Are We Witnessing The Heel Turn Of New York Rangers Rookie Matt Rempe?

New York Rangers rookie Matt Rempe has no shot at the Calder Trophy (at least not this season. Depending on how many of the Rangers' last 18 games he plays he could qualify as a rookie next season). However, no rookie in the NHL not named Connor Bedard has grabbed attention like Rempe.

In 10 games, Rempe has four fights against serious heavyweights like the New York Islanders' Matt Martin, Philadelphia Flyers' Nicolas Deslauriers, Columbus Blue Jackets' Mathieu Oliver and Toronto Maple Leafs' tough-guy Ryan Reaves.

While the 21-year-old's throwback style has won over a lot of fans, there's one fan base that has undoubtedly never been too enthused by what Rempe does on the ice: New Jersey Devils fans.

It's been a somewhat disappointing year for the Devils — who look primed to miss the postseason despite entering as one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference — and in his two games against them, Rempe has raised eyebrows. 

A few weeks ago, he laid this questionable hit on New Jersey's Nate Bastion.

I'm sure the Devils didn't forget this, and in fact, the team even brought in heavyweight Kurtis MacDermid about a week later.

The two teams met again Monday night, and sure enough, Rempe dealt another hit. 

This time though, there was nothing questionable about it. It was 100% a brutal elbow to the head of Devil Jonas Siegenthaler late in the second period.

MacDermid just so happened to be on the ice for this and jumped in for his teammate. However, Rempe wanted nothing to do with him.

That hit earned Rempe a five-minute major and a game misconduct. On his way to the showers, he gave the Devils — who were trailing 3-1 and ultimately lost by that same margin — a wave as he passed.

This probably won't surprise you but the Devils didn't appreciate that one…

Devils Want Rempe Suspended For Hit On Siegenthaler

After the game, the Devils were not impressed by Rempe's actions, which earned him a hearing with the league's Department of Player Safety.

Will it result in a suspension? Probably.

As for how long? Who knows. It sometimes feels like the DPoS dishes out suspensions by assigning various punishments to a bunch of pigs and letting them race like you'd see at a county fair.

However, the Devils are certainly hoping to see a suspension.

After the game, MacDermid said he lost a lot of respect for Rempe for his actions.

"There's a right way to go about things and a wrong way," MacDermid said, per Sportsnet. "I kind of lost a lot of respect for him tonight.

"He's a young kid in this league, he has a lot to learn still. You don't do things like that in your first year in the league, especially. Like I said, I lost quite a bit of respect for him tonight."

Someone isn't feeling RempeMania…

There's no doubt that that was a dirty hit. Anytime you stick an elbow out like that you're asking for trouble and when 6-foot-8 like Rempe is, there's a higher chance that elbow is going to catch a dude's head.

Is this the start of Rempe gaining a bit of a reputation for cheap shots, or is he still getting acquainted with the NHL?

Time will tell, but we know how the Devils answer that question.

"Everyone that knows the game knows that [Siegenthaler] is in a vulnerable spot," Devils head coach Travis Green said. "Call it predatorial or whatever you want to call it. It’s definitely not the first time that it’s happened and second time against us."

I think Rempe is going to be getting two or three games off, but, like I said, the DPoS sometimes likes to surprise us.