The Decline of the Enforcer
It takes a while to get something right. Like for example, the Canadian government had an public ballot for voting. Which was a bad idea. From bribery to riots, there were many problems with a public ballot, and to give the country a little bit of credit, they developed a secret ballot quickly in 1874.
But while public ballots were cast, you would find the biggest, strongest, toughest, meanest men standing guard, hired by the different would-be leaders, to protect those loyal to the cause, scare those on the fence to their side, and physically assault those on the other side.
So, in not as many words, they were political goons. You could say goons were in our country's DNA from the start. But once the secret ballot was put into place, these goons disappeared from our political landscape.
It has taken a lot longer, but it seems like the hockey goon is going the same way.
It was so rampant, that there was a whole team that is remembered for being goons, and were one of the best teams ever assembled: The Broad Street Bullies, the Philadelphia Flyers.
While not expressly goons, they were the toughest hockey team ever put together. The Flyers were one of the first expansion teams when the league first added teams to the Original 6, and the Flyers became the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup in 1974.
Players come and go, but goons seem to stick in our minds. The great Canadiens teams that won 4 Stanley Cups in a row never got a "name" like the Broad Street Bullies", despite practically doubling their successes. But the enforces stick out in our minds.
Jeff Beukeboom stands out just for having one of the best enforcer last names ever. Marty McSorely was the bodyguard for one Wayne Gretzky in both Edmonton and Los Angeles.
And its hard to find any Toronto Maple Leafs fan who doesn't remember the name Tie Domi, and not just because his son plays for the team now.
Once you've seen it, you'll never forget the time that Tie Domi aggravated and splashed water on fans until one broke over the glass and ended up fighting Domi while in the box. Despite having retired almost 20 years ago, everyone remembers Tie Domi, the man with the most fights in NHL history.
And in more recent memory, you have Sean Avery. Goons naturally walk the line of legality in the NHL. Technically, fighting is not allowed, like how tripping or cross-checking isn't allowed. There's just a punishment of going to the penalty box for five minutes and then you are good.
So you have players that are expressly on the team to do things that are against the rules. And when you walk that close to the line, you think of some interesting ways to push that line as far as it can go.
Sean Avery played just 580 games, and scored just 90 goals. A pretty small amount for someone with his notoriety and legacy. But his magnum opus came in 2008 against the New Jersey Devils.
At the time, this was technically fully legal, and incredibly hilarious. Avery essentially ignored the entire play and stood facing goalie legend Martin Brodeur, and make it as hard as possible for Brodeur to see the puck, by waving his hand and stick all over.
But, it would last only one game, as the league very quickly employed the colloquially known "Sean Avery Rule" that made this an unsportsmanlike penalty. But it also etched Sean Avery's name into hockey history forever.
And yet, the goon is going the way of the dinosaurs, despite the general love of the archetype. If they are on your team, you love them. If they are on your opponents, you hate them.
The good news about the disappearing act of the goon is that the game has become a lot more safe. As entertaining as big hits and fights are, many are extremely dangerous, both in the short term and the long.
Looking back at a lot of the highlights from goons from the past show a lot of dangerous and illegal plays, and that is nothing but a good thing. Especially with the somewhat recent knowledge of the long term impact multiple concussions have on a person.
Sure, fights are less intense and entertaining now that players are not allowed to take off their helmets. But now they are a lot safer, and that completely outweighs the entertainment factor.
It also helps that the speed of the game has grown exponentially. We have players like Brayden Point that are skating at nearly 40 km/h. That is the speed limit in a lot of school zones for cars. And its not just the top end. The speed of all skaters have increased, and simply put, its harder to hit and fight people if you can't catch them.
And its not just the speed of the skating but the state of the game as well. The NHL is now a breakout heavy, speed based game. For a while, the dump-and-chase, possession grinding game was a legitimate strategy. Get the puck on the boards and then beat the other team down.
But now players are too fast, and if you cannot skate, you are being left in the dust.
And the game has been completely optimized. If you aren't putting the puck in the opponent's net, or stopping the opponent from putting it in your net, there isn't a place for you on the team anymore. Intimidating and physically dominating opponents just isn't as important anymore.