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| John Scott (SJ) and Tom Sestito (VAN). |
Love it or hate it, the days of the goon are over. With the exception of John Scott of the San Jose Sharks, the extinction of the hulking bears on skates has been progressing for a few years now, and it seems the transformation is nearly complete. The last true fighters of the NHL have already come and gone, with the recently retired George Parros being the last pedal of the flower to finally wither. With only a small (or big depending on the way you look at it) handful of one-dimensional fighters
remaining in the league, teams are now re-inventing the way the enforcer is defined in this league.
The "Slapshot" style of hockey originated in the early 70's, where bottom-feeder teams in the NHL
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| Dave Hanson from Slap Shot. |
such as the recently added Philadelphia Flyers were struggling to find skill to put on their team to attract a fanbase, so they would go on to sign goons and enforcers to attract a crowd and cheer on the brutality of the game. The peak of the goon would come in 1974 and 1975, when the Flyers intimidated their way to victory and back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships, tagging them the "Broad Street Bullies" by the NHL faithful. The Montreal Canadiens would eventually outclass the Flyers and restore peace in the NHL to a degree, with the Flyers never being able to capture their third cup with their "intimidation" tactics.
Fighting has always been a part of hockey, and to suggest that fighting is leaving the game any time soon is inaccurate. However, teams are now redefining the way an enforcer is defined. Long gone are the 6'5 giants (minus Scott) that simply hop on the ice with the intent to either demolish an opponent
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| Paul Kariya seeing stars, 2003 SCF. |
with a giant hit or drop the gloves and beat someone senseless. This is nothing but good news for the smaller, more skilled players in the league who arguably become more valuable with the removal of "targets" on their back from goons and heavy hitters. The NHL is also cracking down on senseless hits and violent intentions, something that the stars of yesterday could only dream of (see Mike Modano, Paul Kariya etc. etc.), and this will prolong the productivity and careers of the league's superstars while the "power-forward" role will still need some tweaking. It's not like the league doesn't encourage contact and strength, but the way the game is played and officiated has changed drastically over the past decade alone.
Moving forward, the label "enforcer" will be thrown around profusely, as it always has been, but the role of the enforcer in the NHL will be heightened, and the expectations (and limitations) of the
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| Derek Dorsett of the Canucks. |
player will be steeper as the game inevitably becomes faster and faster, with more skill and speed joining the league every day. Players like Derek Dorsett, Jared Boll, Steve Downie and Travis Hamonic will embrace the title if needed, but also bring a skill-set to the game and can contribute at either end of the ice, rather than bring in a John Scott, Cody McLeod, Tim Jackman, Brian McGrattan, Kevin Westgarth style of enforcer that could knock the lights out of any of the players listed above them, but couldn't stickhandle around a pylon to save their lives.
In a revamped National Hockey League that demands skill and speed, the days of the hulking goon are over. It's not the end of fighting in hockey, or the NHL for that matter (the goons always find their way around the minors simply for the entertainment factor), it just means that if you want to drop the gloves, you better be able to do something with the gloves still on if you want to get paid over a million dollars a season playing in the most skilled league on the planet. We will miss the Stortini vs. Parros showdowns we all knew we were in for when the Oilers played the Ducks, but we still have those incredible Flyers / Penguins blood baths, don't we?
