He was the only player who actually made his fights stick in my head. The way Boris Valabik looked at him like "Are you sure?" and Rypien took him down still impresses me.
My favourite fight of his though was the one against Brad May:
Rick Rypien was boss. My favorite fight was against the giant dude (not Hal Gill, can't remember his name though) who thought he was kidding when he initially wanted to fight him. The joke was on him.
- 2010 Playoffs vs. LA. Rich "the Clown" Clune gets inserted and is being a tool, jumping on top of Luongo and generally being a pain. He decides to poke Rypien, who was happy to oblige with this excellent example of comeuppance. Love how he hauls him back to his feet just to give him one more punch.
- In a game against the St. Louis Blues, Tanner Glass fought Cam Janssen. Glass gave it his best, but Janssen ended up tooling him and then hammed it up to the crowd after the fact in one of his many displays of class. Next game, Ryp went to avenge his teammate to the tune of breaking the bigger Janssen's nose.
As someone who struggled with clinical depression twice in my life, I know how crippling it can be. It is devastating.
That such a great guy succumbed to it is truly a tragedy. Loved him as a player, and feel for those who loved him for so much more.
It was amazing to watch him battle off so many of those punches. He was excellent at using his right arm to deflect incoming punches while holding on with his left. Crazy good skills.
RIP 37 never forgotten
