Page 32 of Ross Bernstein’s The Code:
“For the most part, fighters are there to keep the peace and protect their skill players. For teams to have success, they have to put the puck in the net, and that requires talented players who are usually smaller and faster than the other guys. In order for the skill players to do their jobs effectively, they must be allowed the freedom to skate, pass, and shoot without the fear of being run over by a bigger player who is out to intimidate them. Intimidation plays a major role in hockey, and if players are scared of being smacked around or hurt, then they will play more conservatively. They may think twice about skating to the net or going through the crease to attack a rebound, and that will hurt their chances of winning.
“This is where enforcers come in. Enforcers keep a watchful eye on their star players and make sure that the opposition thinks twice before taking any liberties with them. Take the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, for instance. In 1997-98 they had to play without their two best players, Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne, for much of the year due mostly to rough injuries. In fact, after missing the first past of the season over a contract dispute, Kariya returned only to suffer a major concussion from a vicious cross-check to the face by Gary Suter following a goal. Without them the team suffered greatly and missed the playoffs. So that off-season the team brought in Stu Grimson to protect them. The mere presence of the “Grim Reaper” on the bench that year sent a clear message to the opposition: stay away from Kariya and Selanne, or else. Teams couldn’t employ dirty tactics to slow the stars down, and it gave the players more space on the ice to do what they did best: score goals. And do you know what? It worked. That next season Kariya and Selanne ranked number two and number three in the league scoring race, respectively, and the team made the playoffs. Coincidence? No way.”
It’s just one author’s opinion, but it’s a well informed one — Bernstein spent more than two years interviewing more than 50 of the fiercest tough guys the sport of hockey has ever seen. They were unanimous in this sentiment: protection, intimidation, and retaliation are an enduring part of hockey’s DNA. You may not much like it, but that’s the way it is.
Get well soon, Greener, and may Santa bring us a big bag of knuckles.
9 Comments
This may seem rather obvious, but, wouldn’t the opinions of those that these players “protected” be more relevant to this discussion? Asking thugs whether or not thuggery is important to the game seems rather pointless, no?
No.
Bernstein’s survey includes enforcers, coaches, referees, and the protected.
That is some porous reasoning. There are many other things that could have happened to get the Ducks to the playoffs other than Grimson’s presence on the bench (?). I went back and checked and in ‘97-’98, Selanne missed only 8 games. Meaning he played played 73 games, which means he didn’t miss much of the year.
Also, something else which could have had a major impact on the Ducks (9 win) turnaround other than Grimson was the 97-98 and 98-99 teams had different head coachs.
One can’t attribute anything in a team sport to one guy. Its like assigning wins to pitchers or quarterbacks – it completely ignores the contributions of all the other players on the field and actors off of it.
The 2007 edition of the Ducks, in addition to winning the Stanley Cup, led the league in fighting majors, which to me is suggestive that it really need not be an “either/or” approach to assembling a tough and skilled roster. Brian Burke was the architect of that club, of course, and when he knuckle-fashioned Toronto this past offseason a lot of folks laughed. This morning, not so much, no?
Pucks, nice timing. I’ve been thinking along the same lines for the last two weeks. One thing you failed to mention that could bolster your not-so-subtle argument that the Caps could use a heavyweight, is that the book is filled with examples like the Ducks. You merely plucked one example that best fits this case. The book also points out that if the stars are getting wrung-up, that team’s enforcer can/will send a verbal message through that team’s captain or middleweight that retribution is about to come to one of the opposing stars and they need to layoff. I can’t find my copy of the book but I’m not sure I’d be able to find the passage to quote anyway… organizationally, it’s kind of a dog’s breakfast. Last night, Semin and Green were targeted frequently and a true enforcer may have been able to prevent the Koci shot.
Melvis, you’re spot on, and thank you for sharing that important elaboration. Bernstein richly details the vast environment of hockey’s enforcers, and it’s one that extends well beyond the occasional 90 seconds of dance at center ice.
This is a terribly important discussion, and we’ve not had the last of it at this blog by any stretch.
This is not my area of expertise, but how does an enforcer help you with Koci? What the enforcer does is keep everyone other than Koci cautious. But Koci? His whole purpose in life is to try to hurt people when his team has been embarrassed all evening. I don’t think he would behave differently if we had a Brashear on our side. If he did, what good would he be?
This is not to say we couldn’t use an enforcer. Just that I think the only way to avoid something like what happened last night is serious league discipline against the player *and* the team.
I’ve read parts of The Code, and it’s an excellent book. However, I’m afraid that it’s now outdated. The majority of fights are started not to retaliate or enforce the rules, but to swing momentum back to the losing team. Fights are started over clean but physical checks.
In the Koci case in Colorado, how does an enforcer who is sitting on the bench go after an offending player after he has been ejected from the game? When you are leading 5-0, there isn’t much reason to start a fight. Most coaches now tell their players not to start fight if they are leading by a couple goals to keep from giving the opposition any spark.
I haven’t been watching the Rangers much this year, but has Brashear’s presence on the team protected anyone? I love Brash, but are the Rangers a better team than last year?
Nice job Pucks, I think the code is a lot more complicated than most people realize.
Another part of the deterrence is that non-fighters realize that THIER tough guy may have to fight the other teams tough guy due to anything a non-fighter may do on the ice. This keeps guys that are not fighters in line.
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