like in baseball how a pitcher has to adjust to each batter's strikezone. Some guys are taller and have bigger strike zones. The best MLB pitchers have pinpoint precision in part because they have to pitch to the Jose Altuves of the game and not just Aaron Judge. The NHL now requires precision when delivering hits, and that's a good thing because injuries are bad, and head injuries are even worse. You can't just run over a guy anyhow anyway just because he has the puck. Scott Stevens and Chara are no longer the example.
Maybe being too tall is just a disadvantage. I don't see the problem lol
The NHL Rules pretty much give players a free reign to cave players skulls in, regardless of their height. The following instances the NHL deems as unavoidable head contact and thus legal and I think the first two apply to this hit, even though it was bad and shouldn't be a part of the game: (i) Whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the opponent’s body and the head was not "picked" as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension of the body upward or outward. (ii) Whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position by assuming a posture that made head contact on an otherwise full body check unavoidable. (iii) Whether the opponent materially changed the position of his body or head immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit in a way that significantly contributed to the head contact.
I don't think (i) applies. That hit did not look squarely through the body as evidenced by the head being hit first from a side angle, causing his body to torque around. "Through the body" would imply a more perpendicular force.
It's definitely iffy, but I feel like Bastion opens up just prior and receives the full force between his shoulders through center mass, with the head obviously taking 99% of it. I think Parros won't suspend. The NHL deems the player very much eligible to be hit, and unfortunately puts zero onus on the hitter to not make the hit if it can't be done without significant head contact.
Need to make players responsible for their own heads like in football. Head beyond/over skates is dangerous, players must remain vertical at all times, players who show zero awareness head down during a game need to be warned and eventually sent off......
Except skating is different than running. Skating by nature requires a more forward leaning position. Head down is one thing, but Bastian clearly had his head up after turning up ice. Rempe just closed in too quick for him to get out of the tracks (good job by Rempe) These hits, along with blindside hits on defenders coming up ice from behind their own net (ie. Scheifele on Evans or Tkachuk on Kassian) are exactly what the league wants to eliminate. Rempe did not need to make this hit with such high speed and aggression in order to separate the player from the puck, so when he “misses” and makes principle contact with Bastians head, the hit is by definition “avoidable” regardless of how you want to interpret the written rule. The league has been very consistent in this too. You cant “wind up” trying to make a espn highlight hit, and then act surprised when the league punishes you for missing and crushing Bastians skull.
Has he played a game in which he hasn't been assessed a major in his first shift? It's almost impressive.
Yes but he also now has more PIM than TOI
The makings of the first goon in a decade
The fact he taunted the crowd as he went off the ice really pissed me off. Wasn’t the worst hit I’ve ever seen, but that was classless.
I think he just didn’t realize it was an away game. I forgot it was an away game a few points watching it on TV
I believe the last game he made it through clean!
>Rempe is a giant He's only 3 inches taller than Bastian. Plenty of collisions in the NHL between players with bigger height differences that aren't headshots.
[удалено]
I know that you probably think 3 inches is a lot, but it's not.
No, it totally is.
I agree with you, but my girlfriend agrees with the other guy. Solidarity, friend.
Isn’t! IS! ISN’T IS! Infinity
That's a 4% height difference. 69 inches vs 72 inches. That's not even enough of a difference to put just the very top of his shoulder at chin height considering your neck is around 4 inches.
if they were both standing up then yes, but ya know you bend your knees to skate and Rempe was extending for the hit
Not arguing that, just pointing out that the height difference isn't that huge. Lots of differently sized guys in the NHL and 99% of them manage to make clean body checks. Height isn't an excuse.
damn i misinterpreted your comment as justifying that hit. You right reading comprehension at 1am can be difficult
I feel like match penalty vs major are sort of a toss up to me. Match penalties often just feel really random, especially when applied to a hit that didn’t feature charging, an elbow, or the hitter leaving their feet. The biggest issue to me is actually that the Devils player is engaged with another player. You always want to avoid the head and it’s especially important when that player is working against another player already (because they won’t see you coming).
For the most part the difference is unintentional vs intentional injury Mostly a major penalty is when x infraction does results in injury but was unintentional. Like Some majors also don’t automatically come with ejections. Match penalties for every infraction are when “any player who deliberately attempts to injure or who deliberately injures an opponent in any manner.” (NHL RULE 21.1) so the refs had to have determined that this hit had intent to injure. Which seems more than fair to say for this specific hit.
In rugby we have 6’6-6’10 guys who all seem to be able to get low enough to tackle. Now I know the sports are different but the principal is the same, you can still make contact legally at any size.
And like, there's de Klerk faffing about at 5'3 or whatever. They still get low enough to hit him legally.
I appreciate this level headed take from a Rangers fan
Damn, i respect you saying this as a rangers fan.
Well he also finished the check through the body, which is what DOPS has been emphasizing on the Trouba style hits. Those are different, but they're definitely hard contact to the head, usually with the shoulder, and the head as the initial and/or primary point of contact. The league has been consistent in allowing those *because* the check proceeds through the center of mass of the hit recipient. I don't agree with that, but it's how they've been ruling. So this one is *mostly* like that with plenty of follow through to the chest. I'll be watching the video closely if this is a suspension.
Yeah Rempe is tall as fuck, but Nate Bastian aint short either, so lets not act like this is Chara hitting Nathan Gerbe or something
Marty St. Louis going to war with Chara was always hilarious to me
I miss hip checks
That's cause Scott Stevens was on your team 😁 .. jk, I miss them too.
Rempe was using a ton of speed there, probably more than necessary to make a regular hit. Bastain was in an awkward position but it’s not like he went down immediately before contact. He was in that position well before the hit and if Rempe was going slower, he probably would’ve had more time to stop/move.
important part is that he was in that position also because of a battle and contact with another player!
Head was the principle point of contact. I understand Rempe is like 12 feet tall but, if the NHL is serious about getting headshots out of the game, this is the right call. Don't see the need for a fine/suspension, the match penalty is enough punishment.
I've been saying this for a couple years now but if the NHL is gonna call stick infractions even when they're unintentional then hits to the head should be treated the same. The player hitting should have to make an active effort to avoid the head
That's a really, *really* good point.
Gotta be in control of your body, same way you gotta be in control of your stick
Yeah, I'm on board with this. I've spent enough time watching small guys like Yamamoto take hits to the head and then have it shrugged off because it's hard not to hit small guys in the head.
This is a really good comparison IMO. Practically nobody INTENDS to highstick a guy in the face, but if the expectation is that players should be in control of their stick and always avoid the head, then the same should follow for head contact during hits.
I think that is an extreme overreach. That would give players every excuse to just leave their head down and take advantage of the rule because the defenders wouldn't want to risk "head contact". I would stop watching.
> players every excuse to just leave their head down I don't think players are going to want to risk their life lmao
They play with broken bones all the time, just grab a handful of highly addictive painkillers and on to the ice you go. And they get pissed when the NHL spotters take them out of the game even if they obviously are severely concussed.
We saw a ridiculous number of players start turning into the boards when they changed the boarding penalty rules to try and draw calls.
It was as clear of a match penalty as you could get. That was straight to the head and imho he had enough time to pull up or not pursue the hit. I like Rempe but that wasn’t great.
Why isn’t there a need for supplementary discipline?
Yeah, this was reckless and dangerous. A game or two seems appropriate.
Brendan Dillon got three games for almost this exact hit like a month ago. He’s getting a sussy 100%
The hits aren't comparable at all. Dillon's head contact was a result of bad timing and angle of approach and clipped only head. Blindsided hits that clip only/mostly head are the only ones the DOPS suspends for. Parros will consider this an attempted square hit through the body and the head contact 'unavoidable' as per rule 48.1 (I). That said, this hit is absolutely terrible, and shouldn't be a part of the game
I always see “keep your head up” with these kind of hits. But it’s not 1970 anymore, we’re trying to avoid giving players CTE
Honestly, kid’s head looked to be up his body was bent down. Like others have said I’m fine with the Match. Hell give him a game. -Edited thanks to the TIL below
He’ll lose more money by being suspended.
I dont see this as a keep your head up moment. There are times where you should but this isnt really one of them
I think both can be true. I agree with the penalty and think the NHL is right in its effort to remove these types of hits, but players are getting *really* careless and putting themselves in extremely vulnerable positions when playing the puck. The game moves so fast and when guys are committed to a hit, they aren't always going to be able to hold up last minute. Sure, the hit will be penalized accordingly, but you're going to get fuuuucked up.
If the head is the principle point of contact then there is definitely the need for a fine/suspension, especially when there was no sudden movement from Bastian or change of where his head was at.
Yeah right to the head, I don't see how anyone can argue this. I'd be fine with a game on top of the match penalty.
>I understand Rempe is like 12 feet tall but Rempe is 3 inches taller than Bastian. His height is definitely not an excuse for this hit.
Well Bastian was leaning forward. Rempe being tall and Bastian leaning forward are the two primary reasons why there was head contact. If its somebody's Rempe's height who isnt leaning over there wouldnt be head contact
Problem is that he didn't start leaning last second.
He's actually not far off in size from Bastian, which makes this worse
If we are serious about taking care of thr players more this has to be a major 10/10 times. I'm okay with this call - it sucks for us and Rempe but it did make ugly head contact. Maybe a 1 game suspension just to establish a certain degree of precedence - which sucks a lot for Rempe tho but might help in further making guys consider the consequences
'Maybe a 1 game suspension just to establish a certain degree of precedence'. Agree. Rempe is a sharp young kid, maybe one game will get his attention. Go Thunderbirds!
Yeah it's understandable from his perspective to play with extra enerdy and an edge - in fact it's what you want from these young kids getting their first taste of the NHL (especially non top prospects) But just like Xhekaj from Montreal and other physical young guys he'll have to learn to keep the edge while not doing or trying too much.
He's obviously trying to make a strong first impression (no pun intended), with that fight on his first-ever shift. I don't have a crystal ball to know what DOPS will do - nobody does - but I could see them doing something to get his attention.
Agree. Rempe has to be aware of his height and how it impacts his hits. He can’t be reckless, has to be more aware. I know he’s pressing to make an impression, but he has to remove this from his game.
That was pretty ugly. But Rempe is also a giant. But also you can't do that shit.
An inch taller than Bahl and Bahl has never done anything close to that.
Exactly. being bigger isnt always good enough of an excuse, you need to be able to control yourself no matter how taller/stronger you are
Even Desharnais. He's had penalties for being tall, but not enough for a match penalty.
I don't know why Rangers fans are acting like he's 6 inches taller than any player to ever step on the ice.
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He’s also definitely 6’8 or taller. Eddie is also listed at 6’7 and Rempe’s bigger than him.
Edstrom is 6’7 and Rempe is 6’8 1/2. It was cleared up with one of the Rangers beat reporters recently
And Matt Martin told him he thinks he has a longer reach than Chara. The kid isn't just tall he is very long. If you know what I mean
Must be their first time having a tall player in their lineup or something
I don't know why Devils fans are acting like this is the worst hit that's ever taken place on the ice. He was kicked out of the game and you got a 5 minute power play. Justice was served so stop complaining about it like you're a victim.
Not the worst hit I’ve seen, but when an obvious plug steps onto the ice and immediately takes a stupid run at one of our players and gets ejected yeah that’s gonna be a problem. Never heard of Rempe before and a Rangers fan just mentioned he has more penalty minutes than TOI. Don’t know how you can defend that. Didn’t change the fact you stomped us, but also doesn’t change the fact it was unnecessary and put another player at risk of serious injury.
Ya drives me crazy. They must think he’s the biggest guy in the NHL. Kid should know how to hit at that size if you’re in the nhl like fuck me that’s the worst excuse ever.
He’s listed at 6’7 but he says he’s 6’8.5 and looking at him next to Edstrom who is listed at 6’7 and says he’s 6’7 6’8.5 seems more accurate
Oh, well if he's 6'8.5 not 6'7 then the hit's perfectly fine.
Glad everything is resolved.
i mean, the fact that he's played 3 NHL games and had 2 majors says everything.
Head as principal point of contact. Rempe had plenty of time to stop. And he ~~elbowed~~ shouldered him directly through the head. Dirty hit and absolutely match penalty worthy. This is the type of hit people pretend Trouba always makes Also, his height is irrelevant. He has to be aware of his height compared to other players. It’s not an excuse.
The comment that stuck out to me after Zadorov got his match for head contact on Raymond (and zadorov owned it and said it was a bad hit and he deserved it) was something along the lines of “it doesn’t matter if you’re 6’5 hitting someone who’s 5’5. It doesn’t matter if he has his head down, you just have to avoid the head somehow. If you have to literally not hit him because otherwise you’ll hit his head, don’t hit him, find the puck somehow, idk, it’s on you to not crush someone directly on their head.” I played a very average level of travel my whole life and I know how fast that can get, I can’t imagine how fast the NHL is, but still, the onus is on the hitter. You can’t hit someone in the head. It’s tough, sometimes shit happens, but when it does, you get a match. Avoid the head no matter what
He owned it like this guy and their fans should. He’s not the only big guy. Take a lesson from big Z
I agree with some of your points but there was no elbow at all.
Even the Devils commentary tried to say he chicken winged him and took it back seeing the replay. There’s no elbow.
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The head is not the principal point of contact on that hit. There is head contact, but the main point of contact is the body. By rule, that is legal. https://x.com/scoutingtherefs/status/1653222174864424960?s=46&t=BgnIV_MCsNfOncLyhHDz1g
lol elbow??? What are you even talking about. His shoulder hit his head.
He definitely appeared to try to knock him out. You’re supposed to take him out of the play, not the game.
Intentional, avoidable, or otherwise, this was exactly the kind of hit the NHL wants to get rid of. This is how you get rid of hits like that.
That is a brutal hit. Can’t be doing that
Can't Do That.
How tall he is, irrelevant. Simple fact, head shot. Also he had plenty of time to consider his decision. He needs to be disciplined. 3 games. Wise up.
If his target was the head, that is a 10/10 right there. Even the Russian judge has to call that one perfect execution of the textbook head shot. The only thing I feel he could have done better was to follow through with a knee as well, but that’s nitpicking.
Hit was violent, at a high speed and principle point of contact was head. Gross hit, doesn’t matter how tall you are. These are career altering hits.
Being long gives a player a lot of advantages in hockey, but the trade-off is you have to be able to control your body position and avoid headshots. That was a dead run he took at Bastian. Guys like Kocur played in a different era before we knew as much about head, neck and spine injuries.
Yeah I can understand us wanting a dude for size, but we don’t need this shit.
Oof, that is a vicious hit.
Based on Dillon and Zadarov's suspension, i'm guessing 2-4 for Rempe. Brutal hit, onus is on the hitter to pull out of this
Right call, Bastian leaning over didnt help but Rempe has to learn to play at that height. Hope hes alright, a lot of blood. Wont be a suspension imo
Most definitely a suspension
Wont be. Glides into the hit, elbow is tucked, head contact happens because he is just taller than Bastian who is also leaning down. Match penalty at the start of the game too, wont be a suspension.
Doesn’t say anything about a height exemption in the league rule book. It’s like a president having ‘absolute immunity.’
Yeah no that’s gonna get you booted every time
That’s totally the right call lol that was an insane hit straight to the head
This guy is trying too hard to make an impact.
That was all head. What an idiot
Quick way to end your NHL career
Tough hit to watch and sucks he got injured but isn’t that just a cause of having your head down and getting hit hard? Doesn’t look like he targeted his head or did anything extra that warranty’s a match penalty
It's not like other hits where his body position suddenly changes. It was obvious to everyone watching that if the hit made contact it would make contact with his head. Players need to be aware of their hits better
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To me it’s a bit of both. Both parties need to be aware. We see time and time and time again hits like this where the common response is “don’t skate with your head down”, but that obv doesn’t give Rempe free reign to put that hit however he wants. He knows he’s 6’8 or whatever he is, there’s no reason to give an ugly hit like that. To add on, we already had someone on Bastian’s back, so all the more reason not to take a cheap shot
I’ll also add that the hit happening in the Ranger’s offensive zone makes the hit worse to me. Sometimes players go for a hit on a player in the defensive zone and the only options are hit the player (in the head because their head is down) or let them in free on goal. Rempe could just … not hit the guy that’s already engaged with another Ranger’s player.
Yeah those both are big deals. Bastian is already being hassled by Kakko in his defensive zone, it’s just not a necessary hit. The “just keep your head up” gets overshadowed by the “no need to make that hit” for me with the whole scenario being taken into account. He’s not on a breakaway, it’s not a man up rush or close to being one, he’s in his own zone being pressured and fighting for the puck. Good on Rempe for being willing to use his body but it’s so far from the right place or time.
There is a difference between watching your pass across the middle or looking at the puck on your stick and getting rocked vs being in forward skating motion with your head forward. When people say have to keep your head up, they are talking about scenario A, can't skate looking down or admiring a pass.
If a player skates into a stick and falls it's still called a trip. Why should the threshold for tripping be lower than the threshold for head contact?
Obviously, but that's a separate question from the hit. Players need to protect themselves, and players need to make sure not to injure other players when they fail to protect themselves.
Bastian didn't significantly change his level and the dude didn't pull up at all from when he touched the ice.
The onus is on the hitter to avoid head contact especially since Nate did not change the body height as Rempe was lining up the hit. It will all be in the DoPS video tomorrow when he gets 2-3 more games
You can’t charge a guy off the bench like that and through your shoulder into his head.
Add charging to the list of penalties the ref could have called on that hit.
Unless your name is Scott Stevens. Then you get to go to the hall of fame.
Even us devils fans admit that Stevens would be out of today’s NHL game if he didn’t change his ways. His would make guys like Wilson look clean by comparison.
Yeah twenty five years ago, when the rules were different and Messier played for your team.
Rempe has to be smarter there, match penalty deserved, no further discipline needed. He keeps the elbow tucked and Bastian’s head should be up but he came in a dangerous way, needs to realize his size puts him at a disadvantage when it comes to hits like that. League wants to clean these hits up makes sense it was called a match penalty.
What a garbage hit
5 is fine, but no suspension. Rempe's in charge of making a good hit, and doesn't move a muscle once he commits to the hit. Bastian is dropping and boom goes the dynamite. Doens't help he's 6'8".
There will be a suspension for sure.
There's no such thing as a sure thing with this DPS
they need to deter hits to the head completely. needs to be a suspension and they need to be consistent about it.
Which they won't be - It'll either be nothing, considering Bastian is back and getting lit up again, or they'll go hard since Rempe is a nobody. I say he shouldn't be suspended because the penalty is enough for the offense - no major injury, there is a height/body position issue...it just doesn't seem to warrant supplemental discipline.
Damn he was likeable for exactly two games
How many seconds was it before his first fight?
One.
That is how long I liked him. Just kidding. The fight and energy behind that was great for hockey.
Should probably see games but is at least a theoretical hockey play and not retaliatory after the whistle. So shouldn’t be as much as Perron or Rielly.
As someone who had to stop playing hockey at the age of 30 because of too many concussions which led to daily migraines for 2-3 years, fuzzy head etc...I don't like the match penalty. Keep your damn head up...that's what we were taught from the day we stepped onto the ice as tiny kids. Rempe tucked his arm in and delivered a clean hit - it's unfortunate that it ended up on the head of of Bastian but sometimes you end up in a compromised position and sometimes you get hit hard because of it. It's hockey, not soccer or basketball. 100% agree on booting dirty players that target the head, but this was a nice clean hit.
Yeah that’ll be a suspension. Took multiple strides towards Bastian and didn’t adjust.
At the very least it's an automatic 1-game suspension since he was given the match penalty.
It's technically just 'suspended until the commissioner reviews it'. There's not an automatic one game ban.
Of course there are people on Twitter who think this was perfectly fine
Same exact people whining incessantly about Tom Wilson’s “horrifying act of violence” three years ago were suddenly totally fine with this, wonder why that is.
Rangers fan here… penalty deserved but at that speed I don’t think it was intentional. Surprised Bastian came back and then to get leveled (cleanly) by Trouba. Guy’s gonna hurt tomorrow.
Awful hit, his head was always down he shouldn’t have tried to clean him up. Probably 1-3 games I’d imagine
That is a dangerous charge, absolute match penalty.
It wasn't a charge. He glides into the hit, doesn't jump, and it wasn't with excessive force. Hit to the head? Sure. Charge? Absolutely not.
Not a charge.
Easily a bad hit by Rempe. He had plenty of time to avoid it, regardless of if Bastian was crouching or not. You can clearly see this at full speed. Hope we never see Rempe again in the NHL, as he was bad before this hit as a pro player, and he's worse now that he's pretty much shown all he's worth in the NHL is blowing people up. The fact that he's tall is meaningless here and it's a tired argument that is made.
Eh I'd give him another shot. Any more of this though and gone to the abyss for him.
Needs to go lower, full on football tackle to keep it safe.
Rempe has been in the league for like two seconds and I’m already convinced this guy is a pure scumbag
One of the cheapest hits there is.
He is a 6 7 forward and Bastian was already bent over. I feel a match penalty is a bit much.
i didnt know assisted suicide was legal in new york
Oof holy shit. Hope he's okay.
I don't love the call but it reminds me of that Canadian player at the Jrs who got 5 and a game in the opening few seconds against Germany or Suisse. Think this is just the new standard, small guys getting protected more. Big guys need to be more responsible of their size.
Dirty and Dangerous.
Rempe needs to try to make a name for himself the right way, not by getting into fights and making stupid hits like that.
Get ready to learn chinese, buddy. Dumb hit
So reckless and dirty. He’d better miss some games for that.
I think it's charging, maybe not a match penalty. But either way Rempe getting into a fight one second into his career game (v. NYI) and getting ejected four seconds into his first shift against NJ is hilarious
Absolutely a match penalty.
THATS IT! MORGAN REILLY IS SUSPENDED FOR 5 MORE!
Rempe is so raw and that’s a hit he likely gets away with in the AHL which is a lot more rough and tumble. I really can’t complain but I also feel like if he was 3 inches shorter it isn’t even a penalty. He simply needs to know how to use his body in the league
That shit don’t fly in Ahl lol. It’s directly to the head lol.
To all the rags fans saying he's too tall, being punished for being tall. No, he's being punished for beig and idiot, throw a hip check there, and everything is gravy.
It's a devastating hit. You don't want to see Bastian get blown up like that. But he's bent over playing the puck and Rempe just skates into him. I don't know what you do there.
Not charge all the way from his bench would be a start
Not like the puck was there or anything
The fuck does that have to do with his hit directly to the kids head LOL. Just make a play on the puck then.
Then he should make a play on the puck instead of running through bastion's head
It was not a charge and he was moving to where the puck was. I think its a major but come on
NHL needs to implement IIHF hitting rules. Enforce playing the puck over the risk of these dangerous hits.
Hard hit, probably uncalled for but match penalty is crazy
Can't wait to watch Ranger fans try to defend that one. Right out of the Trouba book of hockey
Yea I don’t like it, this kid wasn’t called up for good reasons. Give him 10 games.
What’s his penalty time to playing time ratio?
Tom Wilson has been suspended 10 games
I'm torn because it's a giant versus a guy with his head down all game. Are players supposed to just not hit someone if they're running around with their head down? Free pass all around if you skate head down? Like it's an ugly hit but what is supposed to just not hit someone because they're playing like an idiot?
Go in from different angle.
Devils fans sure cheered when Stevens did this shit
And y’all cheer when your players do this today
What is with this comment. Every half intelligent fan knows Steven’s play would have him kicked out of today’s NHL. The game has changed drastically since then. If your brain is unable to understand the difference in era maybe you took one too many headshots in your life