All-Time Top Cops on the beat

[GOON 21]

Tons of guys who are deserving of the list

I think Kenny Bomber deserves a mention

Erik Cairns was a GREAT teamate on those Islander teams, he stuck up for his guys all the time, it helped being 6'5' -230 with hard hands though lol

How about a Ronnie Stern? He would often go with bigger and tougher guys in those western division battles in the early 1990's' -- is he worth a mention?

[mikebflorida]

Schultz, Brown, Probert, Wilson, Semenko, Gillies, are guys I think of that when a scrum would start and a bigger guy would grab say, Bobby Clarke, Schultz or Wilson would be right in there grabbing the guy and teaching him a lesson.

Probert with Yzerman, Semenko with Gretzky, Gillies with Bossy, etc etc.

If you mess with the little guys, those guys would be right there to make you regret your decision. They were the guys that would go after anyone, bully if they had to, but sent the message that their team was not one with which you'd want to get out of line.

Brown was, to me, one of the scariest enforcers of all time, a 6'5 lefty with a mean streak that never ended, if he was coming after you, you were in trouble and you knew it. I think he made quite a few guys piss their pants.

[BaddaBing Badda Boom]

This incident always stands out in my mind as a premiere example of law enforcement in the NHL. The clip is a little late getting to what started it all - Hoyda whacking/boarding Bossy after the whistle....

Clark Gillies vs Dave Hoyda - YouTube

[BENNETTWOLF]

Some very good choices all around. I always think of semenko for his huge rep as wayne's bodyguard before east coaster's saw much of him. Mcsorley defined "enforcer" to me.

Great nominations by all from frequent fighters like mcrae, bomber or nilan to all heart leaders who never gave an inch like odgers. Feared guys like playfair, probert, brown and kocur etc

I'll nominate berube, langdon, ray and domi. A lot of "professional" fighters in that era all the way up to shelley and so forth

[Flyer_Frank]

Thinking some more about this, the really valuable cops have to have some good players to protect so here I mention Tony Twist who kept Brett Hull's life fairly trouble free and Chris Simon who had to keep any eye open for some guys in COL that were good and could get under opponents skin too like Forsberg, C Lemiuex and even Roy.

[battleship25]

When I think of policeman I think of a guy who doesn't start trouble , but keeps the goons in line. For me that's Clark Gillies. He would throw his weight around but never bullied much -in fact was a little absent on many occasions . You had to rile him up , but most left him alone. When a serious abuse took place (ie: Bossy -Hoyda ) Gillies took care of business.

I also have to say Fotiu - although he ran around like a derailed train ...he would rather intimidate than actually fight. He did this very effectively, better than just about anyone. The strange thing about Fotiu is he was a crappy player ( most policeman were good players ) -hard to protect a guy when you never play. But somehow he managed to keep the peace.

Guys like Porbert , Plett , Holmgren were both goons AND policeman ..depends on their mood... they'd bully, hit goalies, cause trouble...but other times they just kept teams honest.

All of these guys made their teammates bigger. I would say the original policeman was John Ferguson ...an excellent player but in a league that no one was protected ...the NHL had someone valuable that could also straighten things out if need be.

Battleship Kelly in PGH had that ability of making the teammates bigger, as did O'Reilly (leading by example) , and Playfair ...who almost everyone left alone or paid a damaging price. Like Gillies I don't think LP liked fighting ..just got mad real quick.

Other policemen:

Schoenfeld ( young)
Beck
Larry Robinson
Orland Kurtenbach

[nilan30]

Zdeno Chara doesn't fight much or sometimes all that well but he seems to be a good policeman and protector of his smaller teammates.

[BaddaBing Badda Boom]

Originally Posted by battleship25

When I think of policeman I think of a guy who doesn't start trouble , but keeps the goons in line. For me that's Clark Gillies. He would throw his weight around but never bullied much -in fact was a little absent on many occasions . You had to rile him up , but most left him alone. When a serious abuse took place (ie: Bossy -Hoyda ) Gillies took care of business.

I also have to say Fotiu - although he ran around like a derailed train ...he would rather intimidate than actually fight. He did this very effectively, better than just about anyone. The strange thing about Fotiu is he was a crappy player ( most policeman were good players ) -hard to protect a guy when you never play. But somehow he managed to keep the peace.

Guys like Porbert , Plett , Holmgren were both goons AND policeman ..depends on their mood... they'd bully, hit goalies, cause trouble...but other times they just kept teams honest.

All of these guys made their teammates bigger. I would say the original policeman was John Ferguson ...an excellent player but in a league that no one was protected ...the NHL had someone valuable that could also straighten things out if need be.

Battleship Kelly in PGH had that ability of making the teammates bigger, as did O'Reilly (leading by example) , and Playfair ...who almost everyone left alone or paid a damaging price. Like Gillies I don't think LP liked fighting ..just got mad real quick.

Other policemen:

Schoenfeld ( young)
Beck
Larry Robinson
Orland Kurtenbach

BS25 - did u notice in the clip w/Gillies and Hoyda who else was on the ice? Don't want to open a can of worms here, I guess Gillies seemed to perurbed and his blood boiling - not like waiting for the end of his shift when he's gassed

[BENNETTWOLF]

Some nice calls on the elder power forwards like holmgren, plett and terry O, definite calls on all 3.

Bob Mcgill and Jay Wells never shied away from anyone and were right there for teammates. Here's one from left field because he wasn't the best fighter by any stretch but Brian Curran knew his role. His NHL career was only carved out by playing that backline tough guy role (6th/7th dman) and never backing away from mixing it up.

Maybe it's scraping the bottom of the barrel but he kinda fits.

GINO ODJICK

Shane Churla was another guy who embraced his role. He'd fight anyone, anytime for his team. Just ask another true enforcer, Stu Grimson

[BENNETTWOLF]

Paul Laus

[I like Boobs]

Late on this one but Pat Verbeek? What???? Is that a typo?

Semenko was the guy. Gretzky's room to maneuver was equivalent to Semenko's willingness and ability to destroy opponents... By any means necessary. Gretzky gave Semenko his brand new truck for being named All Star game MVP... And Semenko was playing on a different team. That says a lot!!!

Gino Odjick was another beauty. He was another that would make anyone pay. Anyone. Also by any means necessary. Often in a very over the top manner that just left you shaking your head.

Bob Probert. I believe it was Shawn Burr who said "nope I don't fight anymore... You gotta fight him." and pointed to Probert. One of the best at every aspect of enforcing.

Tie Domi. I never liked him much but nobody messed with Domi's teammates very often... He was quite cheap by times as well, but he always backed it up. The Philly incident was a black mark but his career was full of defending teammates... Remember him screaming that he was going to kill Bure after the Peca hit on Selanne.

Gillies, Nystrom, and Grimson deserve a shout as well.

Some second tier guys: Shayne Corson did a lot of standing up for teammates. Very good fighter as well. Owen Nolan was another great fighting captain. Ditto Jeff Odgers. There's so many that could be mentioned... Minor league legends like Angelstead, Bonvie, Fleming, Bialowas all did great jobs in minor leagues.

[MattBurger]

Currently I'd say that George Parros and Shawn Thornton fill this role the best.

[BLACK OUT]

Theres prob 50 players you could name that have done this job very well......... Just sayin

[FitzG]

Not sure if he was the first policeman but he was before John Ferguson

[I like Boobs]

Fantastic article and picture... Thank you sir!! From 1956 to 2012! Very much appreciated!!!