Top Enforcers of the past 20 years?

Who would make the "Tough Guy" Hall of Fame?

Not thinking of offensive abilities, or anything else. Strictly who were the toughest, meanest, feistiest players of the past 20 years? Some justification would be nice.

[1.]Bob Probert
[2.]Jay Miller
[3.]Chris Nilan
[4.]Joe Kocur
[5.]Stu Grimson

Who would make the "Tough Guy" Hall of Fame?

Not thinking of offensive abilities, or anything else. Strictly who were the toughest, meanest, feistiest players of the past 20 years? Some justification would be nice.

Good Topic

1. Bob Probert-In my mind the toughest player ever to lace em up. Was the complete package. He also covers the mean part of the equasion he would do anything to win a scrap.

2. Dave Brown-The best leftie since I have been following the game close. Also one mean SOB, He would hit you when you were down, give you the lumber and also legitimatly kick ass.

3.Joe Kocur-The Hardest puncher that I ever saw. Just ask Brad Dalgarno, Jim Playfair or any of his many victims. Also he paid the price for it his hands were horribly beat up but he didnt use that as an excuse not to do his job and he gets kudos for that.

4. Craig Berube-Probably the fastest puncher that I saw " The Chief" threw em fast and hard and was one of the few guys to give a Prime Probie fits.

5. Tie Domi- His biggest weapons was his unusually hard head but he has big time fighting ability a card that is second to none.

6. Rob Ray-I know a lot of people think that he only was effective because of his Jersey trick. I used to be one of them. But if you watch footage of him after the Rob Ray rule was put in he had as many victories or more as before and during the time that he played he had almost as many if not as many KO"s andd TKO's as Tony Twist.

7.Tony Twist-The second best Pure puncher next to Kocur that I Saw. (I Know that sounds wierd after saying that Ray had aas many KO's and TKO's as Twister but Ray had a lot more scraps.) Twisters Broke a lot of peop;es faces including Rob Ray and Mark Jannsens and had Numerous KO's including Peluso and Shawn Antoski.

8. Marty McSorley-Awesome Stamina and a great card.

9. John Kordic-" Rambo was a awesome fighter with an incredibly quick left hand, his wars with Jay Miller and Basil McRae were legendary and in Bettmans NHL seem to sadly be a dying breed.

10. Stu Grimson-The Grim Reaper was feared for good reason this was a huge man with lots and lots of ability who got better and better as his career went on. He KO"d Reid Simpson in a brutal KO in a game I Attended.

11. Jay Miller-See John Kordic alhough he seemed more willing and able to use the right hand.

12.Jeff Odgers-Showed up every night and battled for whateer theam he played far and the league needs more players like him.

13. Jim Cummins-Much like Odgers a true warrior.

14. Shane Churla-Fast puncher who battled every night.

15. Darin Kimble-See Churla. In fact the two had the best fight I have seen live during the 90-91 playoffs.

16. Jim McKenzie-A great fighter who is still playing and is often overlooked because he has changed teams a lot but he has supreme skills and gave Twist fits when they fought.

17. Kelly Chase-not a big man but a true warrior and the smartest fighter that I saw

I have only been following the fights closely since 90-91 and left of a lot of the older greats like Gillies, Fotiu, Behn Wilson, Nystrom because I have seen very little of them and I didnt use any curreent kids because I ned to see a lot more of most of them.

The list isnt meant to be in order I was just using anames and adding reasons why they would be in a tough guys HOF.

c-carp has a good list.

I'd also add Behn Wilson. He was a good defenseman, but he could really throw'em. IMO the best fighter the Flyers have ever had (and that's saying something :D ) . Wilson had great one-punch power, just a devastating left hand.

Some others, more short term guys: Darryl Stanley and Glen Cochrane.

no love for Semenko yet?

no love for Semenko yet?

No kidding! Semenko's gotta be top three.

Sandy McCarthy. Not the Sandy of the past few years, the Sandy of the mid 90's with Calgary.

Tiger Williams, Dave Semenko, Tie Domi and Bob Probert would by my top 4 nominations into this fictional Tough Guy Hall of fame.

Good Topic

1. Bob Probert-In my mind the toughest player ever to lace em up. Was the complete package. He also covers the mean part of the equasion he would do anything to win a scrap.

2. Dave Brown-The best leftie since I have been following the game close. Also one mean SOB, He would hit you when you were down, give you the lumber and also legitimatly kick ass.

3.Joe Kocur-The Hardest puncher that I ever saw. Just ask Brad Dalgarno, Jim Playfair or any of his many victims. Also he paid the price for it his hands were horribly beat up but he didnt use that as an excuse not to do his job and he gets kudos for that.

4. Craig Berube-Probably the fastest puncher that I saw " The Chief" threw em fast and hard and was one of the few guys to give a Prime Probie fits.

5. Tie Domi- His biggest weapons was his unusually hard head but he has big time fighting ability a card that is second to none.

6. Rob Ray-I know a lot of people think that he only was effective because of his Jersey trick. I used to be one of them. But if you watch footage of him after the Rob Ray rule was put in he had as many victories or more as before and during the time that he played he had almost as many if not as many KO"s andd TKO's as Tony Twist.

7.Tony Twist-The second best Pure puncher next to Kocur that I Saw. (I Know that sounds wierd after saying that Ray had aas many KO's and TKO's as Twister but Ray had a lot more scraps.) Twisters Broke a lot of peop;es faces including Rob Ray and Mark Jannsens and had Numerous KO's including Peluso and Shawn Antoski.

8. Marty McSorley-Awesome Stamina and a great card.

9. John Kordic-" Rambo was a awesome fighter with an incredibly quick left hand, his wars with Jay Miller and Basil McRae were legendary and in Bettmans NHL seem to sadly be a dying breed.

10. Stu Grimson-The Grim Reaper was feared for good reason this was a huge man with lots and lots of ability who got better and better as his career went on. He KO"d Reid Simpson in a brutal KO in a game I Attended.

11. Jay Miller-See John Kordic alhough he seemed more willing and able to use the right hand.

12.Jeff Odgers-Showed up every night and battled for whateer theam he played far and the league needs more players like him.

13. Jim Cummins-Much like Odgers a true warrior.

14. Shane Churla-Fast puncher who battled every night.

15. Darin Kimble-See Churla. In fact the two had the best fight I have seen live during the 90-91 playoffs.

16. Jim McKenzie-A great fighter who is still playing and is often overlooked because he has changed teams a lot but he has supreme skills and gave Twist fits when they fought.

17. Kelly Chase-not a big man but a true warrior and the smartest fighter that I saw

I have only been following the fights closely since 90-91 and left of a lot of the older greats like Gillies, Fotiu, Behn Wilson, Nystrom because I have seen very little of them and I didnt use any curreent kids because I ned to see a lot more of most of them.

The list isnt meant to be in order I was just using anames and adding reasons why they would be in a tough guys HOF.

Every once in a while there will come someone who will post something so overwhelming and detailed, it will frighten the rest of the posters away.
:bow:

Good Topic

1. Bob Probert-In my mind the toughest player ever to lace em up. Was the complete package. He also covers the mean part of the equasion he would do anything to win a scrap.

2. Dave Brown-The best leftie since I have been following the game close. Also one mean SOB, He would hit you when you were down, give you the lumber and also legitimatly kick ass.

3.Joe Kocur-The Hardest puncher that I ever saw. Just ask Brad Dalgarno, Jim Playfair or any of his many victims. Also he paid the price for it his hands were horribly beat up but he didnt use that as an excuse not to do his job and he gets kudos for that.

4. Craig Berube-Probably the fastest puncher that I saw " The Chief" threw em fast and hard and was one of the few guys to give a Prime Probie fits.

5. Tie Domi- His biggest weapons was his unusually hard head but he has big time fighting ability a card that is second to none.

6. Rob Ray-I know a lot of people think that he only was effective because of his Jersey trick. I used to be one of them. But if you watch footage of him after the Rob Ray rule was put in he had as many victories or more as before and during the time that he played he had almost as many if not as many KO"s andd TKO's as Tony Twist.

7.Tony Twist-The second best Pure puncher next to Kocur that I Saw. (I Know that sounds wierd after saying that Ray had aas many KO's and TKO's as Twister but Ray had a lot more scraps.) Twisters Broke a lot of peop;es faces including Rob Ray and Mark Jannsens and had Numerous KO's including Peluso and Shawn Antoski.

8. Marty McSorley-Awesome Stamina and a great card.

9. John Kordic-" Rambo was a awesome fighter with an incredibly quick left hand, his wars with Jay Miller and Basil McRae were legendary and in Bettmans NHL seem to sadly be a dying breed.

10. Stu Grimson-The Grim Reaper was feared for good reason this was a huge man with lots and lots of ability who got better and better as his career went on. He KO"d Reid Simpson in a brutal KO in a game I Attended.

11. Jay Miller-See John Kordic alhough he seemed more willing and able to use the right hand.

12.Jeff Odgers-Showed up every night and battled for whateer theam he played far and the league needs more players like him.

13. Jim Cummins-Much like Odgers a true warrior.

14. Shane Churla-Fast puncher who battled every night.

15. Darin Kimble-See Churla. In fact the two had the best fight I have seen live during the 90-91 playoffs.

16. Jim McKenzie-A great fighter who is still playing and is often overlooked because he has changed teams a lot but he has supreme skills and gave Twist fits when they fought.

17. Kelly Chase-not a big man but a true warrior and the smartest fighter that I saw

I have only been following the fights closely since 90-91 and left of a lot of the older greats like Gillies, Fotiu, Behn Wilson, Nystrom because I have seen very little of them and I didnt use any curreent kids because I ned to see a lot more of most of them.

The list isnt meant to be in order I was just using anames and adding reasons why they would be in a tough guys HOF.

Beautifil list, that's above and beyond anything I ever expected anyone to put up.

John Ferguson. One of thoughest players to ever wear the bleu, blanc et rouge and the biggest reason why bigger teams weren't allowed to manhandle the smaller stars of the Montreal Canadiens during the 60s. From the moment he suited up for the Montreal Canadiens Ferguson vowed to be "the meanest, rottenest, most miserable cuss ever to play in the NHL."

For his career: 500 games, 145 goals, 303 points and 1214 penalty minutes.

Clark Gillies - Didn't have a lot of takers but was certainly one of the best in his day.

1A. Probert - sheer # of fights, longevity, didn't agree with the untied shirt thing, big addy.

1B Wilson - no known losses, could throw with ANYBODY, when he felt like it, not a true team enforcer.

2 Gillies - Jethro is the essence of the true power forward.

3 Brown - the epitome of a true team enforcer, never refused the dance.

4 Howe/Ferguson - would have been forces in ANY era.

5 Johnathon, Domi, Fraser, Nilan, Holt, Brigdman, Nystrom, Howatt - who says sze matters?

6 Fotiu, McSorley, Twist, etc., on ant given day could beat anybody.

7 out of time....... :dunno:

probert was just a bad ass
grimson was fun to watch moida ppl too

Larry Playfair (used to have trouble finding people to dance with)
Joey Kocur (used to tape his fingers before every game)
Dave Brown (dirty, dirty, dirty..."likes to fight" guy)
Jeff Chychrun (helped restore Flyers B.S.B. days in the mid-80's)
Bob Probert (obvious reasons...just one sick dude)
Alan May (wanted to "go" every night)
Dave Schultz (The Hammer)
Tony Twist (one punch'll shatter your orbital bone)
Brad May (ask Ken Baumgartner and Terry Carkner)
Kevin Maguire (now a linesman; had one hell of a rivalry with Probert in the 80's)
Troy Malette (he was pretty decent)
Rob Ray (homer pick, but good at the job- won more often than not)

these are a few that come to mind off the top of my head....

Probert.

Probert.Definatly the NO1 guy in my opinion, Who else would you put on a list.

Definatly the NO1 guy in my opinion, Who else would you put on a list.

Probert was obviously a far better player, but I don't recall dave Brown ever losing a fight as a member of the Flyers, I didn't see him play too many of his games in Edmonton.

Two words...........


Troy Crowder

[QUOTE=c-carp]Good Topic

1. Bob Probert-In my mind the toughest player ever to lace em up. Was the complete package. He also covers the mean part of the equasion he would do anything to win a scrap.

2. Dave Brown-The best leftie since I have been following the game close. Also one mean SOB, He would hit you when you were down, give you the lumber and also legitimatly kick ass.

3.Joe Kocur-The Hardest puncher that I ever saw. Just ask Brad Dalgarno, Jim Playfair or any of his many victims. Also he paid the price for it his hands were horribly beat up but he didnt use that as an excuse not to do his job and he gets kudos for that.

4. Craig Berube-Probably the fastest puncher that I saw " The Chief" threw em fast and hard and was one of the few guys to give a Prime Probie fits.

5. Tie Domi- His biggest weapons was his unusually hard head but he has big time fighting ability a card that is second to none.

6. Rob Ray-I know a lot of people think that he only was effective because of his Jersey trick. I used to be one of them. But if you watch footage of him after the Rob Ray rule was put in he had as many victories or more as before and during the time that he played he had almost as many if not as many KO"s andd TKO's as Tony Twist.

7.Tony Twist-The second best Pure puncher next to Kocur that I Saw. (I Know that sounds wierd after saying that Ray had aas many KO's and TKO's as Twister but Ray had a lot more scraps.) Twisters Broke a lot of peop;es faces including Rob Ray and Mark Jannsens and had Numerous KO's including Peluso and Shawn Antoski.

8. Marty McSorley-Awesome Stamina and a great card.

9. John Kordic-" Rambo was a awesome fighter with an incredibly quick left hand, his wars with Jay Miller and Basil McRae were legendary and in Bettmans NHL seem to sadly be a dying breed.

10. Stu Grimson-The Grim Reaper was feared for good reason this was a huge man with lots and lots of ability who got better and better as his career went on. He KO"d Reid Simpson in a brutal KO in a game I Attended.

11. Jay Miller-See John Kordic alhough he seemed more willing and able to use the right hand.

12.Jeff Odgers-Showed up every night and battled for whateer theam he played far and the league needs more players like him.

13. Jim Cummins-Much like Odgers a true warrior.

14. Shane Churla-Fast puncher who battled every night.

15. Darin Kimble-See Churla. In fact the two had the best fight I have seen live during the 90-91 playoffs.

16. Jim McKenzie-A great fighter who is still playing and is often overlooked because he has changed teams a lot but he has supreme skills and gave Twist fits when they fought.

17. Kelly Chase-not a big man but a true warrior and the smartest fighter that I saw

QUOTE]

This is a fantastic list though I would question some of the guys at the bottom, and I don't think I would put Berube in the top 5 let alone top 10. Two guys that I think should be mentioned and aren't are Wendel Clark and Link Gaetz. Clark especially was a tough SOB. Though in his early days he was oft injured when he did drop the gloves he put on a heck of a show. Gaetz was a little more crazy than good. But the man could throw them. I would definately put Clark in the top 10 ahead of Ray, McSorley, and Grimson..all of whom have received a Clark knuckle-sandwich in their day.

[QUOTE=c-carp]Good Topic

1. Bob Probert-In my mind the toughest player ever to lace em up. Was the complete package. He also covers the mean part of the equasion he would do anything to win a scrap.

2. Dave Brown-The best leftie since I have been following the game close. Also one mean SOB, He would hit you when you were down, give you the lumber and also legitimatly kick ass.

3.Joe Kocur-The Hardest puncher that I ever saw. Just ask Brad Dalgarno, Jim Playfair or any of his many victims. Also he paid the price for it his hands were horribly beat up but he didnt use that as an excuse not to do his job and he gets kudos for that.

4. Craig Berube-Probably the fastest puncher that I saw " The Chief" threw em fast and hard and was one of the few guys to give a Prime Probie fits.

5. Tie Domi- His biggest weapons was his unusually hard head but he has big time fighting ability a card that is second to none.

6. Rob Ray-I know a lot of people think that he only was effective because of his Jersey trick. I used to be one of them. But if you watch footage of him after the Rob Ray rule was put in he had as many victories or more as before and during the time that he played he had almost as many if not as many KO"s andd TKO's as Tony Twist.

7.Tony Twist-The second best Pure puncher next to Kocur that I Saw. (I Know that sounds wierd after saying that Ray had aas many KO's and TKO's as Twister but Ray had a lot more scraps.) Twisters Broke a lot of peop;es faces including Rob Ray and Mark Jannsens and had Numerous KO's including Peluso and Shawn Antoski.

8. Marty McSorley-Awesome Stamina and a great card.

9. John Kordic-" Rambo was a awesome fighter with an incredibly quick left hand, his wars with Jay Miller and Basil McRae were legendary and in Bettmans NHL seem to sadly be a dying breed.

10. Stu Grimson-The Grim Reaper was feared for good reason this was a huge man with lots and lots of ability who got better and better as his career went on. He KO"d Reid Simpson in a brutal KO in a game I Attended.

11. Jay Miller-See John Kordic alhough he seemed more willing and able to use the right hand.

12.Jeff Odgers-Showed up every night and battled for whateer theam he played far and the league needs more players like him.

13. Jim Cummins-Much like Odgers a true warrior.

14. Shane Churla-Fast puncher who battled every night.

15. Darin Kimble-See Churla. In fact the two had the best fight I have seen live during the 90-91 playoffs.

16. Jim McKenzie-A great fighter who is still playing and is often overlooked because he has changed teams a lot but he has supreme skills and gave Twist fits when they fought.

17. Kelly Chase-not a big man but a true warrior and the smartest fighter that I saw

QUOTE]

This is a fantastic list though I would question some of the guys at the bottom, and I don't think I would put Berube in the top 5 let alone top 10. Two guys that I think should be mentioned and aren't are Wendel Clark and Link Gaetz. Clark especially was a tough SOB. Though in his early days he was oft injured when he did drop the gloves he put on a heck of a show. Gaetz was a little more crazy than good. But the man could throw them. I would definately put Clark in the top 10 ahead of Ray, McSorley, and Grimson..all of whom have received a Clark knuckle-sandwich in their day.

I am a big Wendel Clark fan and he was a glaring omission that should have made the list. I also could have put Rick Tocchet on. A far as Gaetz goes he definatly could have been a heavyweight contender if he wasnt a screwball. The fight he had with Probert in the Cow Palace when he played with San Jose was an alltime classic. He also had two great bouts with Kocur when he played with the North Stars and Dropped Randy McKay in the only battle that I think they had. Maybe I will start a thread on tough guys who were also good players. Wendel would be a good start.

I also agree Wendel Clark should be on the list somewhere. I personally don't recall Wendel ever losing too many fights and he took on all big boys (Probert, McSorley, etc.).

He was a good hockey player too, better than many of the goons already mentioned. Great shot.

Two words...........


Troy CrowderAwesome for a brief period, but for me he just didnt maintain it long enough. When he left the devils and went to Detriot you didnt hear much from him. I know that he had back problems. I put him much like Gaetz but for different reasons great while they were here but not here long enough. Even though Troy was around longer then Gaetz.

Well, homer pick since is hands down my fav enforcer ever but Gino Odjick deserve a mention: in the first years in the league when he wasn't injured he was a questionable top 5 if not top 3 in a VERY tough league.

I also agree Wendel Clark should be on the list somewhere. I personally don't recall Wendel ever losing too many fights and he took on all big boys (Probert, McSorley, etc.).

He was a good hockey player too, better than many of the goons already mentioned. Great shot.

Clark could probably go with the best of them, however his talent ruins him as an enforcer :D

Awesome for a brief period, but for me he just didnt maintain it long enough. When he left the devils and went to Detriot you didnt hear much from him. I know that he had back problems. I put him much like Gaetz but for different reasons great while they were here but not here long enough. Even though Troy was around longer then Gaetz.


Yeah he hurt his back with the Wings and only played something like 26 games (to lazy to look it up) Also worth noting was when the Wings signed Crowder it cost them Randy McKay as compensation. That really sucked for us Wings fans.

What happened to my wings, they used to have some of the toughest SOB's in the NHL. Now thanks to Ken Holland they have a bunch of powder puff girls.

Well, I don't know if he's top 5, but he definitely deserves to be named in this topic:Lyndon Byers

No Brashear? Look at is his record against Domi who is on lots of these lists?

Semenko is a no-brainer on the list.

Twist was not mentioned enough.

Chris Simon should get some votes, he was a monster for a while.

Probert still wins.

No Brashear? Look at is his record against Domi who is on lots of these lists?

Semenko is a no-brainer on the list.

Twist was not mentioned enough.

Chris Simon should get some votes, he was a monster for a while.

Probert still wins.

Following listening to the esteemed Nick Kypreos speak on Sportsnet, I must ask the question, did all 5 of the tough guys listed above beat on his head with blunt instruments at the same time?
Seriously?h

Personally I've always liked Todd Ewen. imo, he's very under-rated.

Well, homer pick since is hands down my fav enforcer ever but Gino Odjick deserve a mention: in the first years in the league when he wasn't injured he was a questionable top 5 if not top 3 in a VERY tough league.

You know, i never really knew the real story of what happened to Odjick....I think it was some near-death experience or something that caused him to lose his mean-streak :dunno:

Yeah he hurt his back with the Wings and only played something like 26 games (to lazy to look it up) Also worth noting was when the Wings signed Crowder it cost them Randy McKay as compensation. That really sucked for us Wings fans.

What happened to my wings, they used to have some of the toughest SOB's in the NHL. Now thanks to Ken Holland they have a bunch of powder puff girls.Yeah they sure have slipped toughness wise from the days of the Bruise Bros. Do they have anyone in their system that would qualify as a heavyweight.

Well, I don't know if he's top 5, but he definitely deserves to be named in this topic:Lyndon ByersGood call great technical fighter with a huge uppercut that he smoked a lot of guys with.

No Brashear? Look at is his record against Domi who is on lots of these lists?

Semenko is a no-brainer on the list.

Twist was not mentioned enough.

Chris Simon should get some votes, he was a monster for a while.

Probert still wins.

In regards to Brash If I was including curret guys he would have made it.

Simon is a very good call, pre shulder injury he was the best lefty in the game and would have gottn some votes for champ.

In regards to Brash If I was including curret guys he would have made it.

Simon is a very good call, pre shulder injury he was the best lefty in the game and would have gottn some votes for champ.


Man, if they ever take fighting out of hockey, you are gonna need some serious meds. Thanks for some fantastic posts that really take me back to some great forgotten tilts and their combatants.

Mike Modano and his giant expensive dogfood-eating poodle Anastasia Priscilla Poochie-Girl tremble at the sound of your name :bow:

Yeah they sure have slipped toughness wise from the days of the Bruise Bros. Do they have anyone in their system that would qualify as a heavyweight.


Nope, they had to sign Vandermerr to protect the guys in the AHL, but really he'll never see the ice in the NHL. And i doubt Holland will trade for a tough guy either.

3 more names I would add:

Dale Hunter - #2 all-time in PIM. How did everyone forget about him?

Tim Hunter - I don't think his nose got like that from picking it.

Dave Manson - He was a little bit of a lunatic when he first broke into the league.

Dave Manson - He was a little bit of a lunatic when he first broke into the league.


i dont think he ever got over that lunatic thing. I remember him biting Martin Lapointe at the end of a fight in the 2001 preseason.

Gotta love Manson.

3 more names I would add:

Dale Hunter - #2 all-time in PIM. How did everyone forget about him?

Tim Hunter - I don't think his nose got like that from picking it.

Dave Manson - He was a little bit of a lunatic when he first broke into the league.


Dale Hunter was more dirty than an enforcer. Manson was just an idiot, but probably did cause some legitimate fear.

Man, if they ever take fighting out of hockey, you are gonna need some serious meds. Thanks for some fantastic posts that really take me back to some great forgotten tilts and their combatants.

Mike Modano and his giant expensive dogfood-eating poodle Anastasia Priscilla Poochie-Girl tremble at the sound of your name :bow:If they ever take fighting out of the game I will need a rrom with padded walls.

Dale Hunter was more dirty than an enforcer. Manson was just an idiot, but probably did cause some legitimate fear.I dont know I think the Dave Manson from the Hawk days definatly belongs here.

Ken Baumgartner, Good technical fighter, :handclap:

What about Kevin McClelland? I always thought he was more exciting to watch with the gloves off than McSorley, because McSorley spent too much time hammering on the back of guys' helmets. McClelland used his left hand and threw it as if he was trying to knock you out with every punch, and he could take 'em well, too.

I dont know I think the Dave Manson from the Hawk days definatly belongs here.

I agree, even when Manson came to the Leafs, he was a terrifying man. His stiff arms were great to watch, and the fact that he could barely speak made it all that much scarier. He was like Lurch from the Addams Family.

2 guy's that were enforcers but could also play were Gerard Gallant and Terry O'Reilly.O' reilly once challenged an opposing teams entire bench but didn't
get any takers. Does anyone remember that?

Probert was obviously a far better player, but I don't recall dave Brown ever losing a fight as a member of the Flyers, I didn't see him play too many of his games in Edmonton.
Totally devistated Grimsim in one of the most one sided fights ever. Appox 20 unanswered shots. Got tired of throwing the left so he switched to the right. Broke big Stus orbital bone. Grimmer was traded out of Calgary shortly after.
Next day in the Calgary sun newspaper Elston had a comic of Calgarys coach trying to teach Mike Tyson how to skate.


Not having Semenko in the top 5 is absolutely brutal.

3 more names I would add:

Dale Hunter - #2 all-time in PIM. How did everyone forget about him?

Tim Hunter - I don't think his nose got like that from picking it.

Dave Manson - He was a little bit of a lunatic when he first broke into the league.
Semenko helped enlarge Hunts nose. But full marks to Tim he never backed down.

What about Kevin McClelland? I always thought he was more exciting to watch with the gloves off than McSorley, because McSorley spent too much time hammering on the back of guys' helmets. McClelland used his left hand and threw it as if he was trying to knock you out with every punch, and he could take 'em well, too.
As an Oiler fan it pains me to say this but I was at a game where Jim Peplinski took McClelleand apart. I was shocked i never knew Pepper could fight, I guess neither did McCl.
Has anybody mentioned Stan Jonathan he was fierce.

I agree, even when Manson came to the Leafs, he was a terrifying man. His stiff arms were great to watch, and the fact that he could barely speak made it all that much scarier. He was like Lurch from the Addams Family.
Manson got his gravally voice from a punch in the throat from Sergio Momesso.

What about Chris Nylan?

What about Chris Nylan?

I loved Nilan with the Habs. '86 Cup and the Flyers pre-game bru-ha-ha, great stuff.
Back in the day Montreal had Nilan, Kordic and Corson doing some serious fighting, now they have The Latin Lover fakin' injuries, talk about comin' down in the toughness department right alongside Detroit there.

Mike Milbury- how many other coaches do you know that beats a fan with thier own shoe.. LOL

If Wendel Clark get mentioned, I think Rick Tocchet must get mentioned too. They had a bout back in thre late 80's after Clark hit Mark Howe that is a classic. I think Tocchet got in twice as many punches, but it was a draw. A true beauty. Also, does Hospodar get any mention? His role in the Montreal-Philly 1987 conference finals was classic, but I only saw him at the end of his career. Does he belong in this list, or was he just dirty?

My favorite fighters ever would be two from the North Stars days, being Shane Churla and Basil McRea. No idea where they stand among the best of the past 20 years, but I figure Churla should be quite high..

Any of the following guys should be on the list...

Bob Probert
Dave Brown
Behn Wilson
Clark Gillies
Nick Fotiu
Bob Nystrom
Larry Playfair
Stan Jonathan
Joey Kocur
Marty McSorley
Dave Semenko
John Wensink
John Kordic
Dan Maloney
Glen Cochrane
Paul Holmgrem
Chris Nilan
Tim Hunter
Willie Plett
Terry O'Reilly
Tony Twist
Stu Grimson
Craig Berube

A found an interesting tidbit from another site. The 1983 RedWings draft included Bob Probert (3rd round), Joe Kocur (5th round) and Stu Grimson (10 round) Although Stu never signed with Detroit and re-entered.

Some of the guys who I respected the most didn't put up alot of pim's.

Dave Semenko, Rick Chartraw and John Ferguson.

These guys presence was enough to intimidate most opponents. I don't think it's a coincidence either that between them, they have alot of Cup rings.

Some of the guys who I respected the most didn't put up alot of pim's.

Dave Semenko, Rick Chartraw and John Ferguson.

These guys presence was enough to intimidate most opponents. I don't think it's a coincidence either that between them, they have alot of Cup rings.

The fact that they happened to play with Gretzky, Messier, LaFleur, Dryden, Beliveau, Richard, Cournoyer etc. etc. might have helped a bit as well. ;)

The fact that they happened to play with Gretzky, Messier, LaFleur, Dryden, Beliveau, Richard, Cournoyer etc. etc. might have helped a bit as well. ;)

Those guys were allowed to do their thing with the minimum of punishment. I don't think that any of those guys was subjected to the level of abuse that Mario Lemieux has endured in his career.

How much weight you give to the enforcer's role is subjective but I don't think it can be denied that they do play a role in the success of others.

Those guys were allowed to do their thing with the minimum of punishment. I don't think that any of those guys was subjected to the level of abuse that Mario Lemieux has endured in his career.


Agreed, and I think it was a combination of Lemieux never having a great enforcer. Jay Caufield was his best for a short period, and the instigator rule, which limited some of the effectiveness of enforcers.

paul baxter when his hand wasn't broke

Jim Cummins

Some fighters I thought of...

Mick Vukota (Islanders): I think he was pretty good IIRC.
Ed Kastelic (Whalers)
Dennis Vial (Senators)
Mike Hartman (Sabres)
Garth Butcher (good defensively and real tough for the Blues in the early 90s)
Glen Featherstone was pretty tough for the Blues too.
Mike Peluso (Blackhawks and Devils)-absolutely hated this guy when he was with Chicago

I remember when Gretzky's Kings were headed to the Finals in '93 and he was interviewed about how he was the most popular player in the sport.

He responded with something like "I'm not even the most popular on the Kings, Marty McSorely is"

Another great enforcer.

Terry O'reilly had some epic battles with Clark Gillies of the Islanders. Gillies and Barry Beck also had some great battles. Before Beck got the injury bug, he was a hell of a player and fighter. Gillies and Nystrom were two really tough guys I got to see alot of growing up. Dave Schultz on Philly was also a guy who could throw down, but he was plain crazy in his day , those who didn't fight back he assaulted.

Tony Twist

I loved Nilan with the Habs. '86 Cup and the Flyers pre-game bru-ha-ha, great stuff.
Back in the day Montreal had Nilan, Kordic and Corson doing some serious fighting, now they have The Latin Lover fakin' injuries, talk about comin' down in the toughness department right alongside Detroit there.

Dave Brown gave Nilan a pretty nice ass whooping in that brawl,. but Nilan is a very tough customer and was definately one of the best during his time.

My favorite fighters ever would be two from the North Stars days, being Shane Churla and Basil McRea. No idea where they stand among the best of the past 20 years, but I figure Churla should be quite high..

Tough guys, but they were on the same level as Wendel Clark as they had lots of fights. Churla/Clark were pretty even and I would say Clark was tougher than McCrae. I would have taken both Kocur and easily Probert over both of them.(nothing to be embarassed about)

Any of the following guys should be on the list...

Bob Probert
Dave Brown
Behn Wilson
Clark Gillies
Nick Fotiu
Bob Nystrom
Larry Playfair
Stan Jonathan
Joey Kocur
Marty McSorley
Dave Semenko
John Wensink
John Kordic
Dan Maloney
Glen Cochrane
Paul Holmgrem
Chris Nilan
Tim Hunter
Willie Plett
Terry O'Reilly
Tony Twist
Stu Grimson
Craig Berube

I think you are stretching the 20yr rule.

Another name not mentioned who was a great fighter was Terry Carkner.

Agreed, and I think it was a combination of Lemieux never having a great enforcer. Jay Caufield was his best for a short period, and the instigator rule, which limited some of the effectiveness of enforcers.

If you go to Broadstreetbullies.com, you will see Brown with two clear KO's against Caufield who is a monster.

Jim Cummins


I assume you are joking.

2. Dave Brown-The best leftie since I have been following the game close. Also one mean SOB, He would hit you when you were down, give you the lumber and also legitimatly kick ass.

and he was a real ugly mother as well. :toothless

When he tried to take Sandstrom (Sundstrom)'s head off with that crosscheck to the face...made my stomach turn. Way worse than McSorley and Bertuzzi.

One dirty SOB.

Well in my lifetime I havent seen a better fighter then Probert. Nilan was one tough SOB too.

Terry O'reilly had some epic battles with Clark Gillies of the Islanders. Gillies and Barry Beck also had some great battles. Before Beck got the injury bug, he was a hell of a player and fighter. Gillies and Nystrom were two really tough guys I got to see alot of growing up. Dave Schultz on Philly was also a guy who could throw down, but he was plain crazy in his day , those who didn't fight back he assaulted.

I know it is stretching the 20 yr limit to get back to his prime, but let me add another vote for Clark Gillies. Jethro was the toughtest player I've ever seen. He wouldn't back down from anyone. Didn't fight much - he didn't have to - few players were that foolish. And unlike many here - he was not just an enforcer, but a complete player - a tough, physical, mean SOB, HHOF power forward. And by the way, a really nice guy off the ice.

His series of bouts with Terry O'reilly in the '80 playoffs was the thing of legends. Two fights (TKOs) with O'Relly and then an OT game winner.

Here's the guys I think are the best of last 20 years
1. Bob Probert
2. Dave Brown
3. Marty McSorley
4. Jon Kordic
5. Joey Kocur
6. Tony Twist
7. Jay Miller
8. Chris Nilan
9. Dave Semenko
10. Stu Grimson
11. Cam Neely
12. Chris Simon
13. Tie Domi
14. Craig Berube
15. Sandy McCarthy
16. Troy Crowder
17. Georges Laraque
18. Jim Mackenzie
19. Lyndon Byers
20. Gino Odjick
21. Ken Baumgartner
22. Rob Ray
23. Donald Brashear
24. Shane Churla
25. Link Gaetz

If I were to include guys who played more then 20 years ago then these guys and some others would be on the list
Terry O'Reilly
Behn Wilson
Jon Wensink
Stan Jonathon
Bob Nystrom
John Ferguson
Bob Gassoff
Clarke Gillies
Dan Maloney
Nick Fotiu
Larry Playfair
Jack Carlson