Top Five Fights of the Year
With Kovalchuk holding up the trade of Kaberle and the rest of the major free agent signings, and Bob Probert’s recent death, a good portion of my recent downtime has been spent watching some classic NHL fights. They just don’t throw em like they used to. As a kid growing up with the likes of Wendel Clark (the greatest player to ever lace em up), Probert and Marty McSorley throwing fists, I’m of the firm belief that, size aside, today’s enforcers would have their asses handed to them by the crazed monsters that policed the NHL in the early ’90s. That said, there are still some very scary dudes in the league whose sole purpose is to break faces. In case you don’t believe me, here’s my five favorite fights from this season. Oh, and if you don’t think fighting belongs in hockey, go get yourself some herbal tea and quit your bitchin’.
5. Brandon Prust vs. Rick Rypien (January 9,2010): A couple of the game’s smaller tough guys, Rypien and Prust are both a tick under 6’0, but they can throw bows with the best of em and take their fair share of punishment as well. The best thing about this fight is that Rypien goes to town on Prust early in the fight, but gets dropped and pops back up to eat more punches before it’s over.
4. Rick Rypien vs. Cam Janssen (December 31,2009): Rypien and Janssen did some bell-ringing of their own in this New Year’s Eve bout, blasting away at each other for a good 30 seconds before those pesky linesmen saw an opening to jump in without catching a stray haymaker. Thirty seconds might not seem long, but 30 seconds with one of these animals clutching your jersey and targeting your cranium probably seems to last about 30 years.
3. David Koci vs. Brian McGrattan (January 11, 2010): What makes most of the fights in today’s NHL inferior to the brawls of the past is the fact that most of today’s fighters are too smart to let their giant opponent get a free hand and most of the scraps turn into wrestling matches that look more like Kate Gosselin on Dancing with the Stars. Not the case here, as these two towering toughs traded right hands like they were POGs.
2. Colton Orr vs. Matt Carkner 1-3: Since the 4th fight was more of a shoving contest than anything else, we’ll just include the first three tilts between these two knuckleheads. I love a good rivalry, and since the Leafs weren’t competitive in any other aspect of the game this season, having Orr take the season series over a Senator, no less, was one of the few things I got to be happy about this winter. I couldn’t get a clip of all 3 fights, so here’s the final knockout from Orr.
1. Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond vs. Cam Janssen (March 20,2010): In a fight almost as long as Leblond’s full name, Cam Janssen made sure his return to New Jersey would not be soon forgotten as he and the young French Canadian traded heavy blows for over 3 minutes, waving off the linesmen a couple of times before exhaustion set in, and like good hockey players, the two exchanged grins and pleasantries before heading to the box for some well-deserved rest. Don’t quote me on it, but I’m pretty sure this is the longest fight that didn’t involve teams clearing benches and goalies tackling each other at center ice. Get comfortable, because you’ll be tired just watching this one.
That’s the View from the Cheap Seats. As always, you can follow me on twitter at twitter.com/editorinleaf.