Four Cups in Edmonton Without Cementhead? No Chance.
By Adrian Dater
August 25, 2009
First of all, to the guys I left out of the top-10 in this column: I just entered the federal witness protection program, so you’ll never find me. I live right down the street from Henry Hill, and together we make primo spaghetti and meatballs every night and plot a return to Goodfella status.
This is my list for the 10 best fighters in NHL history, and I never realized how hard this would be. For one thing, it became clear early on that it is very difficult to compare fighters from different hockey eras. Fighters of the 1960s and ‘70s, especially, had the toughest jobs in the world.
Take a look at some of the YouTube videos forthcoming, from fighters of that era, and you’ll see that their jobs weren’t the one-minute-and-it’s-over, stage managed deals they are for today’s hockey gladiators. A LOT of the fights from the early, post-expansion era went on for, like, six hours. Or so they seemed. There would be a dustup between two goons, and sure enough, both benches would empty and 16 different fights would break out. Those fights are hilarious to watch in some ways.
The lone referee, first off, was exactly like those in the WWE. They’d try to break up one fight, and some other thing would distract them and off they’d go to put out that fire. Then other fires would pop up, and it wasn’t long before they were doing pirouettes all over the ice trying to attend to them all. It was like one big “Three Stooges” episode finale, the ends of these fights. All that was missing were pies and seltzer water in everybody’s face.
Because of all the other chaos around them, the heavyweight fighters of that era sometimes would have to duke it out for between five and 10 minutes. All the subsequent brawls would leave the original combatants alone, unsupervised by the ref and linesmen, so they’d have to keep slugging it out until everybody else finally punched themselves out. So many times, you’d see the two heavyweights, exhausted, give an “OK, it’s over” look to each other and then watch the other shenanigans together.
Today’s fights are sort of like watching men’s pro tennis. In tennis, the rallies are usually over in 15 seconds or less, with either an ace happening or weak returns followed by overhand smashes. Today, all the fighters have studied every other one’s techniques all year long on video, and are well-practiced in the art of boxing and the martial arts. Therefore, there are very few surprises in any bout. Usually it’s a battle to see who can coax the first move out of the other, and after that happens, the first responder either gets a great lick in, or misses and then goes into a defensive shell, takes a couple of noogies and then it’s all broken up by two linesmen.The officials of yesteryear? Fight time was like a coffee and smoke break, or so it seemed. Two guys would drop the gloves, and the three officials wouldn’t even go near them. Only after 15 other fights broke out did they seem to say, “OK, break time’s over, let’s go get these knuckleheads back to the bench.”
As a kid, I remember so many of my beloved Bruins games with the Flyers, Canadiens and Blackhawks taking about six hours, with all the bench-clearing, Three Stooges brawls. Us B’s fans were always hoarse by game’s end, with all the “Hey ref, did you see that sucker punch by Schultz!???!” or “Yeaahhhhhhh! How’d that right hand to the Schnozz from O’Reilly feel, Nilan?!?!”
The other thing about those days was, you identified much more with your team’s fighters than you do today. Any punch to the beak of Terry O’Reilly or Stan Jonathan was a punch to any Bruins fan’s gut, too.
Today, it’s more of a mercenary feel. “Oh, that’s our designated goon who just won that fight” you say to your fan friends after one of your team’s mercenary bouts. Fighting is more of a business, more clinical.
It’s like they’re punching a clock more than anything when they throw a punch today. Back in the day, it was ON when a fight broke out. And yet, that doesn’t mean that the fighters of old were better than they are today. As we said, today’s fighters have a PhD in the craft, not to mention are, on average, a lot bigger and stronger.
That’s what made picking this list so tough. What player from the old days would want to fight Georges Laraque today? Would Dave Schultz even stand a chance? Laraque is 6-3, 252 with a cudgel for a right hand. Schultz, considered the baddest man on the ice of the 1970s, was 6-1, 185. Laraque has almost 70 pounds on him, and is ripped to shreds! Steve Durbano – who in his day was basically a psychotic on skates – was 6-1, 200. Would he have won a fight with Tony Twist? Not a chance.
But you can’t penalize guys for evolution and advancements in pharmacology, so without further ado we start with No. 10 on the all-time greatest fighter list.
10. Steve Durbano – On the basis of this priceless video alone you have to get Durbano in the top 10. How can you not reward a guy who mooned Madison Square Garden? Look for that toward the end of this six-minute video, when “Demolition Durby” stalks off the ice after going at it with the Rangers’ Nick Fotiu in a 1979 Blues-Rangers game.
Durbano had 1,127 penalty minutes in 220 NHL games, but those who knew him said he had many more fights in barrooms than on the ice. Durbano was a raging alcoholic, who later got in trouble with the law with drugs and, basically, becoming a pimp in a prostitution ring. His life of permanent brawling came to an end in 2002 from liver disease.
Durbano, believe it or not, was drafted ahead of guys like Larry Robinson in the 1971 draft, by the Rangers, but quickly got pegged as a fighter only and his alcoholism created demons that manifested on the ice.
He was a good fighter, though, and not many really wanted to mess with him. It was always Durbano who wanted to get things started, and mayhem always ensued – sometimes even a mooning.
9. Stan Jonathan – Call me a homer, but there is no way in hell I’m not picking an old Bruin on this list, and Jonathan gets the honor (sorry O’Reilly). He was the Tie Domi of his day, a short man (5-8, 175) who beat up guys twice his size.Jonathan was one of FOURTEEN children, so fighting was second nature by the time he got to the NHL with Boston in 1976. He also spent his summers growing up, as a Six Nations native of Ontario, helping build steel skyscrapers with his dad. This was one fearless dude alright.
Don Cherry loved Jonathan more than any other player he ever coached probably, honoring him by posting a picture of his beloved dog Blue above his locker one time. Jonathan will live forever in the hearts of Bruins fans for his pounding of Montreal’s Pierre Bouchard in a late ‘70s game at Boston Garden. The Habs were tired of always losing fights to the Bruins – although, not games – and imported the big stiff Bouchard to try and even things up.
Bouchard’s first fight with Jonathan finished with him laying on the ice, bloodied, unable to get up.
8. Dave Semenko – You think all those Edmonton Stanley Cups happened just because of Gretzky, Messier and Coffey? The fact is, without Cementhead Semenko around, there wouldn’t have been as many. Everybody wanted to take a cheap shot at the Great One or Mess at times, but doing so would mean a visit from Semenko. You didn’t want to go there, in other words.
Semenko had many memorable fights in Edmonton’s “Battle of Alberta” games with Calgary in the ‘80s. Here’s one of them.
7. Clark Gillies – It’s probably a close call with Cam Neely, but Gillies was probably the best fighter of them all who could also score some goals. (And for those wondering where Gordie Howe is on this list in that regard, the fact is Howe never fought all that much in his day. He had a lot of penalty minutes and will always be immortalized with the “Gordie Howe Hat Trick (goal, assist and fight), but he really didn’t have too many one-on-one bouts. But like I said, I’m being protected by the government, so I say this with a relief I wouldn’t normally have by leaving Howe off the list).
Gillies was a frightful puncher who was selective in his bouts, so his many victories usually had the double benefit of firing up his Islander teammates. This is an example, which pained me to include.
6. Tie Domi – He really was like a Weeble who wouldn’t fall down, a 5-foot-10 (or so they said) forward who could take a punch like no other. And to be sure, Domi took a lot of punches, hard ones, right to the head.
Domi always just seemed to laugh. He almost never, ever showed any pain or was put right to the mat with a punch. If he did go down, he got right back up and kept throwing wide-angle left hands. He has more penalty minutes than any player in Maple Leafs history, which is saying something, and is third all time in the NHL. Yeah, he tarnished his reputation with a gutless cheap shot from behind to Jeff Beukeboom, but overall Domi fought with honor and he took on – and beat – an awful lot of guys who were a lot bigger.
If you’re looking for proof on Domi’s indestructibility, check this out.
5. Tony Twist – I remember feeling genuinely a bit scared when Twist squared off with somebody. Not that I was in danger, but you really did worry about what one of Twist’s punches might do if they hit flush. Twist didn’t fight just to get his PIMs up or for the show of it. He meant to hurt you, and his punches had a savagery to them that were, as I said, a little scary. You had the thought in the back of your head that, “This guy could kill somebody” with a punch. It never happened, but this video proves that The Twister left quite a trail of pain in his wake.
4. Stu Grimson – No top 10 list can be without the Grim Reaper, of course. Toward the end of his career, Grimson got a little bit punched out, and lost a few to some fighters about 10 years younger who wanted to beef up their resumes. But in his fighting prime, Grimson was as fearsome as his nickname. He was intelligent, caring and gracious off the ice. But you did NOT want to have your chin meet his fist. Oh no you didn’t.
3. Dave Brown – You’re saying “Who?” right? You won’t, after watching his fight compilation video. Brown was big (6-5, 210) so he had a long reach and was a great ambidextrous puncher. He played on some good teams and therefore had to address a lot of liberties taken against his skilled teammates. He did it with a scary ferocity, and some old-timers say he was the toughest guy who ever played. He didn’t fight so much in his later years – because nobody wanted to go near him. This video shows why.2. Dave Schultz – OK, I hated Dave Schultz as a kid. Hated him more than any human alive. It wasn’t even close. I lay awake at night with visions of blood spattering all over Schultz’s ugly face. I had legitimately violent thoughts of what I wanted to see done to him. Lots of hockey fans had the same thoughts. That’s what made him so effective in his job as enforcer of the “Broad Street Bullies”, and that’s why you have to give him his due here (though my BP just rose 10 points for some reason). Schultz redefined the role of enforcer in his time, not only doing his job as a dutiful fighter, but he did more than that. He got teams mentally off their game, with his villainous, heinous presence. He got under your skin better than anyone. How else do you explain nine-year-old boys like me wanting to put a contract out on him? Schultz was a goon through and through, but the really infuriating thing about him for opposing fans was that he’d score on you occasionally too.
He had 348 penalty minutes on the Cup-winning 1974 Flyers, but had 20 goals too. That was fifth on the team. He’d score a goal sometimes after he’d just put one of your guys in the hospital with a punch or a cross-check to the face. Did I mention I hated this guy?
“The Hammer” remains one of hockey’s most legendary figures, the Snidely Whiplash of the sport. Here’s a real good video that shows why.
1. Bob Probert – Throughout the compilation of this list, I must have watched a hundred fight videos of various guys, and many of them fought Bob Probert at some point. And by a clear margin, Probie won most of the fights. And the thing is, he won fights as a young guy, and fights as an old guy. He had a long run in the NHL (1986-2002), and took on all comers in that time.
According to the excellent website www.hockeyfights.com, Probert had 240 fights in his career. Not only could Probert land a fearsome right hand, his ability to take a punch was second only probably to his frequent dancing partner of the years, Domi.
Probert had his off-ice demons (drugs, alcohol), which are sad, but they added to his mystique as a guy you didn’t want to go near. You knew he was a little bit crazy. For pure longevity and overall pugilistic dominance, Probert is the greatest NHL fighter of all time. In that honor, Probert gets more than one video tribute:
Taking on Scott Parker
Remember The Missing Link?
Apologies to Tiger Williams (too many losses, too many farcical fights), Joey Kocur, Georges Laraque, Marty McSorley, Rob Ray, Tim Hunter, Chris Nilan, Rick Tocchet, Donald Brashear, Matthew Barnaby and many others.
Good luck finding me!
Adrian Dater covers the NHL for the Denver Post
Dater Archive
Aug. 5: Krafty Maneuvering by Pens Fan
July 22: Five Hideous Hockey Jersey Designs
July 14: Thanks to Florida, Flames to Hoist Another Cup
June 27: Top Picks Remained in the Dark
June 24: Late-Round Selections Often Shape Team Fortunes
June 17: Av Nots Top Team Awards
June 15: NHL Awards With A Twist
June 12: Seeing, But Not Believing
June 10: Penguins Hope to Overcome History, The Joe
June 8: "Afterthoughts" Give Pens Little Chance
June 5: Game 5 Will Say a Lot About Sid
June 1: Call the Engraver: Cup Belongs to Wings Again
May 26: These Playoff What the Doctor Ordered
May 15: Original Six Battle Will be Short Series
May 13: Game 7: Heaven on Earth For B's Fans
May 12: Unlike Don Johnson's Singing Career, This Series Was Meant to Be
May 5: Try to Cap, er, Top Theses Playoffs
Apr. 28: Goalie Shuffle: "It Guy" Today, "Sit Guy" Tomorrow
Apr. 21: No-Show-Joe at it Again
Apr. 14: Too Many Games, Not Enough "Sets"
Apr. 7: Lawton, Stars Would Rather Reject These Awards
Mar. 31: I Hope These Teams Are Turned Away
Mar. 26: Bettman Addresses Several Hot Topics
Mar. 24: Cherry Spews Sour Grapes on Ovechkin
Mar. 17: Playoff Ticket Prices, Ecomony About to Clash
Mar. 10: The Boss' Lyrics A Sour Note to League's Ears
Mar. 3: Goring to Isles Tops Deadline List
Feb. 24: Fighting Has Increased and It's Not Going Away
Feb. 17: Sad But True: GMs Gone Wild
Feb. 10: Butcher Job on Broadway and Lazarrus-Like Miracles
Feb. 3: Failures of Others Doomed Hartsburg
Jan. 27: Lemieux Will be There for Thornton
Jan. 20: Lemieux Looks to be 18 Again
Jan. 13: Young Bucks Raking It In
Jan. 12: Great Debate: Best French-Canadian Netminder
Jan. 7: Capped Out
Dec. 30: Sid & Ovie: Marketing 101
Dec. 16: Economic Realities Could $lash Checks
Dec. 11: Sakic's Incident Occurs While on IR
Dec. 9: No Trust Fund, But Five Great Clips
Dec. 2: Gagne Gets Nod for Early Hart
Nov. 25: What Happened to the Avs
Nov. 18: Roy Produced Many Priceless Moments
Nov. 11: Hall Laments Game's Lack of Respect
Nov. 4: D-Man Fingered for Early Award
Oct. 28: Canadian Teams Whine When It's Time to Help
Oct. 21: Savard's Leash Severed
Oct. 14: Making Rocky Road Out of Vanilla
