Most talented player who could fight.

[ORR2Sanderson2ORR]

My choice would be Larry Robinson rarely beatin in a fight or one on one and could take the puck end to end and as Terry Orielly once put it there isn't much you can do when you keep gettin run into by a Redwood.

Other the players who come to mind are Scott Stevens, Cam Neely,Clark Gilles and Orielly only because his Heart made him play with alot more talent than he actually had. Thoughts:

Click to read more...

 

[Spitfire11]

Bobby Orr? Gordie Howe?

They kinda blow the rest out of the water, although the ones you listed are all good ones too.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

Eric Lindros.

 

[vwg*]

Donald Brashear..


No, seriously it has to be Howe. He was one mean MFer..

 

[mazmin]

Mario could hold his own in a fight and we all know about his talent.

 

[barfy2000]

Howe or Mario are the first two that come to mind. For current players, Lecavalier is pretty good, as well as Shanahan and Jovanovski.

 

[Sens Rule]

I wouldn't put Mario on this list. How many fights was he ever in? Maybe I am wrong though but I don't remember Mario in any fights that would make others not want to mess with him.

Still Mario is under-rated in toughness he was as strong as any player ever., Same with Jagr. Both of those 2 were nearly as big as Lindros in his prime and could never be taken off the puck.

Physically those 2 and Lindros are the biggest most talented players I can think of. Though Jagr and Mario never ever or hardly ever faught.

 

[VirginiaMtlExpat]

Two old school names that come to mind are Maurice Richard and Gordie Howe. I don't remember Bobby Orr's fights, but I was young when he was at his peak. Not that I saw Maurice or Gordie, but their temper is the stuff of legends.

In recent memory, Cam Neely was formidable as both a scorer and fighter.

 

[Twist and Shout]

Iginla?

 

[#66]

Richard is the first to come to mind. IMO most under-rated is Neely. Reed Larson and Bill Guerin will never get any mention but are some pretty good middleweights.

 

[Jysk]

Eric Lindros and there is no one ewen near him

 

[Flash Walken]

Larry Robinson?

 

[mazmin]

Wendel Clark and Jerome Iginla deserve a mention.

 

[Buffaloed]

Anyone remember Barry Beck?

 

[ScaredStreit]

The top two in my book are easily Howe and Messier. I give the nod to Howe though. Some others come close, but clearly Howe's the best in this aspect.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Bobby Orr? Gordie Howe?

They kinda blow the rest out of the water, although the ones you listed are all good ones too.

On one of the hockey history shows aired by OLN prior to a game recently, a veteran hockey individual (I didn't catch his name) mentioned Bobby Orr. He said something like "Orr was challenged a few times in his rookie season. Not many challenged him after that" painting the picture that Orr smacked around a few opponents.

 

[vcx*]

Mario has been in quite a few fights, go on youtube and look up Mario & fights.

I would say Howe, Mario, and Iginla.

 

[habitue*]

The top two in my book are easily Howe and Messier. I give the nod to Howe though. Some others come close, but clearly Howe's the best in this aspect.

Messier was more a cheap shot artist than a great fighter.

Clark Gillis, Brendan Shanahan, Rocket Richard (when he was mad), Rick Tocchet, are my picks

 

[Transported Upstater]

Messier was more a cheap shot artist than a great fighter.

Clark Gillis, Brendan Shanahan, Rocket Richard (when he was mad), Rick Tocchet, are my picks

Gillies was a freaking tank. He didn't just punch people out; he destroyed them. He could hold his own with the true heavyweights of his time, which is amazing.

 

[Wetcoaster]

Wendel Clark and Jerome Iginla deserve a mention.

Wendell Clark maybe at home - on the road he was known as "Wendy".

 

[Wetcoaster]

Bobby Orr? Gordie Howe?

They kinda blow the rest out of the water, although the ones you listed are all good ones too.

Orr could really throw 'em. IIRC he is credited with 39 fights and never lost one of them including some classics including his revenge for the hit laid on him by Pat Quinn a year earlier. The picture of Orr on top of Quinn and pounding him into the ice made Life magazine.

Orr also schooled Keith Magnusson, Brad Park (another superstar who could throw down when needed), Rosaire Paiement, Darryl Edestrand, Bugsy Watson, Bill Clement, Vic Hatfield, etc.

No one bothered Howe for a number of years (almost 10 years - his last fight had been in 1951 IIRC) until Leapin' Lou Fontinato, the self-proclaimed toughest guy in the NHL, forgot why Howe was left alone. It was brutal and Howe demolished Fontinato's face. One linesman would later say it sounded like a side of beef being hit with a baseball bat as Howe beat on Fontinato. The linesmen stood back in awe as Howe laid a fearsome beating on Fontinato. If you can get your hands on a copy of the 16 Feb 1959 copy of Life magazine you can check out the pictures of Fontinato's destroyed face. He looked like ground round.

 

[ClassicHockey]

Orr was a relentless fighter for sure but I think I have to disagree with some of your observations.
First of all, please excuse me asking this, but who or what is 'IIRC'?

When Orr fought, he had no respect for his opponent or any linesman who tried to restrain him. From what I've seen and heard, Orr lost both fights to Rosaire Paiement. Orr was also losing to Pat Quinn in their fight in Boston but fell on top of Quinn when Fred Stanfield pulled Quinn down from behind. Maybe the end result was Orr winning but he had a lot of help in that fight and a few others.
Orr did beat Ted Harris in his rookie year but Harris had an injured hand and was at a disavantage. the Edestrand fight looked like a draw to me.

As for Howe, its true that he wasn't challenged a lot and the Fontinato bout had something to do with it but the fact that Howe had no conscience and would cut a player's eye out, contributed to the lack of challenges. I know that Orland Kurtenbach challenged Howe in the 60's but Howe wouldn't drop his stick.

I don't know how this 'IIRC' says Howe's last fight was in 1951. Howe fought Fern Flaman around 1953 and didn't do all that well. In 1952, Howe was destroyed in a fight with Bill Juzda of the Leafs. I've shown that fight to disbelievers who had to change their opinion of Howe's fistic ability after watching it. Prior to that, Howe did not win a lot of his fights either and the ones he did win were against smaller guys like Howie Meeker.

I'm not saying Howe was a bad fighter but his reputation is built on one fight.

I've talked to players who were on the ice when Howe and Fontinato fought. It was a case where Howe had no choice to fight. Howe grabbed the onrushing Fontinato's sweater and landed one uppercut. The one punch did the damage as Fontinato was pretty well blinded by the resulting nose problem. Although hampered, Fontinato did land some punches and Howe was hurt as well - something that is conveniently not mentioned much.

The pictures in Life Magazine are what most people remember. It really wasn't as one-sided as people seem to think.

By the way, Red Kelly who won the Lady Bying Trophy and winner of the Golden Gloves while in school, was a superb fighter that wasn't challenged after his first one-sided fight against Vic Lynn.

I'm interested in finding out the source of this IIRC's findings.

Orr could really throw 'em. IIRC he is credited with 39 fights and never lost one of them including some classics including his revenge for the hit laid on him by Pat Quinn a year earlier. The picture of Orr on top of Quinn and pounding him into the ice made Life magazine.

Orr also schooled Keith Magnusson, Brad Park (another superstar who could throw down when needed), Rosaire Paiement, Darryl Edestrand, Bugsy Watson, Bill Clement, Vic Hatfield, etc.

No one bothered Howe for a number of years (almost 10 years - his last fight had been in 1951 IIRC) until Leapin' Lou Fontinato, the self-proclaimed toughest guy in the NHL, forgot why Howe was left alone. It was brutal and Howe demolished Fontinato's face. One linesman would later say it sounded like a side of beef being hit with a baseball bat as Howe beat on Fontinato. The linesmen stood back in awe as Howe laid a fearsome beating on Fontinato. If you can get your hands on a copy of the 16 Feb 1959 copy of Life magazine you can check out the pictures of Fontinato's destroyed face. He looked like ground round.

 

[Biggsy]

Iginla?

Yeah Iggy forsure

 

[God Bless Canada]

Most of the stars from the Original Six could fight. Howe, Rocket Richard, Mikita, even Bobby Hull, were capable pugilists. I'm guessing that Ted Lindsay didn't get his 1,800 career PIMs for hooking.

 

[joshjull]

Orr was a relentless fighter for sure but I think I have to disagree with some of your observations.
First of all, please excuse me asking this, but who or what is 'IIRC'?

When Orr fought, he had no respect for his opponent or any linesman who tried to restrain him. From what I've seen and heard, Orr lost both fights to Rosaire Paiement. Orr was also losing to Pat Quinn in their fight in Boston but fell on top of Quinn when Fred Stanfield pulled Quinn down from behind. Maybe the end result was Orr winning but he had a lot of help in that fight and a few others.
Orr did beat Ted Harris in his rookie year but Harris had an injured hand and was at a disavantage. the Edestrand fight looked like a draw to me.

As for Howe, its true that he wasn't challenged a lot and the Fontinato bout had something to do with it but the fact that Howe had no conscience and would cut a player's eye out, contributed to the lack of challenges. I know that Orland Kurtenbach challenged Howe in the 60's but Howe wouldn't drop his stick.

I don't know how this 'IIRC' says Howe's last fight was in 1951. Howe fought Fern Flaman around 1953 and didn't do all that well. In 1952, Howe was destroyed in a fight with Bill Juzda of the Leafs. I've shown that fight to disbelievers who had to change their opinion of Howe's fistic ability after watching it. Prior to that, Howe did not win a lot of his fights either and the ones he did win were against smaller guys like Howie Meeker.

I'm not saying Howe was a bad fighter but his reputation is built on one fight.

I've talked to players who were on the ice when Howe and Fontinato fought. It was a case where Howe had no choice to fight. Howe grabbed the onrushing Fontinato's sweater and landed one uppercut. The one punch did the damage as Fontinato was pretty well blinded by the resulting nose problem. Although hampered, Fontinato did land some punches and Howe was hurt as well - something that is conveniently not mentioned much.

The pictures in Life Magazine are what most people remember. It really wasn't as one-sided as people seem to think.

By the way, Red Kelly who won the Lady Bying Trophy and winner of the Golden Gloves while in school, was a superb fighter that wasn't challenged after his first one-sided fight against Vic Lynn.

I'm interested in finding out the source of this IIRC's findings.

FYI IIRC stands for If I Recall Correctly