Pretty simple question. Since we're still dealing with the lockout I thought it'd be fun to hear who everyone thinks our top ten fighters to don the Blue and Gold were. I would definitely consider relative weight class when picking them because we've had our fair share of middle weights as well as heavy weights.
Loved Rayzer. Korab has to be on there. Playfair too. I know M. Foligno had a few scraps (Not saying he is a big goon). I liked Adam Mair too. Anyone agree?
Jim Schoenfeld and Jerry Korab have to be on that list.
Agree on Korab. But was Schonny really considered a big fighter? My memory of him (albeit I was very young) was that he fought rarely. And when he did, he wasn't always the clear winner.
Can't comment on the guys before my time because i just haven't seen enough of them. One thing for sure though, youtube has been so awesome for being able to catch up with stuff like this where it just wasn't possible before. I actually grew up thinking Lindy Ruff was a rough and tumble fighter / grinder because that's how i always heard the older generation talk about him. Actually getting to see the tapes though, he was an embarrassment. Total coward on the ice, and when he did fight, he was absolutely terrible. So, in my time as a Sabres fan:
1.) Ray
2.) May
3.) Donnelly
4.) Boulton
5.) Barnaby
6.) Brad Miller
7.) Boughner
8.) Mair
9.) Randy Moller
10.)Mike Hartman
And even though he really probably should be there, i just can't find a way to put Andrew Peters in the top 10.
Hartman seemed to get into a lot of scraps from what I can remember of my early trips to the Aud; no real memories of him winning or losing though. Also, some more obvious guys to include from the following years would be Donnelly, Boughner, Boulton and Peters.
That would make the guys in the conversation for my list: Barnaby, Boughner, Boulton, Donnelly, Gare, Hartman, Korab, May, Peters, Playfair, Ray.
***
In pure numbers, via hockeyfights.com (click HERE for the top-100):
Quote:
Rank Player Fight Totals
1 Rob Ray 238
2 Matt Barnaby 85
3 Mike Hartman 85
4 Andrew Peters 73
5 Larry Playfair 70
6 Lindy Ruff 69
7 Brad May 68
8 Mike Foligno 65
9 Eric Boulton 56
10 Danny Gare 51
I guess the OP needs to define exactly what he's looking for. There is a difference between top 10 (or best) fighters for the Sabres, and the top 10 fighters (frequency) for the Sabres.
As far as best fighters, I wouldn't put Peters in the top 20, let alone top 10.
Definitely needs some more defining criteria as to whether you want best fighters, fighters with the most bouts in their career / just with the Sabres as a lot of the better fighters didn't fight all that much since opponents knew they'd knock the snot out of them. Also different eras had different norms as you didn't have the clueless goons in the early years of the franchise while later you had the Boultons and Peters that could barely skate a shift. If I'm ranking them by their ability to throw, my list is something like this:
Dave Schultz
Larry Playfair
Rob Ray
Clark Gillies
Jerry Korab
Brad May
Bob Boughner
Mike Foligno
Jim Schoenfeld
Mike Hartman
Neither Schultz nor Gillies were here for very long but they were amongst the most feared men in the NHL with good reason.
I guess the OP needs to define exactly what he's looking for. There is a difference between top 10 (or best) fighters for the Sabres, and the top 10 fighters (frequency) for the Sabres.
As far as best fighters, I wouldn't put Peters in the top 20, let alone top 10.
1) Brad May -- explosive first punch from either hand, feared by many
2) Larry Playfair -- earned the team a lot of space in his day, feared by many
3) Rob Ray -- game to go with everyone, had his own rule instated about tie-downs; longevity
4) Jim Schoenfeld -- stood up to the Big Bad Bruins almost single-handedly
5) Mike Foligno -- could play, could police, let no one get away with things against his teammates on the ice
6) Jerry Korab -- Kong, especially when he got angry
7) Mike Hartman -- not big, but he would go
8) Gord Donnelly -- a fearsome heavyweight
9) Kevin Maguire -- began the transition away from prissy hockey... nothing like the game he took on the entire Wings by running Chevy after Probert ran Barrasso
10) Danny Gare -- Kid could and would go, he was like the little brother who will fight anyone of his big brother friends and keeps coming back no matter how many knuckles he eats
HM -- Jan Ludvig. Repeated knee injuries ended his time here, but he was a nutbar and fought whenver he had to and seemingly whenever he could when was healthy.
__________________
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. - Aristotle
As a guy who got season tickets from day one and went to almost all the games until recently my choice is Larry Playfair. After he destroyed a few people there was very little mayhem when he was on the ice. He did not fight for points-but to end the fight quickly and often brutally. Korab was a guy few people wanted to fight also. Both of those guys we big for the times they played in and had long reaches with solid bases.
No, for the same reason there's no Brent Hughes yet. Middleweights, the Kaletas of their day.
Val James on the other hand... When your scouting report is "Muhammed Ali on skates" then that says something.
And Chain, no Barnaby? I think anyone who got to wear the bathrobe should be on the list. Maybe he didn't win every fight, but he never got smashed like Ray vs Twist, and he fought everyone. Gino Odjick, Kirk Muller or Garth Snow. When Hasek got run, he made a beeline from the next faceoff right to Sean Burke and plowed him while the puck was in the corner. (Compare and contrast with Lucic). Hell, he fought Ray.
Lindros got so frustrated for not being able to knock out Barnaby that he kicked his skates out (Listen to these ****bag announcers). Show me a guy tougher, pound for pound. Matt earned his place on the top 10.
I think Peters deserves to be in the conversation. In his later years he trended towards worrying about protecting himself too much, but early on he was terrifying. Plus he almost always fought other fighters, AND fought some of the biggest guys.
