I get this question a lot these days, as friends and relatives are well aware of my proclivity for a good ol’ professional on-ice donnybrook. While I have strong opinions as to the best answer – the true future of the NHL hockey enforcer and the fights they once graced fans with – I don’t have to like it. And, frankly, I don’t.
Where Have All the Good Goons Gone?
On the ice, are there even any classic goons left? Gone are Shawn Thornton, Trevor Gillies, Brendan Walsh and most of the other Goonblog favorites from the site’s heyday. Replacing them are guys like Trent Frederic, Connor Clifton, and Zack Kassian.
The first three were the last of a dying breed of guys that were there to intimidate and keep the other team in line. The latter are all guys that are required to be able to take a regular shift, especially in Clifton and Freddy’s case. Times have changed dramatically over the last 10 years, and there’s not a lot any of us punters can do about it.
The last true enforcer out there, in my opinion, is Ryan Reaves. He’s been plying his trade since 2010 with the Blues – and is a man that truly embraces his role as an enforcer. Intimidating, scrapping, filling out checking lines and doing it all with apparent glee.
The Era of… Grappling? You’re Fuckin’ Kidding Me
Not only has fighting largely disappeared from hockey, but the way in which bouts are conducted is totally different. The days of Bob Probert standing in, going toe to toe trading rights and uppercuts in a Rock ‘em Sock ‘em homage have been over for a long time. It’s a rare thing to see a fight where guys are flat out trading punches. With rare exceptions (see the aforementioned Zack Kassian getting KO’d by the “WiFi” the other night) most of the fighting is in close and involves lots of grappling.
In fact, many of the guys that make a living dropping gloves these days are trained in common MMA techniques. It’s a totally different style, and I’m not sure how anyone that fights now would have fared in the wild west days when guys swung wildly and frequently just to stay in the league and were recruited only for that purpose. Tom Wilson, I’m looking at you.
Exit Staged Left
The staged fights are also largely gone. Does anyone remember the last time two guys came over the boards and the gloves were off before the puck even hit the ice? A lot of people don’t like those fights, especially in the league office, but we loved them. Admit it.
How I long for the days when two fourth liners would get something going because the team needed a lift. Or a Rob Ray gave young rookies like Todd Fedoruk a chance to make a name for himself by taking on established hockey enforcers. It’s just not done that way anymore. The game is played at such a high skill level there’s just not a lot of room for a one-dimensional player anymore.
I’m glad to be back behind my keyboard talking about hockey enforcers and fighting, regardless of how the latter has evolved. We always aim to entertain here at Goonblog, and I missed having a vehicle for my mostly nonsensical stream of “consciousness”.
Once we get our momentum back, keep your eyes peeled for some Goonblog merch, and we were way ahead of our time with the hockey podcast angle which may rear its head once again. Perhaps we can embrace some new media as well. Good to be back. Let’s drop the mitts and get at er!
A Change is as Good as a Punch in the Yapper
Good to be back. If you don’t think WiFi is one of the best nicknames around, well then, I don’t think we can be friends.
“Wifi” is INDEED the funniest nickname I’ve heard in many moons. Almost as funny as the actual router name someone near my house has chosen, which always pops up in my list of proximus networks: “Al Queda Surveillance Van”.
Wifi had another last night! Hard to root for a Canadien, but I like this kid.
Woof! Did he ever. It’d be a shame if, like, we didn’t write it up or something: https://goonblog.com/2022/11/arber-wifi-xhekaj-has-our-attention/comment-page-1/#comment-1146608