In the most recent installment of the Penguins and Flyers rivalry, there was something glaringly absent. Unlike previous playoff series between the bitter cross-state foes, there were no fights.
It was hotly contested, to be sure. There was plenty of hitting, pushing and shoving, but not a single fighting major was issued. That is noteworthy.
“If people are looking for all the fights and all the things that have taken place in the past, I would suggest to you that the game has evolved,” Mike Sullivan would say at the time.
Indeed, the NHL never legislated fighting out of the game but, as Sullivan suggested in April, it’s dying a slow death on its own. It's going the way of aluminum sticks and Cooperalls.
Consider the following: According to HockeyFights.com, there were 280 fights in the 2017-18 regular season or one in just 17.86 percent of all games. As recently as the 2000-01 season, there were 803 fights in a season or 42.20 percent of all games. This past season, there were just six games with more than one fight, compared to 50 such occurrences in 2009-10.
There are myriad reasons for this evolution. For nearly a decade, the league has been trending toward smaller and faster, placing more emphasis on skill than physicality. All players entering the league now have to wear visors. There's been an influx of players coming out of the NCAA, where fighting is banned. And, of course, there's an increased awareness of the dangers of concussions.
But there was a time when enforcers loomed large in the NHL, and the Penguins were no exception. Though the organization has been blessed with some of the game's greatest offensive talents for 30 years running, it's also had more than its fair share of tough guys.
With a research assist from staff historian Jerry Wolper, here's my list of the Penguins' 10 best enforcers of all-time:
T-10. DERYK ENGELLAND
Long before he found his game and voice in Las Vegas, Engelland was an honest but rather nondescript defenseman (and occasional forward). "Engo" was 28 when he finally reached the NHL full-time and recorded 308 PIMs in 243 games over parts of five seasons with the Penguins. Even at a modest 6-3 and 213, Engelland was always a willing combatant during his time in Pittsburgh and took on all challengers, including Chris Neil, Jody Shelley, Ryan Reaves and a couple of classics against Colton Orr:
T-10. CHRIS TAMER
Much like Engelland, it would be unfair to label Tamer a goon. The 6-2, 205-pound Tamer was a physical presence on some smaller European-dominated teams of the late '90s, but acquitted himself quite well in the fighting department. Selected 68 picks after Jaromir Jagr in the 1990 draft, Tamer picked up 588 PIMs in 253 games with the Penguins. He solidified his credentials in his first full NHL season in 1995-96 when he dropped Bob Probert, arguably the best enforcer of all-time:
T-10. FRANCOIS LEROUX
"Frankie" wasn't the best skater, but few players were more popular in the mid-'90s. The 6-foot-6, 245-pounder was a physical, stay-at-home defenseman, but he became a cult hero after his assist on Luc Robitaille's OT winner in a 1995 playoff game against Washington. Leroux put up 356 PIMs in 165 games. His Pittsburgh fight card includes bouts against Donald Brashear, Tie Domi, Tony Twist (who he bloodied), and this one against Rob Ray after Leroux laid out Pat Lafontaine on Oct. 17, 1996 (a hit that is no longer legal, thankfully):
9. STEVE McKENNA
The tallest player in franchise history at 6-foot-8, "Big Mac" played parts of three seasons over two stints in Pittsburgh, including the 2001 run to the Eastern Conference Final. He managed to rack up 333 PIMs in just 162 games but still managed to score nine goals in 2002-03. His Penguins fight card includes a Feb. 17, 2001 game in which he fought both Jody Shelley and Lyle Odelein in Columbus. He also took on a young Zdeno Chara, the only player taller than him in NHL history, three times. Here's round one from April 2, 2001:
8. JAY CAUFIELD
Caufield's story is one of the more remarkable in NHL history. The Philadelphia native was a D-I linebacker at the University of North Dakota, where he played just one hockey game. He played hockey much the same way he played football and even wore a neck roll for a time. In just 194 games over five seasons with the Penguins, he amassed 714 PIMs, including 285 in 1988-89. He was also the enforcer on the 1991 and '92 Stanley Cup championship teams. His fight card includes, among others, tilts with Chris Nilan, John Kordic, Troy Crowder and Dave Brown, including this one on Feb. 2, 1989, the game where the Penguins ended their 15-year winless streak at the Spectrum:
7. KRZYSZTOF OLIWA
A menacing-looking, 6-foot-5, 245-pounder from Poland, Oliwa played 83 games over parts of two seasons with the Penguins, amassing 281 PIMs. Oliwa was part of the 2001 team that advanced to the Eastern Conference Final. Fittingly, he averaged 5.01 PIMs that season. His fight card included bouts against Peter Worrell, Sandy McCarthy and, below, Stu Grimson:
6. GEORGES LARAQUE
After missing the playoffs the previous five years, the Penguins bolstered their chances by adding some toughness at the 2007 trade deadline, acquiring Gary Roberts and Laraque in separate deals. While Roberts brought grit and veteran leadership, Laraque -- a southpaw -- was the undisputed heavyweight champ at the time. "Big Georges," all 6-3 and 253 pounds of him, went on to record 159 PIMs in 88 games over parts of two seasons, helping the Penguins to the 2008 Stanley Cup Final. Laraque's Pittsburgh fight card includes bouts against Colton Orr, Brian McGrattan and, below, Riley Cote:
5. MARTY McSORLEY
McSorley is perhaps best known as Wayne Gretzky's personal protector (well, that and his illegal stick in the '93 Cup Final and his slash to the head of Brashear in 2000). But the blonde-haired defenseman did have two stints with the Penguins, including 1983-84 when he put up 224 PIMs in 72 games as a rookie. On Nov. 5, 1983, he fought future teammate Mark Messier twice in a game. During his second stint in Pittsburgh a decade later, he put up 139 PIMs in just 47 games. It was that year that McSorley fought Probert in an all-time epic:
4. DAVE SCHULTZ
Just a few years removed from his Broad Street Bully heyday, The Hammer still had some punch. In 1977, he was acquired from Los Angeles in exchange for Syl Apps and, in just 66 games, Schultz fought 20 times, racking up 378 PIMs or 228 more than the next most-penalized Penguin. Schultz played two seasons in Pittsburgh, picking up 533 of his 2,292 career penalty minutes, 35th all-time. Below, Schultz takes on his former team:
3. PAUL BAXTER
Just 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds, Baxter is the WHA's all-time leader in penalty minutes with 962. That alone gets you high on this list. Baxter played 202 games over three seasons for the Penguins, putting up 851 penalty minutes, fifth-most in team history. His 409 PIMs in 1981-82 is still the franchise record. Here, Baxter fights Philadelphia's Behn Wilson for the second time in an Oct. 29, 1981 game:
2. ERIC GODARD
Right between Hal Gill and Alex Goligoski, you will find Godard's name etched on the Stanley Cup with the Penguins' 2009 championship team. Godard fought 21 times that season, picking up 171 PIMs, good for eighth-most in the NHL. At 6-4 and 214, he was one of the more prolific fighters of his time. In 2009, he fought four times against personal rival Colton Orr:
1. BOB KELLY
Kelly not only had the best nickname, "Battleship," he could also play the game while going toe-to-toe with the heavyweights of his era. Kelly played four seasons in Pittsburgh while recording 462 PIMs. Most impressively, he scored 69 goals too. Acquired along with fellow pugilist Steve Durbano from St. Louis in January 1974, Kelly was one of the more accomplished fighters of his era. He took on Barclay Plager (his first fight with the Penguins), Keith Magnuson, Terry O'Reilly and, below, Hank Nowak:
Honorable mentions: Arron Asham, Matthew Barnaby, Jeff Chychrun, Kim Clackson, Steve Durbano, Troy Loney, Steve MacIntyre, Ryan Reaves, Gary Rissling, Gary Roberts, Mike Rupp, Kevin Stevens, Rick Tocchet, Bryan Watson.
