2008-09 Broad Street Bully Award: Best Enforcing Team

[Merlin401]

Here we looked for tough teams that carried one or more heavyweights to supplement team toughness.

Nominees

Anaheim Ducks
82 fights: Whether its a blip or a resurgence, look at the fighting major totals from this year! This is Anaheim's legacy of hockey in the new millennium. They started all of this. The 'Stache led the way as a heavyweight, supplemented by the usual horde or tough guys (Steve Montador, Ryan Getzlaf, Mike Brown, Travis Moen). The players were in flux but the toughness was always there. Its the kinda thing that would make you tough enough to bounce the President's Trophy winner in the first round of the playoff, eh?

Boston Bruins
46 fights: They don't have the gaudy fight totals as some of the other teams, but this was a tough bunch from day 1 and they knew how to get the job done, flying out to the best record in the Easter conference with a mixture of brawn and skill. Milan Lucic exemplied both while guys like Shawn Thornton, Zdeno Chara, and others made the Bruins a tough out. Trading for Steve Montador at the deadline only solidified their toughness. The result? Arch rival Montreal couldn't even stand a chance in the first round of the playoffs.

Philadelphia Flyers
74 fights: Led by Riley Cote and the resurgent Arron Asham, this team was cut from the mold of the old-school Flyers. When Cote went down, there was Josh Gratton to fill in. When that wasn't enough, they brought in mad-man Daniel Carcillo to add to the anarchy. Guys like Mike Richards and Scott Hartnell filled in with moxy and leadership. They may not have had a Dave Brown type, but Broad Street was fun again in 08-09.

Vancouver Canucks
62 fights: They've had a tough squad for years. But they were always counting on someone like, oh, Jeff Cowan to fight heavyweights. Finally they brought in a legit heavy in Darcy Hordichuk and the rest of the group fell nicely into place. Shane O'Brien and Kevin Bieksa added snarl on the blue-line. Alexandre Burrows and Ryan Kesler pissed people off on the front lines. And Rick Rypien got hurt again and again. One year he'll be healthy and we'll have some real fun.

My Pick

Yeah, so when in doubt, I think its only right to go with Anaheim here. When everyone else in the NHL started to succumb to the anti-fighting tide, Anaheim bucked it and changed everyone else (sans Detroit) with them. They led the league in fights. They started it all. They win.

Past Winners

2003-04: Calgary Flames
2005-06: Ottawa Senators
2006-07: Anaheim Ducks
2007-08: Anaheim Ducks

[jkidd]

We may want to start calling this the Anaheim Ducks award...

Lots of fights, and all their skill guys are perfectly capable of dropping the mitts and standing up for their mates.

[stevecanuck16]

I've said many times this year that George Parros is the best enforcer in the league. He plays his role to a "T." Its only fitting that his Ducks take this award.

[Isles4life]

This was a great year for this category as all the nominees boasted impressive lineups. But the Ducks were ahead of the pack once again. They could afford to trade away the likes of Montador and Moen, and still were the best enforcing team. Hell, come playoff time, even Scott Niedermayer was able to take care of business (even if it was just against Datsyuk). It's a 3-peat performance for Anaheim.

[Gtrain15]

The Ducks would eat **** before they take anyones ****

[OneilltheGiant]

I'm a Flyers fan but the Ducks get my Vote....

[Grittzkey]

I like Vancouvers team.

Darcy,Rypien,Brown,Bieksa,Mitchell,Burrows. they have a little bit of everything.

[pesadillamal]

I think the Ducks deserve this award until it is obvious they don't. They have set the stage for other teams post-lockout and have been successful in doing so. By the end of this week, the Ducks taking the Wings deep into 7 games may look like quite an accomplishment, which is a good thing.

[BStreetBullies]

The Flyer's lack of a legit HW loses them this award. The HW doesn't have to be the best in the league in order to have the toughest team, but he has to at least be able to hang with the big guns of the league and that is one thing ol' Cote couldn't get done this year.

Ducks take it again, they had a tough core and were solidified by the big ol' Stache.

[Killah_punk]

Make it 3 years straight for the Anaheim Ducks.

[Sam1410]

Ducks in a walk....

[bobberino]

Close call with the 'Nucks and Flyers on the list, but I'm going with my Ducks..

[zoli]

Boston gets my vote. They had tons of potential with Chara and Thornton and dont forget the young Lucic and Bitz. Fun team to watch for sure, it would be sweet having another 25-26 teams like these.

[devils29]

I really couldn't vote for anyone other than Anaheim.

[RoboSmash]

I know the Ducks are bullies. But this year watching the Bruins I got the feeling that anytime Chara, Thorton or Lucic were on the ice- if anybody lands even a moderate check on Kreji, Wheeler or Kessel- they were goning to smash all 5 other guy's heads in. There really isn't anybody else on the team that throws down but those three are formidable and some of the most violently aggresive players in the leauge. Beside's Pronger's a Bi-aytch. I don't think he had a single throw down this year and he's never had a throwdown in his career with anybody taller than 6"1. Think about the supporting cast mentioned in the description by the end of the year
Montador- traded to BOSTON
Brown - acquired from Vancouver
Moen- traded to San Jose