donlever wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2026 1:57 pm
I posted it to see if it might generate some chat or debate about that old school and dieing part of the game instead of whether Patrick Alvin's protégé should run the big club.
Not for a critical assessment of criteria.
I'll add that to my ever growing don't bother list.
A guy can't even ask a question about the dropping of a list ranking the top 50 fighters in a thread literally titled: Random Hockey Shit.....where there is a smattering of random shit posted throughout the pages that have not really generated discussion.
Back to Rypien for a moment.....Boogaard makes the top 20 and Rypien stood in with him to at least a draw despite giving up 8 inches and 64 pounds to the ogre.
Not sure how much you have been paying attention to the playoffs this year, but every team should have a deterrent on the roster that can skate at least a semi-regular shift. Way too many liberties being taken, the boarding and hits from behind are sad to watch, and the sucker punches Greig threw during the full-line scrum needed to be answered.....but not with the boarding that came later.
Also.....what the fuck is "dieing"?
Somewhere in NW BC trying (yet again) to trade a(nother) Swede…..
Have there been any other fighters like Rypien? The smaller guy who is fearless and knows how to fight? I'm surprised that it didn't become a prototype.
My thoughts are that fighting was in a different era.
Slowly over the past 10+ years the role of an enforcer has been phased out. Teams need all 4 lines to contribute in more ways than just fighting, not saying it’s gone in entirety but not as common. Players like Wilson are rare IMO.
Deterrence isn't what it was in the day. Guys like Douglas are a bit of an anachronism, and more a sign of roster weakness than strength IMO. If your players aren't tough enough to stick up for each other, they need that designated fighter. Small wonder contending teams usually have a fair number of guys who aren't goons but are big and tough enough to handle things if needed.
It's all great for kids like Buium and Willander to fuck around after practice to get the feel for it so they can stick up for each other down the road, and it would be great if they stuck up for each other and can do better than grapple with jerseys while tucking their chin, but we need more than just them. We do need more cruiserweights in our bottom-six, or our bottom-six need to become more cruiser-weights than dudes just trying to stay in the lineup.
Lancer wrote: ↑Sun Apr 26, 2026 1:39 pm
Deterrence isn't what it was in the day. Guys like Douglas are a bit of an anachronism, and more a sign of roster weakness than strength IMO. ...
Yep - and at this point, we can afford a roster spot for Douglas. Maybe a 2-year contract? He seems to be popular amongst teammates and serves a role. Until management realizes that a team full of smurfs won't make it through the rounds of attrition that are the Stanley Cup playoffs, we'll need one or two Douglases.
Oh yeah. I would much rather Douglas dropping the mitts than Buium, Boeser or even Sasson for all kinds of reasons. The kids are going to need a Douglas or two the next couple of years. Hopefully D-Petey can develop some deterrence skills because he has the build and temperament for it.
You don't need a Tom Wilson necessarily when you see what Josh Anderson is doing to the Lightning in these playoffs. Those Laughton-, Hathaway- or even Bennett-types are gold this time of year. Not because they're goons but they can excel when the games get rough.
Lancer wrote: ↑Sun Apr 26, 2026 2:02 pm
Oh yeah. I would much rather Douglas dropping the mitts than Buium, Boeser or even Sasson for all kinds of reasons. The kids are going to need a Douglas or two the next couple of years. Hopefully D-Petey can develop some deterrence skills because he has the build and temperament for it.
You don't need a Tom Wilson necessarily when you see what Josh Anderson is doing to the Lightning in these playoffs. Those Laughton-, Hathaway- or even Bennett-types are gold this time of year. Not because they're goons but they can excel when the games get rough.
Samson’s has mitts?
The 'Chain of Command' is the chain I am going to beat you with until you understand I am in charge.
Lancer wrote: ↑Sun Apr 26, 2026 2:02 pm
Oh yeah. I would much rather Douglas dropping the mitts than Buium, Boeser or even Sasson for all kinds of reasons. The kids are going to need a Douglas or two the next couple of years. Hopefully D-Petey can develop some deterrence skills because he has the build and temperament for it.
You don't need a Tom Wilson necessarily when you see what Josh Anderson is doing to the Lightning in these playoffs. Those Laughton-, Hathaway- or even Bennett-types are gold this time of year. Not because they're goons but they can excel when the games get rough.
Samson’s has mitts?
My point. He may stick his nose in for the sake of optics, but he's not dissuading anyone.
Who was the last Canuck hired mostly for the purpose of getting in fights? Darcy Hordichuk?
Dorsett chucked but was brought for his play style and competence. So the fighting was “and he fight, sticks up for his guys, and makes the other team a bit more tentative.”
In today’s nhl, I think there’s a role for Dorsett’s, not so much Hordichuk. I think there’s enforcer stuff where the two enforcers squared off when other guys were taking liberties was fun like pro wrestling is fun. It’s part of a story, a narrative. It isn’t real, but it’s also not fake — there’s a real chance for injury and blood.
I think playing tough is a plus, fighting on occasion fun to watch (as a fan) and is a good thing to be able to deploy for a rest or a boost. The helmet with visor thing has really screwed it up, though, as the risk of hand injury to the guy actually landing punches is too great and chance for the good old busted schnoz of cut above be the eye too low.
But really, I prefer the fights of the guys who could play (rather than the enforcer model), and where their absence from the ice for 5 (or 17) was a real tradeoff to weigh. I like my justice, but I don’t mind it being civil disobedience — you pay a price for doing the right thing, and that’s okay. And I like when everyone on the team feels the responsibility for having to chuck them everyone in a while, that it’s not someone else’s job.
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