The Top 20 Greatest Enforcers Of All Time

[reckoning]

I doubt that the tough guys in the league feared Gillies or anyone else. Dropyourgloves.com has him winning 61% of his fights,leaving 39% either tied or lost. I think he was slow to boil and smarter.

Keep in mind that that sites formula for determining a fighters winning percentage is somewhat convoluted and only gives partial amounts of a win to a player depending on the type of fight. Because of this, most fighters scores will gravitate towards 50 %. For example: they have Probert at 58%, McSorley at 55% and Hunter at 52%. Gillies 61% is one of the higher marks there. Out of the 20 guys mentioned in the first post, the only one with a higher mark was Behn Wilson at 63%.

Gillies card does show that after `78 he started to average about 3 fights a year instead of the 8 or 9 he'd do before that. I shouldn't have implied that other players were afraid of him, but I think it was more a case that they thought it was best not to wake a sleeping giant.

 

[BNHL]

I really didn't know the formula,just thought it was based on consensus of fights that were reviewed. Anyway,I count Gillies as having fought 27 fights out of his 71 total against top tough guys of the era,leaving 44 fights against your average and below average tough guys. Out of those 27 tough guy fights only 22 are reviewed and I got him going 10-6-6 against the best that went with him.The guy only averaged 73PIMs per season in his career so he was hardly cantankerous and slow to awake but I seriously doubt O'Reilly and Byers and Schultz and Probert and McSorely and the rest feared him. O'Reilly and Byers fought him 8 times total going 3-3-2. These type of guys want right back in there in the event of a beating.

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

Also, Gillies didn't play needlessly dirty, and the number one reason a fight should start is to knock someone in line if they risk injruing your teammates...

 

[ck26]

I'm by no means an expert on this, but the 5 guys who stand out are guys who can pull a regular shift and still scare the **** out of everybody -- Probert, Nilan, Laraque, Gillies and Ferguson. Most of the rest of the guys on these lists are just punchers and don't add a lot of value to your team.

If there was a fighting tournament, I'd put my money on Laraque. Just the strongest fighter with the best balance on his skates I've ever seen. I don't think I've ever seen him slip and fall during a fight. He doesn't punch as hard as the Kocurs and Twists, but he just mauls people.

 

[arrbez]

This list needs more Wendel Clark. He did more damage in the fights he lost than most guys do when they win. The quickest off the draw I've ever seen, and he wouldn't stop punching untill the refs pulled him off.

 

[BNHL]

This list needs more Wendel Clark. He did more damage in the fights he lost than most guys do when they win. The quickest off the draw I've ever seen, and he wouldn't stop punching untill the refs pulled him off.

This was also a quality of Stan Jonathan also,he'd take 3 or 4 (usually to the top of the helmet as he was only 5'8") and then land a bomb. Devastating two fisted puncher who seemed to enjoy scaring people. Terry O'Reilly once was quoted as saying how thankful he was that Jonathan was his teammate or Stan would have beaten the crap out of him too!

 

[John Flyers Fan]

I'm by no means an expert on this, but the 5 guys who stand out are guys who can pull a regular shift and still scare the **** out of everybody -- Probert, Nilan, Laraque, Gillies and Ferguson. Most of the rest of the guys on these lists are just punchers and don't add a lot of value to your team.

Bhen Wilson at times was a top 2/3 defenseman, talented enough to play on the PP.

 

[BNHL]

Bhen Wilson at times was a top 2/3 defenseman, talented enough to play on the PP.

Before Probert, Behn Wilson was on a lot of lists as the best fighter ever. He beat Gillies twice but split with Jonathan. If he and Probert were the same age it would have been the marquee matchup of the era.

 

[Communal Blood]

No one has mentioned John Kordic? Sure, he wasn't exactly around forever, but he threw down with the best of them.

 

[GNick42]

No one has mentioned John Kordic? Sure, he wasn't exactly around forever, but he threw down with the best of them.

Kordic could fight but Nilan was even better than him.

 

[Flinch*]

Hard to crack this list, but honorable mention to Gino Odjick?

Heart of a lion and batspit insane, to boot. Fought Manson and Stu Grimson in his first game, ever.

Cared for his teammates so much, he defended them even after they were on different teams!

 

[Victory Ali*]

You know the thing I like about Probert is that he was actually a decent player making a all-star game and putting in up respectable numbers through the peak of his career. If he wasn't such a hot head and good enforcer he probably could've been a pretty damn good power forward, but with all that said going down in history as the best enforcer ever isn't anything to be ashamed of.

 

[ivrydov]

Back in the old days, there was no such thing as an enforcer. Everyone who made the roster had to be reasonably good in all aspects of the game. Fights could easily morph into brawls and bench-clearing brawls because there was no first man off the bench, third man in, nothing, and then way back then they sat in the same penalty box and often continued fighting. Unfortunately there was stick-swinging as well.

There were a lot of tough guys around. You didn't want to mess with Gordie Howe nor his line-mate Ted Lindsay. Rocket Richard fought everyone and anyone. In the next decade John Ferguson may have lost here or there but he was regarded as the champion in his day. Kurtenbach was the best pure fighter but he also didn't look for trouble. The Broad Street Bullies were absolutely nuts with Dave "the Hammer" Schultz, Don "Big Bird" Saleski, Bob "Hound Dog" Kelly, and Andre "Moose" Dupont. Never a dull moment with that team. Stan Mikita of the Hawks when he came up was a hellion. One night in Montreal a bench-clearing brawl broke out and spread into the stands and just as things might have calmed down, Mikita would do something to stir it up again. It's a wonder he didn't get arrested. He later changed his ways and won the Lady Byng.

 

[Lion Hound]

Fergy was tough guy of the league. Hull couldn't beat him if he two guys helping him. Hull couldn't fight...Kurtenback was tough but Fergy never nobody. I seen him 20-30 fight tough guys...never been beat!!

What are you talking about? Hull did beat him...and he had nobody helping him either!

 

[Lion Hound]

Before Probert, Behn Wilson was on a lot of lists as the best fighter ever. He beat Gillies twice but split with Jonathan. If he and Probert were the same age it would have been the marquee matchup of the era.

Would have loved to see those two have at it. Similar fighters, in size, stamina, balance and power. Would have been a total war.

I think the argument could still be made to put Wilson at nimber one, but the bog loss to Fotiu has to be factored in. I think Johnathan beat him once too, but not sure.


The one other matchup I would have loved to see id Domi vs Johnathan. Two of the toughest little guys to ever play the game. Hell, you coul;d even throw Fergie in there too. I think he was only what 5'10" or 5'11"?

 

[cupcrazyman]

You foregot Dave "The Hammer" Schultz.

 

[Pwnasaurus]

Wensink?

 

[BNHL]

Would have loved to see those two have at it. Similar fighters, in size, stamina, balance and power. Would have been a total war.

I think the argument could still be made to put Wilson at nimber one, but the bog loss to Fotiu has to be factored in. I think Johnathan beat him once too, but not sure.


The one other matchup I would have loved to see id Domi vs Johnathan. Two of the toughest little guys to ever play the game. i think Jonathan Hell, you coul;d even throw Fergie in there too. I think he was only what 5'10" or 5'11"?

I have most of Jonathan's fights but I don't see one with Fotiu. I think Jonathan would have buried Domi but that's just sentiment on my part. I do have him in a toe to toe with Brad Maxwell and then I look up Maxwell and it surprises me that he was so tough. Wensink was simply a fearless and confident brawler who just swung away and won most.

 

[Alan Jackson]

Does Gino Odjick belong in the discussion at all?

He was quite the character, and in his day one of the most popular Canucks of all-time.

 

[Lion Hound]

I have most of Jonathan's fights but I don't see one with Fotiu. I think Jonathan would have buried Domi but that's just sentiment on my part. I do have him in a toe to toe with Brad Maxwell and then I look up Maxwell and it surprises me that he was so tough. Wensink was simply a fearless and confident brawler who just swung away and won most.

That was actually Wilson I was talking about. His fight with Fotiu was classic. Nicky hit him with a huge roundhouse left that almost put the big guy down.


For Johnathan I think the only one I can remember him losing was Wilson, but I have to watch the video again.


I've seen enough of Domi to never count that guy out against anyone.

 

[Lion Hound]

Does Gino Odjick belong in the discussion at all?

He was quite the character, and in his day one of the most popular Canucks of all-time.

Tha argument can definately be made. He was a total charachter, but lost a lot of battles. As an enforcer though he was excellent. From a pure fighters standpoint, I think guys like Kordic would crack the list before him.


I was in a bar in Whistler when the Rangers played the Nucks in the final. Over the bar they had a huge framed picture with Odjick, Antoski, and Hunter hopping over the boards at the same time. It read..."What fear is all about!"

Always wanted to find a copy of it, but it was so long ago I will probley never get my hands on one.

 

[bleed_oil]

Dave Semenko???

 

[sticknrink]

How does Odjick not make it on here? Gino was badass. Killed a deer before his first NHL game and got his suit all bloody.

 

[IlyaAlexanderMalkin]

Zdeno Chara!!!!

Fighter = Yes
Enforcer = No

Thought I would just throw it out there.

 

[canucksfan]

How does Odjick not make it on here? Gino was badass. Killed a deer before his first NHL game and got his suit all bloody.

I never get tired of watching that clip. Who says fans don't like fighting? Odjick was one of the most popular Canucks ever and it wasn't because of his skill.