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Out Enforce: Fighting Returns

More brawlers punching the clock and opponents this season

(from the Denver Post)

By Adrian Dater

The Denver Post

October 19, 2007 - Is the age of the fighter coming back in the NHL? The early numbers seem to say yes. 

Fighting in the league is up considerably over last season and recent years. Through the first 88 games of this season, there were 100 fighting major penalties, compared with 68 through the same number of games last season. 

Those numbers may not hearten critics who want to see fighting eliminated from the NHL, but for players such as the Avalanche's Scott Parker, they are proof that it is still a necessary component of pro hockey. 

"The big boys, they've been there since Day 1," Parker said. "I don't think you can ever take it out of the game. It's something that people enjoy, and it's much needed in the game." 

Two years ago, the NHL enforcer looked to be in danger of extinction. Fighting had been declining from the days when bench-clearing brawls were a regular occurrence, but it took a steep drop in the initial season following the NHL lockout. 

New rules were added to increase scoring, and the Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup using a team with no heavyweight enforcer. Coach Peter Laviolette discouraged his players from fighting, in fact. The number of fighting majors fell from 789 in 2003-04 to 466 after the lockout. 

"Everybody kind of went to a finesse game, and then they kind of got run around a little bit and started missing some man-games, and they had to bring some (tough) guys in," Parker said. 

Last season, the Cup was won by the Anaheim Ducks, a team that had several tough guys and preached rough-and-tumble hockey. 

In a league known for teams copycatting whichever style won the last Stanley Cup, the trend toward having bigger, tougher players is back. 

"They might not have had tons of fights as a team, but that's because nobody wanted to fight them," said Avs winger Ian Laperriere, who led the Avs in fighting majors last season with 17 - enough for a tie for second in the league. "They were big and tough to play against." 

Laperriere did nearly all the fighting for the Avalanche last season before Parker was acquired at the trade deadline. Laperriere said he did it gladly, but that it could have taken a toll on other parts of his game. His scoring dropped from 21 goals in 2005-06 to eight last season. 

"I was going against some guys that were out of my league, probably - 40 or 50 pounds bigger than me," Laperriere said. "Now I've got the big guy here (pointing at Parker) to do the heavy lifting." 

The Avs credited Parker's second-period fight, when they were down 4-1 to Calgary on Tuesday, as a catalyst for an eventual 5-4 win. 

"It's nice that the guys took it as a positive," Parker said. "I did it for them. We don't do it just to do it, just for show or anything or to be No. 1. We have a role on this team, and the role is to fire the guys up, and if somebody does something dog-eared stupid out there, we go out and fix it." 

Against teams that lack a heavyweight enforcer, and there are a few, Avs coach Joel Quenneville is likely to give Parker a night off. But if he smells trouble heading for his skill players, Parker is likely to be in the lineup. 

"We've had success since Parksie's been with our team," Quenneville said. "Recognizing his role and what he brings to our team is important. The timing of his last game shows that, where he maybe tries to change the momentum or flow of a game. It's not an easy thing to do, but whether he's in the lineup or not, I think he helps us." 

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Putting up their dukes 
Number of fighting majors in each of the past three seasons in the NHL: 
2006-07     497 
2005-06     466 
2003-04     789 

Fighting majors so far this season: 
100 (through 88 games) 

Most fights per recent season:
Season     Player - Fights 
2006-07     George Parros - 18 
2005-06     Brian McGrattan - 19 
2003-04     Krzysztof Oliwa - 31 
2002-03     Jody Shelley - 27 
2001-02     Peter Worrell - 33 

Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com