We’ll never know.
That’s right; we’ll never know whether Matt Rempe is a one-dimensional goon, a Sideshow Charlie or – if you’ll pardon the expression – an honest-to-goodness hockey player.
This afternoon’s Garden game between the Islanders and Rangers was to supply the answer. But we already have the answer.
He’s back in Hartford where – many sensible Blueshirt fans will tell you – he belongs. Mind you, The Maven is not one of them.
When I said at the top of the column “We’ll never know,” I meant that New York’s general staff – that’s you Chris Drury and you, Peter Laviolette – never gave Rempe a reasonable chance to become a genuine three-dimensional stickhandler.
What Lavvy did was toss the Big Guy a tiny bone; like five minutes of ice time here and seven minutes there. The poor guy never got out of first gear.
But, let’s be honest, Rempe is as much at fault as anyone. When the Rangers imported him from Hartford last season to face the Islanders in the outdoor game at MetLife Stadium, Rempe had an opportunity to demonstrate his hockey skills.
So, what did the biggest, heaviest player in the NHL do? He thought it was a better idea to pummel the Islanders Matt Martin who was 26 pounds lighter than Rempe and four inches shorter. How could Rempe possibly lose?
Okay, okay, so you’re going to tell me that he had to show how tough he was? But, more than anything, we wanted to see if the Skating Giraffe could play hockey and he never really got the chance.
Oh, he could fight – sort of. He made the mistake of picking on Matthieu Olivier last season and the Blue Jackets right wing merely beat the crap out of him. Rempe’s recent bout with Washington’s Dylan McIllrath left Matt with a bloodied left cheek.
“New York fans love the rough stuff,” says The Old Scout, “but they also know their hockey. They wanted to see Matt do more than just fight. They wanted to see him score goals and set up plays.”
Jess Rubenstein, a long-time bird dog of the ice lanes who was the first spot Vincent Mancini as a future NHL ace, agrees that – if properly handled – Rempe could be a useful big leaguer. (Repeat: if properly handled.)
So, what we’re left with is a Sideshow Charlie whose act might have brought back vaudeville but didn’t impress the Rangers high command.
Nor did it impress sage hockey fans – such as David Perlmutter of New Rochelle – who told me from the get-go that Rempe didn’t belong.
Wise Hockey News columnist Ken Campbell agrees but with a succinct Canadian perspective.
“I have no time for one-dimensional enforcers in hockey. I have no time for Matt Rempe.” Nor does Peter Laviolette. So, it’s au revoir to a brief Broadway hit that’s back on the road.
