Is the NHL truly moving away from the “enforcer” role?

Old NHL fans will tell you stories of an era where fighting was a rite of passage. Today, it would be hard for some of the game’s greatest enforcers to find a job in the sport that holds them up.

Toronto Maple Leafs fourth line staple Colton Orr and free agent Paul ‘Biznasty’ Bissonnette, there seems to be something they have in common. Both players are enforcers and both players are looking for work at hte professional level of their sport.

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Bissonnette failed to get re-signed by the Arizona Coyotes upon hitting free agency, and Orr was placed on waivers with intent to reassign him to the Toronto Marlies just today.

According to league analysts, the NHL is moving away from the role of “enforcer”.

Looking beyond these two players, though, there have almost been more cases of enforcers (who, ya know, could also be referred to as goons, but let’s use the PC term for now) walking away with contracts than not. Daniel Carcillo was released from his PTO by the Pittsburgh Penguins, but got picked up almost immediately afterward by the Chicago Blackhawks. Notorious fourth-line enforcer Zac Rinaldo received a 2-year extension this summer, and even heavy-hitting John Scott (who has gained league notoriety for contributing only one point in his past 96 games, but racking up 199 penalty minutes in the same time period) got signed by the San Jose Sharks during the off-season.

The qualification for an enforcer- or goon- of course, is hard to limit. Does Matt Cooke count as a goon, even though he’s had multiple seasons with almost 20 goals? Most assume that players like Carcillo and Rinaldo are the classic definition of enforcer, as they each put up a mere five and four points each last season, respectively. Yet- they each found homes this season.

Will this season be the “Death of the Goon”, after all?

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