Once feared, now forgotten: The End of the Enforcer

Cover Image - Torey Krug of the Boston Bruins lays a huge hit on Robert Thomas in the Stanley Cup Finals

The Changing Role of Enforcers: Is the Tough Guy Becoming Obsolete in the NHL?

By: Eitan Mirel

The date is May 26th, 2000. It’s a winner-takes-all game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia Flyers. Two teams are fighting for a chance to win the Stanley Cup. Scott Niedermeyer of the Devils skates the puck out of his defensive zone but comes under pressure from a Flyers defender. He loses the puck, but it squirts out to Flyers star forward Eric Lindros. Lindros starts the counter-attack, picking up speed as he accelerates through the neutral zone. As he approaches the blue line, he moves around the defender, when BOOM, Lindros is hammered down to the ice by Scott Stevens .

Scott Stevens hits Eric Lindros.

A moment that forever changed NHL history occurred in a split second. Scott Stevens, the then-captain of the Devils and an enforcer known for his punishing hits, put down his shoulder to hit Lindros, but made direct contact with his head. He immediately fell to the ice, and Lindros lay unconscious in a heap on the ice. An image forever seared into the memories of fans around the world. Lindros was helped off the ice by medical staff, but never touched the NHL ice ever again as he struggled in his recovery and eventually retired. Stevens had been making his presence known to the Flyers and especially Lindros all series. In response, he said, "Hitting is part of the game. " This moment and ones similar changed the role of enforcers and hitting altogether in the game forever.

In the following years, the NHL implemented sweeping rule changes, and the style of the game began to shift. In addition, with the rise of stars like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the way the game was played changed. Less hits, fewer fights, and stricter enforcement of rules to protect players began to be implemented. The new implementations included stricter penalties for fighting and contact with players, and emphasized clean contact over brute force. Enforcers, on the ice solely to drop the mitts, lost their role, and the culture behind the phenomenon faded as younger players were no longer molded this way. The media also played an important role in this change by portraying this narrative and making more revenue and views from unbelievable goals than crushing hits. The role of enforcers like Stevens came to an abrupt end.

While the role of enforcers may have faded in the NHL, the position has evolved in some ways into a new form: the power-forward. These players of today's NHL, in many ways, resemble the brutes of Stevens’ era, but with key differences. They are asked to block shots, play through injuries, stand up for younger players, as well as get in fights from time to time. They are now also asked to use their big frames to lay big hits on the forecheck, causing the puck to be turned over and creating scoring opportunities, or use their size to aid in puck protection. Players like Tom Wilson do all of this while still being highly skilled. Wilson, this season, erupted for a 30-goal campaign , showing the role of modern-day power forwards in today's game and their ability to affect their team on the ice and put the puck in the back of the net. The rise of the six-foot-seven Matt Rempe, Sam Bennet, or even Matthew and Brady Tkachuk and their innate abilities highlights this trend. If they want to maintain their roster spots, they must be willing to instigate, drop the gloves, get under their opponents' skin, and then make highly skilled plays to get the puck in the back of the net that same shift.

While the old art of enforcing has ended, a new era in the NHL has emerged. Power forwards have shown their abilities to affect the game and continue to preserve the tradition and legacy of physicality in the National Hockey League.