The NHL enforcer was once the most important component of a team. Clubs that were not as talented were able to counter their opponents' skill with brute strength.
Decades ago, teams like the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers enjoyed much success due to the amount of enforcers they had protecting the more skilled players they had.
The Broad Street Bullies, or the Philadelphia Flyers, were quite successful at simply beating the hell out of their opponents.
In the 1975-76 season, the Soviet Union's dominant hockey club, the Central Red Army, had a Round Robin exhibition tour against the NHL's best. The Red Army was unstoppable and defeated the New York Islanders and other elite NHL squads.
It was not until they faced the Broad Street Bullies that the Red Army truly knew the meaning of pain.
The Central Red Army was clobbered by the likes of Bill Barber and Dave Schultz, and refused to come back on the ice after intermission.
The NHL enforcer continued it's prominence throughout the years. Teams like the New Jersey Devils and the Toronto Maple Leafs attributed their success to their enforcers.
In the 1999-00 Stanley Cup, the New Jersey Devils used extreme strength and force to plow through their opponents. Players like Scott Stevens, Bobby Holik, and Ken Daneyko put fear into opponents, and allowed the Devils' defensive play to reign supreme.
The hockey role that always seemed to take a backseat to the enforcer was the role of instigator.
Decades ago, there was no such thing as an instigator; you were either an enforcer or a sniper. Nobody ever thought that a player would try to annoy an opponent to draw a penalty, but that's just what these agitators do.
The instigator did not start to gain prominence until after the 2004-05 lockout. The rule changes made the game skill oriented than strength oriented. This was quite a switch for most veterans, as strength used to come before skill in the NHL.
The amount of penalties called grew, and the amount of enforcing by the big men began to shrink. One of the best instigators of all time, Darcy Tucker, showed how important the role of instigator was, as his antics towards his opponents led to more power-play time and goals for the Maple Leafs.
Once Tucker began to become more skilled, he stopped agitating opponents as much as he used; it looked like the role of instigator was once again dead. But, the antics of New York Ranger Sean Avery created an incredible amount of excitement, and need for an instigator.
The Rangers used Avery's annoyances for two stellar playoff runs. His most famous, or infamous, moment came in round one of the 2007-08 NHL playoffs. During an offensive- zone cycle, Avery skated in front of goaltender Martin Brodeur and rapidly waved his stick in front of Brodeur, in an effort to screen the goaltender.
Clearly, Avery got into Brodeur's head; that one play may have been responsible for the 4-1 series win the Rangers obtained.
The Ottawa Senators are also seeing the benefits of having an instigator; Jarkko Ruutu is emerging into one of the better agitators in the NHL.
The Senators are receiving more power-play time, which is allowing more time for the Sens skilled players to work their magic.
Hopefully, the role of NHL enforcer will never die. However, it seems like more and more teams feel there is no need for an enforcer in the new NHL. It is nice to see a new NHL role receive prominence, but the loss of the enforcer could be catastrophic to everything that makes the NHL special.
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about 1 month ago
As long as those pests are able to back up their big mouths...I have no problem with instigators. They're actually fun to watch. But most the time they talk trash and then hide. Ruutu hitting Lapierre int he head, then running away from Laraque (6'4, 240 pounds) only to drop gloves with Bouillon (5'10, 190 pounds)...that tells me the guy is a wuss, if you wont fight the enforcer than don't start trouble.
ps: Hum...I'm not sure I agree about Rafalski putting fear into anyone. Maybe scared he'll score a goal but at 5'10, 190 pounds he's nothing scary physically. Did you mean Ken Daneyko?
from about 1 month ago
I actually did mean Ken Daneyko thanks for catching that.
about 1 month ago
Claude Lemieux was an instigator in my books. Mainly Instigators are cowards. Rafalski is awesome but no enforcer.
about 1 month ago
agreed, no way Brian Rafalski is ever thought of as an enforcer or an instigator. Excellent hockey player? Yes. Enforcer/instigator no way
The 1999-2000 Devils were also a team based on offensive skill and defense, as much as agititation/intimidation. Skilled players like Scott Gomez, Patrik Elias, Jason Arnott, Petr Sykora, Scott Niedermayer, ALexander Mogilny, John Madden, and even VLadmir Malakahov (the one time in his career he played to his potential) were the reason the Devils were successful. Sure, they had timely bouts of physical play from guys like Holik, Lemieux and Randy McKay, but it was the goaltending and defense that led the way, and timely scoring from their offense, much more so then the enforcer/agitator role itself.
Also, Avery's stickwaving in front of Brodeur took part during a 5-on-3 power play, not an offensive cycle...
I like the concept of the article, the enforcer role has greatly changed, but you should have your facts in a row....
about 1 month ago
There have always been instigators.
Claude Lemieux, Dino Ciccarelli, Pat Verbeek, Matt Barnaby, Ulf Samuellson, Theo Fleury... these are all players who would purposely get under your skin as part of their game plan.
Sean Avery has brought the role to the spotlight to a certain degree, but that's because he's a mainstream name. He's not revolutionizing the role or anything... he just gets more publicity when he does it.
about 1 month ago
Honestly, I think the game would be better off if the heavyweights were guys like Avery, Carcillo, Neil, Ott, Clarkson, etc. Guys who can score AND fight. To me, it just seems like enforcers create a sideshow environment. Like, "okay, this is the part of the game where we fight," and then the two dudes on the ice who have single-digit career goal totals have at it while the rest of the place looks on.
Avery vs. a guy like Mike Richards, fighting because of something that actually happened on the ice rather than just an opportunity to drop the gloves and whip up the crowd, to me, THAT adds to the drama of the game and stokes a rivalry. Half the time, two goons having at it to "get something going" just seems like a ploy for cheap applause.
If you can't produce anything approaching 15-20 points a season (as a forward at least), or dominate the face-off circle, or shut down the other team's best players, or do anything productive other than FIGHT, I dunno man...just seems like a wasted roster spot.
The skill players might be tougher if fighting was in the job description. The league needs more Rick Tocchets and Cam Neeleys and less stone handed goons.
And this comes from someone who likes fighting in hockey.
Nice article. POTD.
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