Terry Carkner
I have heard this mans name mentioned many times, as the guy that a more famous fighter fought. Clips would be shown and the comments would be what a tough fight, what a brawl, wow what a great fight.
I haven’t seen a great deal written about this 14th pick of the 1984 Draft, by the
New York Rangers. Carkner was a 6’03” , 210 pound Defenseman, who was drafted from the Petersborough Petes of the OHL.
In his first season in the NHL, he played in 52 Games, scored 2 Goals, and had 13 Assists for a total of 15 Points. To go along with that, he had 118 PIM. With his size and fighting ability, he was not drafted for his scoring. Here a few of the names he fought during his rookie year.
Willi Plett,
Wendel Clark,
Joey Kocur, Marty McSorely,
Joel Otto, and
Brian Curran. He was a victim of
Dave Brown.
His first couple of years in the league found him being traded twice. Traded to Quebec by NY Rangers with
Jeff Jackson for
John Ogrodnick and
David Shaw, September 30, 1987. Traded to Philadelphia by Quebec for
Greg Smyth and Philadelphia's 3rd round choice (John Tanner) in 1989 Entry Draft, July 25, 1988.
It was with the Flyers where Carkner would stand out. He played a solid defense and his fighting ability along with his career offensive year, helped the Flyers reach the Conference Finals in the 1988-89 season. Carkner scored a career high 11 Goals and had a career 32 Assists.
I found this article in the Flyers Encyclopedia.
Quote:
“Taking on Edmonton in the finals twice, the Flyers boasted a team defense among the best in the league. This provided a Stanley Cup-quality reputation, but also pressure to maintain depth on the blue line. A disappointing first round playoff exit resulted in a 1988 offseason move to acquire dependable defenseman
Terry Carkner. He helped filled the void of recently departed defensemen such as
Brad McCrimmon and
Brad Marsh. Additionally, Carkner contributed offensively. He led all Flyer defensemen in scoring during his first season with the team and played in every postseason game as the Flyers fought to within two victories of an appearance in the Stanley Cup finals. He was willing to fight as well, which was much appreciated by the fans.
Terry Carkner spent five seasons in Philadelphia, and before a 1993 trade to Detroit, he played in more than 300 games as Flyer. Along with representing the winds of change, the move left tough shoes to fill.”
It was with Philadelphia that he would score 25 of his career Goals and 116 of his assists. There he would also collect 867 of his career PIM. These would be his most productive times of his career. During his time with the Flyers, Carkner was picked to wear and “A” on his sweater.
For his career, he played a total of 13 seasons, before ending his career with the
Florida Panthers after the 1999 season. He appeared in 858 Games, scoring a total of 42 Goals and 230 Assists for 272 Points. He accumulated 1,588 PIM and had a career rating of minus 2
Here are some clips from his rookie year.
YouTube - Wendel Clark Vs Terry
Carkner
I will leave you with one final clip of Carkner at work. I am sure you all have a favorite fight of his or of when your fighter fought him. This clip is what hockey fights used to be and with hopes that someday we can return to.