'80s Tough Guys
The last decade where you could say that the enforcer played a role in a team,s success. The '80s were the decade of protecting the stars and there were many enforcers who performed this duty quite admirably.
My favourite enforcers and two of the best were Dave Semenko and Dave Brown. In my opinion, Dave Brown was the best enforcer in the '80s.
Dave Semenko served as Gretzky's bodyguard for 9 seasons (1 in the WHA and 8 in the NHL) and was great at doing so. In Semenko's time as an Oiler he never surpassed the 200 pim plateau and had seasons of 158, 135, 80, 194, 141, 118, 172 and 141. Semenko's pim totals are quite astonishing given the fact that he was an enforcer and among the best enforcers in the '80s.
Dave Brown joined the Flyers, on a full-time basis, in 1984/85 and made an immediate impact in the NHL when it came to enforcement. Brown was a southpaw who stood 6'5" and had a tremendous reach. After 3 seasons, which saw him achieve 716 pim's, the NHL and it's enforcers became wise and started avoiding Brown whenever possible. Dave Brown would spend a equivalent of 10 seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, Brown also spent 2 1/2 seasons in Edmonton and Brown would finish his career with a season in San Jose.
Other very prominent '80s tough guys were Bob Probert, Chris Nilan, Tim Hunter and John Kordic; just to name a few.
My favourite enforcers and two of the best were Dave Semenko and Dave Brown. In my opinion, Dave Brown was the best enforcer in the '80s.
Dave Semenko served as Gretzky's bodyguard for 9 seasons (1 in the WHA and 8 in the NHL) and was great at doing so. In Semenko's time as an Oiler he never surpassed the 200 pim plateau and had seasons of 158, 135, 80, 194, 141, 118, 172 and 141. Semenko's pim totals are quite astonishing given the fact that he was an enforcer and among the best enforcers in the '80s.
Dave Brown joined the Flyers, on a full-time basis, in 1984/85 and made an immediate impact in the NHL when it came to enforcement. Brown was a southpaw who stood 6'5" and had a tremendous reach. After 3 seasons, which saw him achieve 716 pim's, the NHL and it's enforcers became wise and started avoiding Brown whenever possible. Dave Brown would spend a equivalent of 10 seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, Brown also spent 2 1/2 seasons in Edmonton and Brown would finish his career with a season in San Jose.Other very prominent '80s tough guys were Bob Probert, Chris Nilan, Tim Hunter and John Kordic; just to name a few.
