“Super-Pests” taking place of true enforcers
NHLHS writers Anthony Curatolo and David Strehle take a look at the NHL’s vanishing true enforcer, and the new breed that is taking their place.
It seems that a recent trend is continuing, and a certain type of player is disappearing from the National Hockey League landscape.
The true enforcer, once a prominent component in the makeup of an NHL team, is all but becoming extinct in today’s new NHL. A few still remain but for the most part, club’s general managers have said they will go with “team toughness”.
The history
There have always been fighters in the NHL, but during the 1970′s and 1980′s, NHL enforcers enjoyed what would become their hey day in the league.
In the ’70′s, some teams even employed four or more players that could act as their team’s respective police men. If a player on a club messed with one of your team’s skill players, there would be a certain amount of hell to pay. Bench-clearing brawls became commonplace, and the NHL became a battle ground. This is when the not so affectionate term “goon” was the most frequently used to describe enforcers.
But the league enacted rules, fines and suspensions concerning whoever was determined to be the first man off the bench to join a fracas, and those types of occurrences became more and more of a rarity.
In the ’80′s and 90′s, most clubs employed one true heavyweight to police their team. Pugilists named Bob Probert, Troy Crowder, Dave Brown, Joey Kocur, and Dave Semenko kept opponents honest. When the teams with these players came to town, there was an air of excitement that came along with them. Games that paired clubs with premier heavyweights on opposite sides became hot tickets.
Today
George Parros of the Anaheim Ducks is a good example of one of the leftover enforcers. At 6′ 5″ and 232 pounds, Parros is a heavyweight. And with 13 goals, 25 points, and 694 penalty minutes over the course of 289 career NHL games, Parros’ role with the Ducks will never be questioned.
Players that are still known as enforcers, with many similarities to Parros around the league are Eric Godard (316 Games Played, 6 Goals, 15 Points, 728 Penalty Minutes) of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Derek Boogard (255 games, 2 G, 15 P, 544 PIMs) of the New York Rangers, Jody Shelley (538 games, 16 G, 49 P, 1,347 PIMs) of the Philadelphia Flyers, and Colton Orr of the Toronto Maple Leafs (327 games, 8 G, 17 P, 788 PIMs).
The “new breed”
While the new NHL enforcer is more of an “ultimate weapon” in today’s era, they have to have some skill tied into their game – more so than simply being able to drop the gloves and dance.
Sean Avery is a perfect example, and one that can be used as the definition of what the new NHL brings with their new “blood” of what was once known as an enforcer. Although his time with Dallas did not fair well, the fiesty forward has found a home, again, with the Rangers and fits in to their plans perfectly.
Avery has earned over 100 penalty minutes in any season he has appeared in more than 50 games and has not slipped below the 15 goal total during those seasons. Fantasy statistics aside, Sean Avery has helped create this new breed within the NHL.
He knows, perfectly, how to get under the skin and into the mind of his opponents while on the ice. Time after time we have seen Avery yapping away at a player on the opposing team thus creating a stir. Although Sean may not drop the gloves as often as many fans would like to see, there truly isn’t a need for him to do so unless it is called for. Yes, his reputation may create a difficult situation and some questionable calls during a game, but Sean Avery does his job and he does it with perfection.
Dan Carcillo is another player who can be used to compare and contrast the difference between an enforcer and agitator.
Aside from his tactics on the ice, he has been able to score some clutch goals with the Flyers as well.
Although Carcillo has never put up amazing offensive numbers, he does contribute on the score sheet and we all know how much his presence on the ice means to his club. With the acquisition of Jody Shelley this off-season, Carcillo will be called upon to play more hockey and less enforcer this year. At a bright young age of 25, expect his numbers with his new role to rise offensively.
Carcillo has also been flagged, while on the ice, for infractions that come due to reputation and has been the goat of the game, but do not let that stand in the way of his true value while on the ice. Coach Laviolette will help Carcillo’s game develop, even more so now that the organization has signed Jody Shelley this off-season to take on the role of “enforcer”
Another player who has created a 180 degree turn in their game, much in part due to the way a coach helped influence him is Steve Downie, a one-time NHL outcast. With the assistance of head coach Rick Tocchet last year, Downie has been able to turn his game around finding a top six spot last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Known for his “attitude” and rugged style of play, Downie brings a complete game with him – hands to put the puck in the back of the net, and fearless in sticking up not only for himself but his teammates.
Arron Asham of the Pittsburgh Penguins played in 72 games with the Philadelphia Flyers, scoring 10 goals and 24 points, while recording 126 PIMs. Asham’s style of play will go along well with that of teammate Matt Cooke, who ended up with 15 goals, 30 points, and 106 PIMs. Cooke is one of the most hated agitators, both with fans of opposing teams and opposing players alike. His antics last season drove superstar Ilya Kovalckuk, then of the Atlanta Thrashers, to retaliate, uncharacteristically attacking the Pittsburgh forward.
Steve Ott of the Dallas Stars is another example of the ever-evolving breed of agitators. Last season, he notched 22 goals and 36 points to go along with his 146 PIMs.
The Vancouver Canucks’ Alex Burrows played in all 82 games last year, scoring 35 goals, 67 points, and racking up 121 PIMs. All the while, he was under the opposition’s skin and a thorn in a certain official’s side. Burrows is taking the agitator role to a new level, much the same way that Brendan Shanahan and Keith Tkachuk defined the role of “power forward” back in the early to mid-1990′s.
In today’s era of hockey, there continues to be a place in the game for fighting. The old saying of “I went to a hockey game and a boxing match broke out” may have simmered somewhat, but more often than not, there will be a scrap or two during a hockey game. Especially when you consider the heated rivalries amongst many of the clubs around the league.
There may not be bench clearing brawls anymore, but you can bet your bottom dollar that there will be one hell of a scrap when two players prepare to drop the gloves during a game. It remains a major factor in separating hockey from many, if not most of the other sports out there.
The cuts, contusions, and fisticuffs help add to the action of what is already the greatest sport on Earth.
As professional hockey continues to change and moves more towards the skill end of the spectrum, players that will be able to contribute in all ways will find their way onto NHL rosters. With the salary cap in full force and affect, teams can no longer afford to keep one-dimensional players on board.
Dave Strehle
NHLHS Philadelphia Flyers Correspondent
dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @PhilaDAVEia
Anthony Curatolo
NHLHS New York Islanders Correspondent
acuratolo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @HockeyGuy_AC
How can you leave Jordin Tootoo of the list of hated pests on enemy ice? This video I put up last year has 269 comments and they all hate him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsjOS1jPk0o
Buddy, no doubt that Tootoo is on the most-hated list and he’s definitely an agitator-extraordinaire…but we were focusing more on the guys that had better offensive numbers. While Tootoo is one of the toughest guys, pound-for-pound in the entire league, his offensive output is pretty comparable to some of the heavyweight enforcers that are left in the NHL.
Thanks for sharing the video. Shows just how devastating Jordin’s punches can be, and I’m sure some Columbus fans have Tootoo listed as public enemy #1.
dave hit some solid points in his reply about tootoo
and to be quite honest, he really just slipped my mind.
sure we were looking for guys that can hit the 13-20 goal mark, but tootoo deserves all the credit for what he does, and does well.
as does a guy like jared boll
etc.
Jordin Tootoo is actually a great example of the types of players you spoke of towards the end of the article. The type of player who is skilled and can enforce. If you look at how Tootoo played in the 2009-2010 season, his fights were way down. He is trying to become more skilled on all sides of the game and still be the enforcer when it counts. If he continues working towards this, he will leave one heck of a legacy when his career is over.
You left guys like Draper and Maltby of Detroit off who have made a living at getting under people’s skins AND putting goals on the board. The wings “Grind Line” of the 90′s was the epitome of these new breed of enforcers… they would play you tough and get under your skin to draw penalties which would allow the top skill guys on the ice in a man advantage situation.
Not to mention the guy every goalie hates.. Thomas Holstrom
Absolutely correct, Alex, the Grind Line was an awesome group, especially in the Red Wings’ Cup years. As was the Devils’ Crash Line of (one of the all-time agitators) Claude Lemieux-Bobby Holik-Randy McKay…
Off the top of my head, some of the better old-time agitators were Matthew Barnaby, Dale Hunter, I can even remember back to Kenny “The Rat” Linseman in his early days with the Flyers. He would get something started, then let Paul Holmgren come in and fight his battle for him. When there were melees where every player on the ice was involved in a scrum, Linseman would skate around and pull the skates out from under the opposition players with his stick.
And speaking of the Flyers, Bobby Clarke would probably be considered another all-timer…
So many great ones through the years…we could probably do another article just on the “Godfathers” of the trade.
I think the line is “I went to a boxing match and a hockey game broke out”…
You were mentioning legends who could get opponent players grrrrrazy and allso score good offensive numbers. I can think no-one better than Esa Tikkanen. 5 time cup winner was arguably the most hated player of his time. Still I believe that mr Tikkanen was heavily underrated for his offensice skills. Just a few expamples:
1986-87 Edmonton Oilers NHL 76 34+44=78 120 pim
1987-88 Edmonton Oilers NHL 80 23+51=74 153 pim
87-88 playoffs: 19 10+17=27 72 pim
list goes on. Top line points for an agitator. And they even named language to his name. Can anyone speake Tiki-Talk? =)
Tyson Nash was an early version of the penalty-inducing pest who played for STL in the late 90s-early 00s. Not a fighter, but he would just go out there and piss people off like nobody’s business.
Even with the League trying to get the “enforcer’s” to leave, it is obvious that they are still needed. They are more than a guy that protects a star, they are excitement that brings new fans into the sport. How many people are sitting in their seats when a fight happens? Very few if any. The superpest are what has spoiled the NBA and has lead to their decreased ratings. Put a guy like Probert (God bless his family) against a guy like Joe Kocur and you get great ratings. Even if they don’t fight, everyone tunes in to see if they will. Superpest? Whinny kids is a better term.