Goons or no goons in Hockey?

I remember the first time I ever watched a Boston Bruins game. I was four years old, and Bobby Orr was on the team along with Phil Esposito, Pie McKenzie, Gerry "Cheesy" Cheevers, Derek Sanderson, Don Marcotte, Ken Hodge, Don Awry, just to name a few. Back then, hockey was a fun and passionate game to watch. I was in awe of all these guys skating around on the ice in leather skates, a time of no helmets and very little safety equipment, trying to get a rubber disc in the net with their sticks. Passion, grit, hard work- these guys never stopped trying to score a goal, no matter what the score was or how late in the game it may be. Goalies were fair game, if they dared to wander from the crease!

Guys tried so hard to get goals, that the passion on their faces was just incredible. They would fight for that puck, if need be. Guys fought for themselves- no one had to stick up for them, there was no need for an "enforcer" aka "hockey goon". All the guys could skate, shoot, score, fight and play hockey. Many of these guys played for the love of the game, got paid peanuts and worked second jobs during the off season to help supplement their incomes, as a hockey income wasn't enough to pay the bills and feed a family all year long. Oh, and most of those guys had no front teeth by the time they were in their mid twenties. Bobby Orr, the best defenseman to ever lace up skates in the game of hockey, was the best well rounded player ever to grace the NHL. He could score goals, but also stand up for himself, he didn't need to goon to take care of business.

Now, we have what I would call a European type of style of hockey played in the NHL today. Hardly any hitting or checking is done, fighting is down from years ago, and even the role of the Enforcer, which was created to help keep the meanies away from guys like Wayne Gretzky, is being fazed out little by little.

I somewhat blame the Wayne Gretzky era along with the insurgence of the European players for this boring brand of hockey we watch today- remember Wayne, supposedly the best player in hockey? Sure, in terms of goals and assists, this guy was amazing, but was he a well rounded player? No. How many hits did Gretzky throw in his career? How many did he receive, should any player be daring enough to try to get near him without Dave Semenko charging after them, ready to pummel the player who dared engage Wayne into a physical game of hockey? Could you imagine Bobby Orr not throwing a check or fighting for himself during his tenure in the NHL? I think Bobby would rather die a thousand deaths than to have someone stand up for himself, when he was perfectly capable of doing it himself. What makes players like Wayne so special that they can't take care of business themselves, and why are they paid higher salaries than the likes of Orr and former NHLers who played a hard working, passionate game of hockey every night? Why are these guys getting paid millions of dollars every year, when all that's expected of them is to produce goals?

The Gretzky era, to me, was the turning point in hockey. Star players no longer had to play physical- somebody else would do the dirty work for them, while they just chased pucks and tried to set up other players to score. Hence, a new brand of hockey was born, and a new job position opened up for all the teams- The Enforcer. Slowly, but surely, teams were no longer playing every man for himself, as their enforcer would take care of the meanies on the opposition, at a much lower cost than the rest of the team.

I sometimes wonder the fairness of it all. Key players get paid more to put the puck in the net, while enforcers, who get their faces beaten up every night- from broken noses, black eyes, teeth knocked out, bloody lips and noses, get paid peanuts and very little playing time. Cosmetically, these guys place their looks on the back burner so players like Gretzky can look might purty out there every night, while they happily chase the puck down and try to score, without having to face one check (or throw one), never stand up for themselves, all to the tune of a high salary, often in the millions today. Truth be told, a lot of these millionaires don't earn their money every night, but that's getting off topic here, heh heh.

I was watching a game on NESN Thursday night, and they had PJ Stock, a retired former Bruin enforcer, and Ron Duguay, known more for his time on the New York Rangers (oooohhhhhhh, la la, Doogie!) on during an intermission, promoting their "Friends of Hockey" games being played in Boston. Just about every Bruin fan loved PJ for his heart, he was and still is definitely a fan favorite and probably always will be. PJ was discussing how the game is changing and that it is less passionate than from when he played in the league, which was just a mere four years ago. He acknowledged that the role of an enforcer is becoming diminished in the league now, and that some guys who have a lot of passion for the game but have limited hockey skills, are losing their jobs to more skilled players. Although I miss PJ very much in Boston, I have to admit, his limited skills were what got him demoted to the AHL, where his career ended sadly due to an eye injury in a brawl while he played for the Phantoms. We are seeing more and more skilled players on the third and fourth lines now in the NHL- that's a great thing indeed. However, we're not seeing much passion and hitting now, which is a bore for the fans.

Ron Duguay had said that even he misses the old time hockey along with the fans. Hockey has definitely changed over the years, going from hard hitting, passionate playing, fights and brawls to a more European (my opinion, not Ron Duguays!) type of hockey where there's no checking involved and barely any fights. Not appealing to many old time hockey fans like myself, to say the least, and apparently Ron and former NHLers agree with the fans.

Back to the argument- do we need enforcers? Well, many fans want the fighting in hockey. My opinion? The heck with the enforcers, make every guy earn his paycheck on the team and play passionate hockey for themselves. Never mind expecting the third and fourth liners doing all the dirty work- all players should hit, fight, and play a passionate game of hockey. If they don't, let them ride the pine and give the guys who care more about the name on the front of the jersey than on the back of the jersey play. I would much rather watch guys get into a fight while in the heat of the moment during the game, then to have two goons say at the face off "you want to go?" and then watch them drop the gloves after the face off is taken, just for the sake of fighting. I'm not saying every guy on the team has to fight, but at least throw some checks out there, and stand up for your teammates at least, if you see one being taken down unfairly or you witness one of your teammates being the recipient of a dirty and illegal check- go after that player and throw a check on them, send them message that this won't be tolerated.

That's my take on enforcers, and I'm sticking to it! :)

Have a great day!