Philadelphia Flyers – Dave Schultz
If ever there was an organization that has shown true appreciation for enforcers, it would be the Flyers. They have enough names to fill this list, and this would be without watering down the intimidation factor.
The man wearing the crown for one of the toughest organizations in the history of the league is none other than the infamous Dave Schultz. The name still resonates today, and will for many years to come.
Schultz, like multiple others on this list, was part of an era of hockey that loved their fighting. Schultz played the role of enforcer in an era that virtually every player could be considered tough as nails now days. This is reason to recognize his true talent when dropping the mitts.
Scultz’ resume can speak for itself. In just 535 games in the NHL with the Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres he had a total of 2,294 penalty minutes. Schultz was able to fight his way to 200-plus minutes twice, 300-plus minutes three times and he even broke the 400-minute mark in 1974-75 with a whopping 472 penalty minutes in 76 games.
Despite only playing in 297 games for the Flyers, nowhere near the top ten all-time, he sits fifth in their all-time penalty minutes rankings. Schultz had 1,386 during his time as a Flyer, almost entirely due to his love of punching other men in the face.
Had Schultz been able to prolong his career another season or two, he might be pushing the top 10 to 15 in all-time penalty minutes leaders. His love for fighting would have made this an almost certain fact.