A couple of days removed from the entertaining heavyweight bout between Matt Rempe and Ryan Reaves up in Toronto, the former Blueshirt heaped praise on the neophyte.

When speaking to reporters about Rempe, Reaves called him “a really nice kid.”

“It shows that fighting’s not dead in this sport. People still get amped up for it.”

Of course, he was referring to the great crowd the Maple Leafs had on Saturday night. Every time Rempe and Reaves came near each other, you could hear the excitement from fans who wanted to see the two square off.

Related: Flamboyant Rempe accepts Reaves’ challenge

It didn’t happen right away. Rempe chose to avoid Reaves early on with the Rangers ahead on an Alexis Lafreniere goal. It was a smart move. Whenever your team is up against an opponent, it’s better not to accept a fight in that situation. That could swing the momentum.

Later in the contest, Rempe came all the way across the ice to flatten Maple Leafs defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin against the boards. His feet raised up on the jaw-dropping hit that drew quite a reaction from the Leafs crowd. It was understandable.

Once he crushed Lyubushkin, who was forced to leave the game due to an injury, Rempe had to know that he would have to answer the bell.

Even in a very competitive back and forth game that saw each side battle back from one-goal deficits, you knew it was only a matter of time. With the Leafs leading the Rangers 4-3 on a John Tavares goal, Reaves had finally had enough. He wasn’t taking no for an answer.

Finally, the much anticipated bout happened with under six minutes left in the third period. Before he engaged, Rempe looked toward the Rangers bench. It was almost as if he was seeking their approval. It made for a comical moment.

Then, Rempe and Reaves squared off at center ice to the delight of pumped up fans at a capacity Scotiabank Arena that included 19,312 in attendance. The refs wisely got out of the way and let the two combatants handle their business.

The bigger Rempe launched some heavy rights that the smaller Reaves avoided. He used his reach to make it tough on Reaves. The younger Rempe did well early. But the more experienced Reaves came on in the second half of the fight. After re-watching it, it was a hard fought draw.

“That guy [Reaves] is a legend. That guy has been one of the most feared men in the league for 15 years,” Rempe told Mollie Walker of the NY Post after the morning skate on Monday.

“He’s going to be a menace in this league,” Reaves said about Rempe.

Unless the Rangers and Maple Leafs meet again in the playoffs, there won’t be a rematch until possibly the following season. Considering how exciting the game was, which the Leafs took 4-3 in a shootout, there’s probably a lot of fans who would sign up for a seven-game series between the Original 6 rivals.

If that happens, it probably won’t come until the Eastern Conference Final. One can only hope.