Is the enforcer an effective tool in today’s NHL?
I’ve always been bothered by the idea of a four-to-five minute per night enforcer without other NHL talents, a player whose sole purpose on the roster is to fight the other team’s heavyweight and provide an intimidating physical presence. I like a good tussle as much as the next guy, but I’ve always been of the opinion that if a player can’t handle a regular shift, he doesn’t belong in the league, no matter what his other talents.
That said, there’s a notion out there that teams need players that can protect their stars and play a bodyguard role on the ice. That’s the way it was 20 years ago, and despite the advent of the instigator rule it’s the way many people – including current NHL general managers – still view the game.
Are enforcers effective at preventing cheap shots, however? I don’t know the answer, but I’m uncomfortable with accepting the conventional wisdom that they are, because I’ve simply seen too many games where dirty hits happen despite the presence of a designated tough guy,
To find out, I’ve decided to go back over the four long suspensions since the NHL lockout and see who was playing on those nights. This is a starting point only; I plan to go back and review other questionable hits, enough to give us a more representative sample. Here are the four hits that resulted in extremely long suspensions:
- March 8, 2007: Chris Simon stomps on the leg of Jarkko Ruutu. According to the NHL boxscore, the Penguins dressed heavyweight Georges Laraque, and he played more than 10 minutes in this game.
- September 25, 2007: Steve Downie levels Dean McAmmond with a flying shoulder to the head during a preseason game. Brian McGrattan not only played in the contest, but he was on the ice when McAmmond was hit – he drew a fighting major against Jesse Boulerice in the post-hit melee. Chris Neil was also dressed for that game.
- October 10, 2007: Jesse Boulerice cross-checks Ryan Kesler in the face. The Canucks did not have a heavyweight at the time, relying on middleweight Jeff Cowan (46GP – 0G – 1A – 1PTS, 110 PIM) to perform policeman duties. Cowan played 12:36 in that game.
- Dec. 15, 2007: Chris Simon is involved once again, swinging his stick at the head of Ryan Hollweg after Hollweg hit him from behind without a penalty being called. Hollweg isn’t a heavyweight but he’s certainly a fighter, and even if he weren’t his linemate Colton Orr – who was on the ice at the time – was.
I said at the outset that this is only a starting point, because four incidents can’t be viewed as a large enough sample to establish anything. But I do find it interesting that a player whose primary NHL role is to fight was dressed on all four occasions (Laraque, McGrattan, Cowan, Orr), and was on the ice for two of them.
“Steve Downie levels Dean McAmmond with a flying shoulder to the head during a preseason game. Brian McGrattan not only played in the contest, but he was on the ice when McAmmond was hit – he drew a fighting major against Jesse Boulerice in the post-hit melee.”
The telling thing here is that McGrattan didn’t fight Downie, he got Boulerice. For every goon willing to stand up for a fallen teammate, there’s another willing to stand up for the goofball who landed the cheap shot in the first place. Who knows how much the presence of Boulerice having his back might have influenced Downie’s actions – at a guess I would say just as much as the presence of McGrattan, or approximately zero in both cases.
@ BruceM:
The thing with players like Downie is that they’ve always played that way, from junior on up. I just have difficulty believing that changes the first time they see an NHL enforcer.
Bang on JW… these guys have played this way for years. No matter how many times Tyson Nash got his face punched in, he was still an asshole on the ice.
These guys play this way because that’s the only way most of them would still have a job. That’s a bigger incentive than a tough guy is a deterrent.
I think you nailed it at the top, if these guys can’t play a regular shift then there’s not really a point to them being on a club. I feel that a lot of clubs are just harboring goons by reserving them a roster spot. Don’t get me wrong, like yourself I love a good fight, but if the presence of a “tough guy” that is supposed to “police” the ice can’t even prevent vicious incidents with like the ones above then what is his purpose?
What I find even more telling about stuff like this is how many of these incidents are perpetrated by “tough guys.” I mean, if no one felt the need to employ guys like Simon or Boulerice at all, you’d have a decrease in this sort of extreme violence just because the guys who commit most of it aren’t playing.
The simple thing I’ve seen for years, the playoffs come and the goon sits if he can’t bring anything to the table except his fists. Ben Eager is a tough guy but he can play.
The other great examples are the Olympics and the World Hockey Championships. No tough guys but if there’s a score to be settled it’s done by the skilled players. Last time I looked, Ignila, Richards, Pronger, Chara, Lecavlier, etc can handle themselves in a scrap.
I’m a fan of the heat of the moment fight but I’m no longer a fan of the staged ones. Too much like WWE, give a guy a tap at the end to say good fight.
I would argue that there is still a strategic element to teams having the one tough-guy on the roster still, and, although more rarely employed these days, having one remains a necessity that could make or break a game. If you’re a coach and the other team’s tough guy is running around and taking liberties, you need to be able to go down your bench and have that guy who can go out there and take the other heavyweight with him to the box for five minutes. Especially if your stars are smaller like Toews or Kane for example, you NEED to have an Eager/Byfuglien (who I realize can both also play).
I think there still IS a role for the enforcers in the NHL, but it’s changed from the intimidation/deterrent/policeman roles of old.
When I look at the Downie hit on McCammond, I can’t help thinking about Wendel Clark’s hot on Bruce Bell of St Louis. Downie does it and he’s a villain, but Clark does it he’s a hard nosed player. Seems like a double standard to me.
I think the instigator rule makes it pretty difficult for a goon to fulfill his role as an enforcer. If he pummels the guy who delivered the cheap shot, then his team gets penalized. What a ridiculous mess of rules and counter rules. The game needs to be greatly simplified.
those aren’t cheap shots. Those are crimes. Cheap shots are slashing a scorer’s hands, slew footing defenseman in the corner. You can’t stop crimes, the dirtbags that commit them aren’t going to be deterred by anything short of a heavy suspension. I think the goons (those that can play a semi-regular shift) do keep the rats from getting too cocky but if you cant play a regular shift; you shouldn’t be playing at all.
I think one thing is missing from this list – all four of these guys are themselves agitators.
While enforcers are an imperfect solution, I think their effectiveness is really impaired by the instigator rules, and even worse by the poor and inconsistent decisions on supplemental discipline by Colin Campbell. You could get off scott-free like Cooke did on the Savard hit. It becomes worth your while, seeing that, to then target Brent Seabrook like Wisnewski did.