Ryan Whitney goes off about Matt Rempe fighting too much

In the last few weeks, 21 year old Rangers rookie forward Matthew Rempe has taken the NHL by storm. In almost every single game he's played, the 6'7, 220 pound Rempe has fought or cause controversy with a massive hit - to the point where he actually had more penalty minutes than ice time in his 8 game career.

However, many fans are beginning to worry about the dangers of fighting so often for Rempe. There's obvious concerns about repeated concussions leading to problems later in life for Rempe, but this is his way of making a name for himself in the NHL. In a recent clip of the Spittin' Chiclets podcast, former Edmonton Oiler player Ryan Whitney went off defending Rempe from criticism of fighting too much.




While we do have knowledge that hockey fights and enforcers are massively impacted by CTE, a traumatic brain injury that greatly affects quality of life, Rempe is aware of these risks as well and he's paying the price to make a name for himself, and stay in the NHL.

It's a phenomenon that used to occur much more often in the NHL - a rookie making a huge physical impression to stay on the team. It's not a new event, and Rempe is well within his rights to fight anyone who is willing. He still should take care of himself, and make sure he's able to have a long career, but fighting is essential to his game and no one can tell him to stop.