That was Claude Lemieux on the hit against Detroit. One of the dirtiest plays ever and those two teams (Colorado and Detroit) had the nastiest rivalry in the NHL for years afterward
Back then he even warned his teammates not to get in the way because he'd be crossing the ice to hit. (Similar to Scott Stevens) I wouldn't say "dirtiest" but he sure was not clean by today's standards.
On that Claude Lemieux hit, Kris Draper broke his jaw, nose, cheek bone, orbital bone and bent 5 of his teeth. Lemieux never apologized for it, and the Red Wings got their revenge a year later. Definitely react to Brawl in Hockeytown
To clarify some of the unspoken rules around the hits in hockey, you may want to watch a video somewhere on here called The Code. But, yeah, if you hit one of ours, we'll hit one of yours (unless ours was being a pest). And if that can't be done in this game, you best believe we'll be waiting for you at the next, even if it's in another year altogether.
thats called the claude lemieux rule we will remember and you will pay the hit at 4:53 is claude one year later him and his whole team took a beating on the scoreboard and physically
I love the sport for these sort of things. It takes the concept of "let the boys play" to the max lol. It's great. Playoff hockey is one of my favorite things to watch. This is one of my favorite times of the year in "ball" sports. I say it like that because I'm a MASSIVE motorsports fan. Motocross, Sprint Cars, stuff like that.
The hit at 6:20 was on Marc Savard. His career/life was never the same after that. He ended up playing 25 more games the following season but suffered another concussion and he hasn't fully recovered yet (Over 11 years later).
I've watched this channel for a while, and a lot of others. The reaction when the stretcher gets dropped might be the most genuine one i've ever seen on youtube. That's the office bloke mike effect. Safety > everything
I remember watching that Chara hit on Pacioretty live on TV. I think a lot of hockey fans honestly though we just witnessed a death live that day, I mean the speed that was at, his head snapped back so hard, and with the sound the impact made, I think almost everyone thought for sure he broke his neck instantly and was dead. Amazingly he did survive despite fracturing his C4 vertebra and suffering a concussion. He’s lucky that he wasn’t paralyzed, and it’s crazy that he fully recovered and still plays today and is actually still a solid producing forward. When they announced he was alive I think everyone’s next thought was that his career was 100% over with at the least, and that it’s likely he woulda came out paralyzed in some way. So it’s incredible that he not only fully recovered, but was able to continue his career and actually stay productive at that. And it really sucked for Chara because he didn’t mean to put his head into the stanchion like that he was just riding him up against the boards to try and squeeze him down to stop him, and it just so happened that they were at that part of the ice. That hit is actually what causes the arena’s to make it mandatory to install curved glass at areas like that from then on so there were no more 90 degree walls for players to get ran into. It would instead be curved to help relieve the impact if it were to happen again
That’s the worst hit of all time to me. In any sport. And I wouldn’t even call it the dirtiest hit because it wasn’t intentional by Chara. But I’d absolutely call it the worst hit in any sport in terms of impact force and location. Still to this day I can’t believe he didn’t die or end up paralyzed or at the very least had it end his career. Just dumbfounded how he came out totally ok
lots of players are never the same after a hit / collision like that. Definitely didn't seem intentional, despite the bad blood between the two, but I am a Bruins fan... Nothing but respect for Pacioretty though to come back and still be elite.
The Claude Lemieux hit on Draper was an interesting one with your discussion about what happens next. That hit acted as the spark for what some say is the greatest rivalry in hockey history between those two teams, and famously led to Fight Night at the Joe, when the Red Wings got their revenge. There's a ton of great videos on the topic. Also, the Stevens hit on Kariya is definitely dirty by today's standards. Head contact first, blindside hit. Kariya came back and scored in that game, but has said that he has no memory of the hit or the goal. Lingering concussion symptoms had major effects in his later career and his life post-retirement. Same with the hit on Lindros, dirty hit, basically destroyed the career of one of the league's biggest talents.
Guys that hit someone illegally are gonna have a target on their back the rest of the game. Players will take runs at the guy all night because of the hit
The player on the stretcher that fell over was Mike Modano, who remains the leading American Scorer in the NHL(25th overall) of the top 25 scorers in the NHL(scoring counts goals and assists) 20 are Canadian, one is Czech, one is Russian, one is American(Mike Modano) and Two are Finnish.
I never thought I'd see an NHL reaction from you guys again it's been a long time I've had to rewatch the previous 4 or 5 a hundred times so thank you ahaha
A friend of mine played for the Minnesota North Stars and he would give me tickets right behind their bench. You could hear the hits and how hard the impact was. In addition you could hear the players on the bench talking about their plans for revenge when it was their turn on the ice.
Your friend must be about 146 years old. Funny story, the drummer in my band is 55, and he was a MASSIVE North Stars fan when he was a kid, then when they moved to Dallas, he was waiting and waiting for MN to get another team but he couldn't wait any more so he became a Penguins fan. Still is one to this day. My bass player is 47 and he's a MASSIVE Wild fan, because he's a bit younger. It's so funny to watch those two bicker about hockey, I love them both to death.
I would love to see that! They might need to slowly go through each goal/skill because it could be very hard to understand and follow what is going on for those who are not used to watching hockey.
You mentioned the length of the average shift and you’re right about having really quick shifts. Because hockey is a change on the fly sport, players are constantly changing. The average shift should usually last about 30-45 seconds where you busy your ass the entire time then get off so the next guy can go. Any shift over a minute is usually asking for a goal against because your legs won’t be as fast as your opponent.
Out of all the dirtiest plays, the worst you could do as a hockey player is to check the goalie, the one player you NEVER hit, because without the goalie, there is no game.
Don't underestimate your cousin Office Bloke Dave, Leeds are a decent outfit, about the level I played at. You get paid to play, semi pro, that's not a Dad league. It's a level where several players are pro and the rest are semi pro. Anyone who gets paid to play sport deserves respect.
3:04 I remember watching this one live as a Blackhawks fan. Not a single call on the ice, yet after Torres got the longest suspension in NHL history to that point. An absolute joke. Hope all the officials in that game got fired.
I remember that too. I was livid and it knocked hossa out of the series and the Hawks just couldnt rebound. At the end of the day, they won 3 cups in 6 years. Although Keith was a pretty stand up guy, I forget he has a little dirtiness in him haha
Oh my GOSH boys, I'm a hockey fan and some of these are making even MY stomach turn. Goodness, they were joking around with the title were they these are absolutely brutal.
Eric Lindros was absolutely levelled by Scott Stevens with a hit that I’m shocked didn’t make this reel. Gave him yet another concussion. I think he had a bakers dozen of em. Yes indeed Daz ,Lindros was a monster of a man
A lot of those hits are from a time where having your goons target their playmaker early in the series (first to win 4 of 7) during the playoffs was a common tactic. Eventually this became less of a strategy as fines, suspensions and the overall rules changed to avoid this happening over the past 10-15 years. Penalties became more severe and would detriment your team more than having their playmaker out and the rest of the team fired up for 5 minutes. Also on the suspension featured, they’re increasingly severe if the player has a record of dirty hits, the fines and suspension can be near millions and last for a calendar year, sometimes ending your career on a suspension. And yes Goalies are the crazies on any team.
So (idiotic) people say that's the way it should be. Those people also exist in boxing, MMA, NFL and other sports. They always say, "Back in my day we did it like X and we were fine." No, you weren't fine. You all died before age 70 drooling in your soup.
"Leaving the ice" (jumping up before impact) is a big no-no now...it's the difference between a 2 minute stint in the "Sin Bin" (penalty box) and a 5 minute misconduct/ejection and a fine/suspension.
It's already been mentioned a few times, but I'd love for you guys to take a look at the Red Wings - Avalanche rivalry. The best vid in my opinion is if you search for "Brawl in Hockeytown". I was a huge Red Wings fan when that whole rivalry went down, and was very happy to see the Wings get a bit of revenge that night (and a few other nights).
I was a goalie for 17 years, believe me guys....the break neck speed the game is played at and intensity. I live in Philadelphia and a HUGE New Jersey Devils fan. However the two teams that made me fall in love with the game: The (former) Soviet Union National Team (All Star team, CCCP on their jersey) and my favorite Euro club team is the CSKA Central Red ArmyMoscow (says UCKA with a Star on their jersey) I sooooo very badly, very badly want a home and away CARDIFF DEVILS (UK PRO League) The BEST hitter ever in hockey (NOT BIASED) NJ DEVILS #4 SCOTT STEVENS and GREATEST goaltender of all time (NOT BIASED) MARTIN BRODEUR
A goalie got his throat sliced by a players skate. It wasn’t dirty, it was a complete accident. Crazy video though. Luckily a doctor was able to slow the bleeding and he survived.
That was Claude lemiuex Daz , he was a dirty player not related to Mario but I played against his son cause he made lemiuex academy in Arizona a youth AAA program.. kids in the NHL now somehow for LA lmao Brendan lemiuex
First off I have to say Dave I loves yours grammar. That was the best intro yet! 😂 I’ve been to one hockey game and it was an amazing atmosphere but the hits and fighting are brutal. Dentists definitely make bank on these hockey players.
You guys should react to Connor McDavid, he’s a Messi level talent in hockey, and just had an absolutely awesome goal to win his playoff series in 7 this past weekend.
Hockey is now more about speed, analytics, and skill over physicality and fighting. It sucks because that's what got me into the game. I don't want to see dirty hits or injuries but a good check and standing up for teammates now and then isn't too much to ask.
16:42 The player who was hit is named Matt Cooke. He was responsible for multiple other hits in this video and pretty much every fan sided with Duncan Keith (The player who layed the hit) since Cooke was a very, very dirty player.
The Hit at 5:10 was Claude Lemieux hitting Chris Draper from behind, it took a full year for the retribution, and the rivalry kicked off for a decade, if you would like to see the retribution for that hit, look up fight night at the Joe here on UA-cam, or Wings and Avs hockeys greatest rivalry. Stay blessed 👊🏼
But that wasn’t Lemieux or Gretzys job to check people and annihilate guys. They were there to put pucks in the net, which they did exceptionally well.
@@jpdst29 I think you missed my point. Daz asked if that was Mario Lemieux who committed the dirty hit in the video. I was saying it was Claude not Mario. Because Mario like Gretzky were not the type of players to even check someone. What part did I get wrong?
@@EMD1028 You didn't get any part wrong. But referring to Mario as "wet tissue paper" and in another reply you referred to him as a "woman on skates" is pretty demeaning to a legend like Lemieux. If I recall correctly, Mario used to get in scraps often on the ice.
Love this game started playing at 4 till I was 35 played a few years of Junior B in Ontario Canada never made any farther then that I was too small to make it to the pros in the mid 80s. Lost some teeth got some stitches ect but my knees are shot now and need replacements of both. Born in Toronto Canada so yeah we played 12 months a year on the ice from September till April then street hockey all summer long these hits are called cheap shots. The average shift is 30 seconds to a min. Hunter got 30 games for that cheap shot. Domi got a bunch games for that elbow to the head I think it was a 25 game suspension. 41 games is half a season they play a 82 game regular season. Cooke was a dirty player every one wanted to get a piece of this guy.
The simplest way to explain whether or not a hit is clean is, It's illegal to check someone that doesn't see it coming. You can't blindside someone. That's the most basic way to explain it to someone unfamiliar. But obviously there's a little more to it than that.
It's not hard to see the dirtiest guys are usually the repeat offenders. Matt Cooke, Raffi Torres, Dale Hunter, and Claude Lemieux were just the dirtiest of the dirty. I'm a Bruins fan and both the hit on Marc Savard (by Cooke) and the hit on Nathan Horton (by Aaron Rome) still piss me off to this day. And yes....before others here give me Brad Marchand hate, I already agree that he is a dirty player as well. :)
As another B's fan, I have to say it’s a shame that Marchand is such a weasel. He’s talented enough to be near-elite as a skill player. Shouldn’t bother with all that other junk. …but watching him get-and stay-under the skin of the Sedin twins during the 2011 finals was hilarious.
I played competitively into my early 20s. Generally back then if a big hit happened there wouldn't be a fight, you'd just try and hit the next person bigger and harder. If there's a cheap shot, that person is enemy #1 and has to answer the bell. If you turtle the guy trying to fight you, you're still on the hook and when you're out of the box or back on the ice someone is going to go after you again. When you answer the bell and fight, it's over and done with but doesn't mean you won't be fucked with the rest of the game or whenever you play against that team.
Answering Mike: Punishment for these infractions is typically a major penalty and/or ejection from the game... AND... the league reviews all of these incidents and the players can be suspended without pay. Suspensions are usually between 2 and 6 games, but there have been egregious events where players have been suspended for 42 games in one instance, and for the remainder of the season in a couple of instances in history.
3:25 you often don’t get the time to put your tough guys on before he gets kicked out. when dirty hits happen, everyone on the ice is a tough guy, everyone stands up, even if you’re a scorer.
This was a great reaction guys! I used to go to the minor league team of the redwings games and they pumped you up. This was back in 70&80s. We went for the fights most of all and were they bloody.
@4:20 That hit there was in a Stanley Cup game. The player down was injured enough to miss the rest of the series. The man who hit him came in WAY late, left his feet, and both are big no-nos in the rules. It was a bad cheap shot. Now after that, the lacksidasical Bruins woke up--the bear bore his teeth. The man who hit him was suspended (as you would say--barred) for the rest of the series. As a result, the Bruins ran up the score that game, and the fights were frequent and large after that. (In the Stanely Cup, there is an unwritten rule that says you don't get into fights if you can avoid them. You don't want your star players in the sin bin during the series.) Whatever "courtesies" were being extended to Vancouver up to that point, but that went out the window fast! Boston essentially said, "Okay, you want this like old-time hockey, you shall have it!" and proceeded to beat the snot out of Vancouver for the rest of the series, even though it did go seven games. (And, yes, Boston won the cup!)
I wish I was there to answer all your rules questions! I’ve grew up around hockey, my dad is also a referee. I could answer to all your technical questions.
General rules - short version: Can only hit the guy with the puck; cannot hit above the shoulders (targeting); cannot launch (leave your feet) to hit a guy. Yes, if there is a nasty hit and it is not addressed immediately by the other players on the ice, the designated guy who fights best will be sent out to get the guy who provided the dirty hit. If the guy who gave the dirty hit gets ejected and cannot be taken care of that game, he will be gotten the next time the two teams play.
Bure's elbow on Churla was a retaliation. Bure had been getting run all game and his frustration got the better of him. There really should have been someone out there taking care of the problem so that Bure didn't take things into his own hands. Bure was a pure goal scorer and wasn't really big enough to defend himself (5'10" - 190 lbs). This all happened a year or so after the rules changed (start of 1992-93 season) to make instigating a fight in the playoffs a game misconduct. Before that rule change there would have been an enforcer out there to make players that ran Bure pay for their actions. There have been quite a few versions of instigator rules and none of them have made the game any safer. You wouldn't need rules for head shots or other dangerous play if the players were able to police themselves.
Completely agree. I live in Dallas, and people were calling Pavel a dirty player and the like, and as a player myself, I tried to explain the events that led up to the hit, but they just didn't get it. Now that the team has been here a while, the fans have become more savvy to the intricacies of the game. But the concept of the Russian Rocket being a dirty player always made me chuckle.
Former hockey player here -- a clean bodycheck is a thing of beauty, perfectly timed hit on the puck carrier. These hits here are atrociously awful, dirty play that will end careers. Also players now are stronger and faster than they were even 20 years ago. Rough and tough sport.
FINALLY a sport, my FAVORITE sport, I like!! Thanx for reacting to this!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Huge Detroit Red Wings fan, even have the Wings logo on my ankle!! ❤️❤️ Detroit/Avalanche rumbles we’re the BEST!!! ❤️❤️
I don't know all the rules regarding body checking, but here's a few...your feet can't leave the ice when checking (no jumping into the person), you can't target the player's head, no checking from behind, no checking the player into the boards (if they're already very close to the boards it's ok, but you can't check them into them if they're like 3 feet away) can only check player within 'x' seconds of them touching the puck (not sure exactly how many seconds...might be 2). Everyone feel free to correct me on any bullshit.
Guys you can always try Road Hockey or Street Hockey. Only thing you need is a stick, tennis ball 🎾 and a net. As a kid we spent hours playing road hockey no matter the season.
So that Pavel Bure flying elbow to the face-piece of Churla was absolutely a dirty hit but a justifiable one in my opinion. Context is everything and this playoff series was during the 'dead puck' AKA 'Clutch-N-Grab' era of the NHL where scoring was way down and players were allowed to just grab, hold, impede, and everything else in between to other players with nearly no penalties called (especially in the playoffs, where the referees would just 'swallow their whistles'). Shane Churla spent that entire playoff grabbing, holding, and hitting Pavel Bure (who at that time was one of the biggest superstars in the WORLD) a lot of times when he hadn't even touched the puck or if he played the puck it was promptly moved. Shane Churla was a donut, a goon, a 4th liner that averaged roughly 8 minutes of ice time a game, whereas Bure being a 1st line regular winger who often times was double-shifted and saw time on both the powerplay and the penalty kill, averaged about 18:30-22:00 minutes a game. There were a couple late and gratuitous hits on Bure and one of his linemates earlier in that shift before Bure got up from a late, cheap shot by Churla, skated all the way down to the other end of the ice and absolutely threw a savage flying elbow, knocking out Churla. Bure's action and hit on Churla was indeed dirty, but the NHL being what it was at the time, I absolutely loved it. Most college ice hockey players that never go pro could skate better and play puck better than Shane Churla. F that guy.
At 4:19, the Bruins were behind 2-0 to the Canucks in a best of 7 series. They were down and out, but when Horton got knocked out they rallied, and won the championship in game 7. Vancouver Canuck fans were so mad that they trashed half the city after losing the last game.
I'm Canadian and 72 yrs old now ,, bit I remember when they use to fight over the puck,, I tell you what ,, everything was flying, gloves ,helmets, sticks ,, it was full on massacre , these guys showed they had hot tempers and let nothing stand in their way ,, it was deadly ,,, but it made us scream ,,, got our blood racing for sure just watching them going to war against each other , oh , the good old games ,
And a shift is typically around 35-45 secs. Many of the tackles seen in this video, results in a 5+game penalty. So the player is out for the rest of the game, and his team are a mand down for 5 minutes. Later, a committee will assess the hit, and suspensions, and fines will be delt out. Many of these hits, resulted in suspensions between 5, and 20 games, plus hefty fines.
If you’re doing a gaming reaction channel you should react to destiny 2 cutscenes and story gameplay it’s very good and has a lot of similarities to the avengers series
What happens when an NHL player is suspended? If a player is suspended, he takes up a spot on the 23-man active roster, and his salary still counts against the salary cap. However, his salary is actually forfeited for the number of games missed. So the suspension primarily hurts the player, and to a minor degree, it hurts the team through the cap hit.
I remember staying up late watching the Caps game when Hunter hit Turgeon and separating his shoulder !!!! He was suspended for 21 games the following season
The basic unwritten rule is you do not try to crush the stars of the NHL. You can check them but if the hit is too high or too low, the other team will look for revenge. The fighters have their own code to only fight other fighters unless the non-fighter is being cheap with late hits or using the stick. If a hit is really bad/illegal even your own team will come after in the locker room. Years ago a guy caused a brawl on the ice after a dangerous hit. Both teams fought it out on the ice and the teammates of the guy the provoked the fight in the first place beat him up in the locker room. On the ice everyone on your team is your brother and you must fight to protect your brothers. In the locker room, your brothers will also castigate for doing something wrong on the ice. Hockey has a lot of unwritten codes.
The player you noted as losing teeth, Was Jeremy Roenick, I believe his jaw was broken in 3 places by that hit as well. He played for a little more, Then left the game
It's headshots, and jumping or leaving your skates as they call it that gets you in trouble. Also boarding and checking from behind are similar penalties that involve hitting a guy directly on the numbers on the back of his jersey.
Peek Eric Lindros with the Flayers was one of the best in the League. But yeah the hits got to him. I believe over his career he’s definitely had more then four.
You can get thrown out if you leave the bench specifically to fight. Back in the day there were enforcers who played the game but also stuck up for some of the smaller guys, fighting after big/illegal hits. If you get assessed instigator penalty, it's 17 minutes of penalties (two for instigation, five for fighting, and ten for misconduct). Your team plays shorthanded for two minutes, and someone will sit for two minutes for you while you serve the misconduct. Ideally, either the referee throws you out for the dirty hit, assessing a five-minute penalty for the hit and a game misconduct. If the referee determines that you set out to hurt a player, he assesses a match penalty for intent to injure, ejecting the player immediately. This is very rare, but it does happen. When you receive a match penalty, you are reported to the NHL Department of Player Safety for a hearing.
When YOU pull the knee you're "ready" for it, you bend, put weight and hit the knee. Did that a few time when i was 10-11 y/o. Not proud of it but i was a bit wild back then.
I've a friend that played in UK and he played 1 game in the NHL. What i'm saying is that he was an incredible player and been captain in all the team he played so i'm sure the caliber of UK professional hockey is pretty strong. Of course it's not NHL but they are great players anyway, from all over the world.
3:15 I'm only a casual hockey fan but the way I've understood it is that it's a totally self-policing system. Also some of these hits aren't "illegal" they're just in bad taste. It's like spearing a QB who is running in football, like sure, he's a runner at the moment but he's still the team's life-blood, and probably a multi-million dollar investment for the program. You don't try to murder the guy on the 1 play out of 100 that he choose to scramble for a 1st down even though it's "legal." But if the dude from Team A unnecessarily smears a dude from Team B, ALL of Team B will be after that guy, and Team A will let it happen, to a certain extent. The "sentence" has to match the crime though, and if it gets out of hand then Team A will start going after Team B. It's extremely ironic to me how closely professional hockey mirrors inner-city gangs when you consider the sheer lack of black hockey players lol.
I believe the issue with a few of the hits was players leaving their feet to make contact. That's a violation. As others have mentioned here, the offending Colorado player was not Mario Lemieux (who played for the Pittsburgh Penguins) but Claude Lemieux. The problem with that guy was that even if you sent out an enforcer to "send him a message", he often would just turtle: he wouldn't fight. It was frustrating to deal with. Another guy from that era was Brian Marchment. He seemed to come out of nowhere with these huge hits. I watched him once and noticed that he could tomahawk, that is go from skating backwards to skating forwards, in one stride and nearly full speed. He could make contact before the opposing player could even react. The end result was usually a stoppage of play as the opposing team tried to dismember Marchment. Players and fans alike hated him but it had the intended effect of distracting offensive players.
That was Claude Lemieux on the hit against Detroit. One of the dirtiest plays ever and those two teams (Colorado and Detroit) had the nastiest rivalry in the NHL for years afterward
Back then he even warned his teammates not to get in the way because he'd be crossing the ice to hit. (Similar to Scott Stevens) I wouldn't say "dirtiest" but he sure was not clean by today's standards.
the 'other' Lemieux -Penguins fans
It was a bad hit but dirtiest play? Calm down "hockey town".
@@TheCrazyCanuck420 I would say "memorable" is a more apt description, no?
@@Timmycoo better
On that Claude Lemieux hit, Kris Draper broke his jaw, nose, cheek bone, orbital bone and bent 5 of his teeth. Lemieux never apologized for it, and the Red Wings got their revenge a year later. Definitely react to Brawl in Hockeytown
To clarify some of the unspoken rules around the hits in hockey, you may want to watch a video somewhere on here called The Code. But, yeah, if you hit one of ours, we'll hit one of yours (unless ours was being a pest). And if that can't be done in this game, you best believe we'll be waiting for you at the next, even if it's in another year altogether.
Yeah, something tells me they’d like that video
you have to watch this. Fantastic video
thats called the claude lemieux rule we will remember and you will pay the hit at 4:53 is claude one year later him and his whole team took a beating on the scoreboard and physically
Soft football the only sport that matters and im not talking ab the foreign version
I love the sport for these sort of things. It takes the concept of "let the boys play" to the max lol. It's great. Playoff hockey is one of my favorite things to watch. This is one of my favorite times of the year in "ball" sports. I say it like that because I'm a MASSIVE motorsports fan. Motocross, Sprint Cars, stuff like that.
The hit at 6:20 was on Marc Savard. His career/life was never the same after that. He ended up playing 25 more games the following season but suffered another concussion and he hasn't fully recovered yet (Over 11 years later).
So sad. The video of Matt Cooke getting KO'd is one of my favorites tho lol
@@alwaysbreezy37 I’m a Pens fan and HATED that Matt Cooke was on the team. POS
I've watched this channel for a while, and a lot of others. The reaction when the stretcher gets dropped might be the most genuine one i've ever seen on youtube. That's the office bloke mike effect. Safety > everything
I remember watching that Chara hit on Pacioretty live on TV. I think a lot of hockey fans honestly though we just witnessed a death live that day, I mean the speed that was at, his head snapped back so hard, and with the sound the impact made, I think almost everyone thought for sure he broke his neck instantly and was dead. Amazingly he did survive despite fracturing his C4 vertebra and suffering a concussion. He’s lucky that he wasn’t paralyzed, and it’s crazy that he fully recovered and still plays today and is actually still a solid producing forward. When they announced he was alive I think everyone’s next thought was that his career was 100% over with at the least, and that it’s likely he woulda came out paralyzed in some way. So it’s incredible that he not only fully recovered, but was able to continue his career and actually stay productive at that. And it really sucked for Chara because he didn’t mean to put his head into the stanchion like that he was just riding him up against the boards to try and squeeze him down to stop him, and it just so happened that they were at that part of the ice. That hit is actually what causes the arena’s to make it mandatory to install curved glass at areas like that from then on so there were no more 90 degree walls for players to get ran into. It would instead be curved to help relieve the impact if it were to happen again
That’s the worst hit of all time to me. In any sport. And I wouldn’t even call it the dirtiest hit because it wasn’t intentional by Chara. But I’d absolutely call it the worst hit in any sport in terms of impact force and location. Still to this day I can’t believe he didn’t die or end up paralyzed or at the very least had it end his career. Just dumbfounded how he came out totally ok
lots of players are never the same after a hit / collision like that. Definitely didn't seem intentional, despite the bad blood between the two, but I am a Bruins fan... Nothing but respect for Pacioretty though to come back and still be elite.
The Claude Lemieux hit on Draper was an interesting one with your discussion about what happens next. That hit acted as the spark for what some say is the greatest rivalry in hockey history between those two teams, and famously led to Fight Night at the Joe, when the Red Wings got their revenge. There's a ton of great videos on the topic.
Also, the Stevens hit on Kariya is definitely dirty by today's standards. Head contact first, blindside hit. Kariya came back and scored in that game, but has said that he has no memory of the hit or the goal. Lingering concussion symptoms had major effects in his later career and his life post-retirement. Same with the hit on Lindros, dirty hit, basically destroyed the career of one of the league's biggest talents.
Here’s link to great video that explains Lemieux hit on Draper and the rivalry that ensued. Enjoy ua-cam.com/video/YIzNQydkBi0/v-deo.html
My hatred for Claude Lemeuix is so fierce, it extends to his son Brendan..😂
@@rachaelwhite5961 eh. I guess I feel that ... I dislike the name bertuzzi
Lindros ended his own career. Bad habit of keeping his head down going and had a bunch of concussions.
Guys that hit someone illegally are gonna have a target on their back the rest of the game. Players will take runs at the guy all night because of the hit
And games to come
The player on the stretcher that fell over was Mike Modano, who remains the leading American Scorer in the NHL(25th overall) of the top 25 scorers in the NHL(scoring counts goals and assists) 20 are Canadian, one is Czech, one is Russian, one is American(Mike Modano) and Two are Finnish.
Brett Hull has duel citizenship. I wonder where he ranks? Or is he counted as Canadian?
5/20/22, 7:16 p.m.
@@ORagnar I count him as Canadian.
the first rounds of the NHL playoffs had concluded, you guys should post some more NHL including skills and saves.
My Bruins. 😢
I never thought I'd see an NHL reaction from you guys again it's been a long time I've had to rewatch the previous 4 or 5 a hundred times so thank you ahaha
A friend of mine played for the Minnesota North Stars and he would give me tickets right behind their bench. You could hear the hits and how hard the impact was. In addition you could hear the players on the bench talking about their plans for revenge when it was their turn on the ice.
Met Center!!!
Your friend must be about 146 years old. Funny story, the drummer in my band is 55, and he was a MASSIVE North Stars fan when he was a kid, then when they moved to Dallas, he was waiting and waiting for MN to get another team but he couldn't wait any more so he became a Penguins fan. Still is one to this day. My bass player is 47 and he's a MASSIVE Wild fan, because he's a bit younger. It's so funny to watch those two bicker about hockey, I love them both to death.
Love these NHL reactions, you guys should look at best NHL goals/skills as well
this please^
I would love to see that! They might need to slowly go through each goal/skill because it could be very hard to understand and follow what is going on for those who are not used to watching hockey.
Best saves is always where it’s at.
You mentioned the length of the average shift and you’re right about having really quick shifts. Because hockey is a change on the fly sport, players are constantly changing. The average shift should usually last about 30-45 seconds where you busy your ass the entire time then get off so the next guy can go. Any shift over a minute is usually asking for a goal against because your legs won’t be as fast as your opponent.
Out of all the dirtiest plays, the worst you could do as a hockey player is to check the goalie, the one player you NEVER hit, because without the goalie, there is no game.
Don't underestimate your cousin Office Bloke Dave, Leeds are a decent outfit, about the level I played at. You get paid to play, semi pro, that's not a Dad league. It's a level where several players are pro and the rest are semi pro. Anyone who gets paid to play sport deserves respect.
I enjoy watching dudes from the uk watch hockey. No clue, but they instinctively love it.
Please react to more nhl like best goals, saves, and passes. Glad you’re reacting to more nhl
2:50 was dirty because he went high and he didn’t have the puck.
Long time Canadian subscriber and U guys just made my day... BTW there was a couple of players on this reaction that never played again...
That was Claude Lemieux not Mario
Your Devils team was one of the best.
I saw the first Devils game ever and my family had seasons for 20 years. I saw them win the cup live 2x.
Damn that's crazy the only Devils game I ever saw was when he lost that Golden Fiddle to Johnny.
I haven’t watched this yet because I’m watching the playoff games, but I’m so happy to see NHL reactions back on the blokes channel 👍🍻
3:04 I remember watching this one live as a Blackhawks fan. Not a single call on the ice, yet after Torres got the longest suspension in NHL history to that point. An absolute joke. Hope all the officials in that game got fired.
I remember that too. I was livid and it knocked hossa out of the series and the Hawks just couldnt rebound. At the end of the day, they won 3 cups in 6 years. Although Keith was a pretty stand up guy, I forget he has a little dirtiness in him haha
Oh my GOSH boys, I'm a hockey fan and some of these are making even MY stomach turn. Goodness, they were joking around with the title were they these are absolutely brutal.
Eric Lindros was absolutely levelled by Scott Stevens with a hit that I’m shocked didn’t make this reel. Gave him yet another concussion. I think he had a bakers dozen of em. Yes indeed Daz ,Lindros was a monster of a man
Wasn't that hit at the end of video?
@@JH-tp3bs right you are. I stand corrected. I thought the reel was over when I saw the text about clean/dirty hits. Thanks!
@@ericmcdonough8193 Little brother Brett Lindros also got dummied and had to retire early from concussions.
A lot of those hits are from a time where having your goons target their playmaker early in the series (first to win 4 of 7) during the playoffs was a common tactic. Eventually this became less of a strategy as fines, suspensions and the overall rules changed to avoid this happening over the past 10-15 years. Penalties became more severe and would detriment your team more than having their playmaker out and the rest of the team fired up for 5 minutes.
Also on the suspension featured, they’re increasingly severe if the player has a record of dirty hits, the fines and suspension can be near millions and last for a calendar year, sometimes ending your career on a suspension.
And yes Goalies are the crazies on any team.
On the enforcer question. It depends on the coach
Watching hockey hits from the 70’s and 80’s are just brutal. No mouth guards, no helmets. People would get seriously injured.
So (idiotic) people say that's the way it should be. Those people also exist in boxing, MMA, NFL and other sports. They always say, "Back in my day we did it like X and we were fine." No, you weren't fine. You all died before age 70 drooling in your soup.
"Leaving the ice" (jumping up before impact) is a big no-no now...it's the difference between a 2 minute stint in the "Sin Bin" (penalty box) and a 5 minute misconduct/ejection and a fine/suspension.
It's already been mentioned a few times, but I'd love for you guys to take a look at the Red Wings - Avalanche rivalry. The best vid in my opinion is if you search for "Brawl in Hockeytown". I was a huge Red Wings fan when that whole rivalry went down, and was very happy to see the Wings get a bit of revenge that night (and a few other nights).
14:56 best part
I was a goalie for 17 years, believe me guys....the break neck speed the game is played at and intensity. I live in Philadelphia and a HUGE New Jersey Devils fan. However the two teams that made me fall in love with the game: The (former) Soviet Union National Team (All Star team, CCCP on their jersey) and my favorite Euro club team is the CSKA Central Red ArmyMoscow (says UCKA with a Star on their jersey) I sooooo very badly, very badly want a home and away CARDIFF DEVILS (UK PRO League) The BEST hitter ever in hockey (NOT BIASED) NJ DEVILS #4 SCOTT STEVENS and GREATEST goaltender of all time (NOT BIASED) MARTIN BRODEUR
Devils fan here ...Scott Stevens was the BOSS! Remember when he took Lindros out???
A goalie got his throat sliced by a players skate. It wasn’t dirty, it was a complete accident. Crazy video though. Luckily a doctor was able to slow the bleeding and he survived.
That was Claude lemiuex Daz , he was a dirty player not related to Mario but I played against his son cause he made lemiuex academy in Arizona a youth AAA program.. kids in the NHL now somehow for LA lmao Brendan lemiuex
That Scott Stevens hit on Lindros is legendary, cool that Daz was there!
I loved hearing Dazs remarks about Colin White. He's from my hometown great guy.
As a follow up to the hit at 6:00 you need to watch "Brawl in Hockey Town" you'll see Claude Lemieux get paid back.
First off I have to say Dave I loves yours grammar. That was the best intro yet! 😂
I’ve been to one hockey game and it was an amazing atmosphere but the hits and fighting are brutal. Dentists definitely make bank on these hockey players.
They have UA-cam videos on the unspoken rules of hockey and baseball.
Great hockey film to watch that deals with enforcers, Goon with Stifler from American Pie and Slap Shot with Paul Newman and the Hanson brothers! Lol
One of the craziest things I've seen is a hockey players blade cutting a guys throat.
Clint Malarchuk, I might of been wrong about the blade part, still got his throat sliced.
Poor Clint, I’d recommend not watching that one
@Adam Green yes if I recall, same arena just yearsss after
@@GBrimstone Different arena but same city.
You guys should react to Connor McDavid, he’s a Messi level talent in hockey, and just had an absolutely awesome goal to win his playoff series in 7 this past weekend.
Hockey is now more about speed, analytics, and skill over physicality and fighting. It sucks because that's what got me into the game. I don't want to see dirty hits or injuries but a good check and standing up for teammates now and then isn't too much to ask.
16:42 The player who was hit is named Matt Cooke. He was responsible for multiple other hits in this video and pretty much every fan sided with Duncan Keith (The player who layed the hit) since Cooke was a very, very dirty player.
Cooke getting KO'd is still one of my favorite videos of all time 😂
The Hit at 5:10 was Claude Lemieux hitting Chris Draper from behind, it took a full year for the retribution, and the rivalry kicked off for a decade, if you would like to see the retribution for that hit, look up fight night at the Joe here on UA-cam, or Wings and Avs hockeys greatest rivalry. Stay blessed 👊🏼
15:02 I laughed so hard when they dropped the poor guy hahaahajjaajha 😂 that was too funny I felt bad a little
these reactions are 🔥🔥keep them coming !!!
I can’t believe Mike was the only one to laugh when they dropped that guy on the stretcher. That was hilarious
Dude who got leveled probably was laughing to the bank after suing the crap out of the medical staff lol.
It wasn't Mario. It was Claude Lemieux. Mario like Gretzky were as tough as a wet tissue on the ice. They needed enforcers
But that wasn’t Lemieux or Gretzys job to check people and annihilate guys. They were there to put pucks in the net, which they did exceptionally well.
@@jpdst29 I think you missed my point. Daz asked if that was Mario Lemieux who committed the dirty hit in the video. I was saying it was Claude not Mario. Because Mario like Gretzky were not the type of players to even check someone. What part did I get wrong?
@@EMD1028 You didn't get any part wrong. But referring to Mario as "wet tissue paper" and in another reply you referred to him as a "woman on skates" is pretty demeaning to a legend like Lemieux. If I recall correctly, Mario used to get in scraps often on the ice.
Love this game started playing at 4 till I was 35 played a few years of Junior B in Ontario Canada never made any farther then that I was too small to make it to the pros in the mid 80s. Lost some teeth got some stitches ect but my knees are shot now and need replacements of both. Born in Toronto Canada so yeah we played 12 months a year on the ice from September till April then street hockey all summer long these hits are called cheap shots. The average shift is 30 seconds to a min. Hunter got 30 games for that cheap shot. Domi got a bunch games for that elbow to the head I think it was a 25 game suspension. 41 games is half a season they play a 82 game regular season. Cooke was a dirty player every one wanted to get a piece of this guy.
I was so worried that Modano clip wasn't going to include the stretcher drop. What a classic piece of footage.
The simplest way to explain whether or not a hit is clean is, It's illegal to check someone that doesn't see it coming. You can't blindside someone. That's the most basic way to explain it to someone unfamiliar. But obviously there's a little more to it than that.
It's not hard to see the dirtiest guys are usually the repeat offenders. Matt Cooke, Raffi Torres, Dale Hunter, and Claude Lemieux were just the dirtiest of the dirty. I'm a Bruins fan and both the hit on Marc Savard (by Cooke) and the hit on Nathan Horton (by Aaron Rome) still piss me off to this day.
And yes....before others here give me Brad Marchand hate, I already agree that he is a dirty player as well. :)
As another B's fan, I have to say it’s a shame that Marchand is such a weasel. He’s talented enough to be near-elite as a skill player. Shouldn’t bother with all that other junk.
…but watching him get-and stay-under the skin of the Sedin twins during the 2011 finals was hilarious.
I played competitively into my early 20s. Generally back then if a big hit happened there wouldn't be a fight, you'd just try and hit the next person bigger and harder. If there's a cheap shot, that person is enemy #1 and has to answer the bell. If you turtle the guy trying to fight you, you're still on the hook and when you're out of the box or back on the ice someone is going to go after you again. When you answer the bell and fight, it's over and done with but doesn't mean you won't be fucked with the rest of the game or whenever you play against that team.
Answering Mike: Punishment for these infractions is typically a major penalty and/or ejection from the game... AND... the league reviews all of these incidents and the players can be suspended without pay. Suspensions are usually between 2 and 6 games, but there have been egregious events where players have been suspended for 42 games in one instance, and for the remainder of the season in a couple of instances in history.
3:25 you often don’t get the time to put your tough guys on before he gets kicked out. when dirty hits happen, everyone on the ice is a tough guy, everyone stands up, even if you’re a scorer.
This was a great reaction guys! I used to go to the minor league team of the redwings games and they pumped you up. This was back in 70&80s. We went for the fights most of all and were they bloody.
14:57, Daz’s reaction to that is my reaction to any inconvenience I have in life.
@4:20 That hit there was in a Stanley Cup game. The player down was injured enough to miss the rest of the series. The man who hit him came in WAY late, left his feet, and both are big no-nos in the rules. It was a bad cheap shot. Now after that, the lacksidasical Bruins woke up--the bear bore his teeth. The man who hit him was suspended (as you would say--barred) for the rest of the series. As a result, the Bruins ran up the score that game, and the fights were frequent and large after that. (In the Stanely Cup, there is an unwritten rule that says you don't get into fights if you can avoid them. You don't want your star players in the sin bin during the series.) Whatever "courtesies" were being extended to Vancouver up to that point, but that went out the window fast! Boston essentially said, "Okay, you want this like old-time hockey, you shall have it!" and proceeded to beat the snot out of Vancouver for the rest of the series, even though it did go seven games. (And, yes, Boston won the cup!)
I wish I was there to answer all your rules questions! I’ve grew up around hockey, my dad is also a referee. I could answer to all your technical questions.
General rules - short version: Can only hit the guy with the puck; cannot hit above the shoulders (targeting); cannot launch (leave your feet) to hit a guy. Yes, if there is a nasty hit and it is not addressed immediately by the other players on the ice, the designated guy who fights best will be sent out to get the guy who provided the dirty hit. If the guy who gave the dirty hit gets ejected and cannot be taken care of that game, he will be gotten the next time the two teams play.
Bure's elbow on Churla was a retaliation. Bure had been getting run all game and his frustration got the better of him. There really should have been someone out there taking care of the problem so that Bure didn't take things into his own hands. Bure was a pure goal scorer and wasn't really big enough to defend himself (5'10" - 190 lbs).
This all happened a year or so after the rules changed (start of 1992-93 season) to make instigating a fight in the playoffs a game misconduct. Before that rule change there would have been an enforcer out there to make players that ran Bure pay for their actions. There have been quite a few versions of instigator rules and none of them have made the game any safer. You wouldn't need rules for head shots or other dangerous play if the players were able to police themselves.
Completely agree. I live in Dallas, and people were calling Pavel a dirty player and the like, and as a player myself, I tried to explain the events that led up to the hit, but they just didn't get it.
Now that the team has been here a while, the fans have become more savvy to the intricacies of the game.
But the concept of the Russian Rocket being a dirty player always made me chuckle.
Former hockey player here -- a clean bodycheck is a thing of beauty, perfectly timed hit on the puck carrier. These hits here are atrociously awful, dirty play that will end careers. Also players now are stronger and faster than they were even 20 years ago. Rough and tough sport.
FINALLY a sport, my FAVORITE sport, I like!! Thanx for reacting to this!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Huge Detroit Red Wings fan, even have the Wings logo on my ankle!! ❤️❤️ Detroit/Avalanche rumbles we’re the BEST!!! ❤️❤️
You should do more hockey videos, I think you guys would really enjoy it
If you haven’t seen it already, you guys MUST see the compilation of the worst NHL injuries. I think that would be right up your alley.
There is usually someone on the ice who can be a tough guy. But there's always someone the coach can call on to get the ice and even the violence
I don't know all the rules regarding body checking, but here's a few...your feet can't leave the ice when checking (no jumping into the person), you can't target the player's head, no checking from behind, no checking the player into the boards (if they're already very close to the boards it's ok, but you can't check them into them if they're like 3 feet away) can only check player within 'x' seconds of them touching the puck (not sure exactly how many seconds...might be 2). Everyone feel free to correct me on any bullshit.
In case you're wondering what language that is at 23:38 (and once earlier), it's Quebecois French.
Guys you can always try Road Hockey or Street Hockey. Only thing you need is a stick, tennis ball 🎾 and a net. As a kid we spent hours playing road hockey no matter the season.
This is why they say, "Keep your head up!"
The Lindros you're thinking of that retired after a bad concussion was Eric's brother, Brett.
So that Pavel Bure flying elbow to the face-piece of Churla was absolutely a dirty hit but a justifiable one in my opinion. Context is everything and this playoff series was during the 'dead puck' AKA 'Clutch-N-Grab' era of the NHL where scoring was way down and players were allowed to just grab, hold, impede, and everything else in between to other players with nearly no penalties called (especially in the playoffs, where the referees would just 'swallow their whistles'). Shane Churla spent that entire playoff grabbing, holding, and hitting Pavel Bure (who at that time was one of the biggest superstars in the WORLD) a lot of times when he hadn't even touched the puck or if he played the puck it was promptly moved.
Shane Churla was a donut, a goon, a 4th liner that averaged roughly 8 minutes of ice time a game, whereas Bure being a 1st line regular winger who often times was double-shifted and saw time on both the powerplay and the penalty kill, averaged about 18:30-22:00 minutes a game. There were a couple late and gratuitous hits on Bure and one of his linemates earlier in that shift before Bure got up from a late, cheap shot by Churla, skated all the way down to the other end of the ice and absolutely threw a savage flying elbow, knocking out Churla.
Bure's action and hit on Churla was indeed dirty, but the NHL being what it was at the time, I absolutely loved it. Most college ice hockey players that never go pro could skate better and play puck better than Shane Churla. F that guy.
At 4:19, the Bruins were behind 2-0 to the Canucks in a best of 7 series. They were down and out, but when Horton got knocked out they rallied, and won the championship in game 7. Vancouver Canuck fans were so mad that they trashed half the city after losing the last game.
I'm Canadian and 72 yrs old now ,, bit I remember when they use to fight over the puck,, I tell you what ,, everything was flying, gloves ,helmets, sticks ,, it was full on massacre , these guys showed they had hot tempers and let nothing stand in their way ,, it was deadly ,,, but it made us scream ,,, got our blood racing for sure just watching them going to war against each other , oh , the good old games ,
Dave if you really read that as "driest" hits, it's about time to hit up the eye doctor there buddy boy lol.
Not sure if you have reacted to the brawl in hockey town. Definitely a much watch.
Same with the Good Friday Massacre.
And a shift is typically around 35-45 secs.
Many of the tackles seen in this video, results in a 5+game penalty. So the player is out for the rest of the game, and his team are a mand down for 5 minutes. Later, a committee will assess the hit, and suspensions, and fines will be delt out.
Many of these hits, resulted in suspensions between 5, and 20 games, plus hefty fines.
If you’re doing a gaming reaction channel you should react to destiny 2 cutscenes and story gameplay it’s very good and has a lot of similarities to the avengers series
What happens when an NHL player is suspended?
If a player is suspended, he takes up a spot on the 23-man active roster, and his salary still counts against the salary cap. However, his salary is actually forfeited for the number of games missed. So the suspension primarily hurts the player, and to a minor degree, it hurts the team through the cap hit.
I remember staying up late watching the Caps game when Hunter hit Turgeon and separating his shoulder !!!! He was suspended for 21 games the following season
The basic unwritten rule is you do not try to crush the stars of the NHL. You can check them but if the hit is too high or too low, the other team will look for revenge. The fighters have their own code to only fight other fighters unless the non-fighter is being cheap with late hits or using the stick.
If a hit is really bad/illegal even your own team will come after in the locker room. Years ago a guy caused a brawl on the ice after a dangerous hit. Both teams fought it out on the ice and the teammates of the guy the provoked the fight in the first place beat him up in the locker room. On the ice everyone on your team is your brother and you must fight to protect your brothers. In the locker room, your brothers will also castigate for doing something wrong on the ice. Hockey has a lot of unwritten codes.
alot of forearm shivers. Bruisers were absolutely ruthless back in the day and of course you just had some dirty players like lemieux and cooke
If there is only one thing to take away from this compilation, it’s that we should all invest in stretchers and dentists. Great reaction video.
The player you noted as losing teeth, Was Jeremy Roenick, I believe his jaw was broken in 3 places by that hit as well. He played for a little more, Then left the game
It's headshots, and jumping or leaving your skates as they call it that gets you in trouble. Also boarding and checking from behind are similar penalties that involve hitting a guy directly on the numbers on the back of his jersey.
Peek Eric Lindros with the Flayers was one of the best in the League. But yeah the hits got to him. I believe over his career he’s definitely had more then four.
That was Claude not Mario
You can get thrown out if you leave the bench specifically to fight. Back in the day there were enforcers who played the game but also stuck up for some of the smaller guys, fighting after big/illegal hits. If you get assessed instigator penalty, it's 17 minutes of penalties (two for instigation, five for fighting, and ten for misconduct). Your team plays shorthanded for two minutes, and someone will sit for two minutes for you while you serve the misconduct. Ideally, either the referee throws you out for the dirty hit, assessing a five-minute penalty for the hit and a game misconduct. If the referee determines that you set out to hurt a player, he assesses a match penalty for intent to injure, ejecting the player immediately. This is very rare, but it does happen. When you receive a match penalty, you are reported to the NHL Department of Player Safety for a hearing.
When YOU pull the knee you're "ready" for it, you bend, put weight and hit the knee. Did that a few time when i was 10-11 y/o. Not proud of it but i was a bit wild back then.
@14:58 after 1000+ reactions I have never seen all 3 of you jump like that(I did the exact same) 🤦♂️🙏😮
Total shocking moment ✨✨✨
You were correct about Eric Lindros, he did retire after some concussion issues, As did his Brother, Also played in the NHL
In my playing days; i never wanted to go past 45 seconds for a "shift"
you should watch nhl glass breaking :)
I've a friend that played in UK and he played 1 game in the NHL. What i'm saying is that he was an incredible player and been captain in all the team he played so i'm sure the caliber of UK professional hockey is pretty strong. Of course it's not NHL but they are great players anyway, from all over the world.
3:15 I'm only a casual hockey fan but the way I've understood it is that it's a totally self-policing system. Also some of these hits aren't "illegal" they're just in bad taste. It's like spearing a QB who is running in football, like sure, he's a runner at the moment but he's still the team's life-blood, and probably a multi-million dollar investment for the program. You don't try to murder the guy on the 1 play out of 100 that he choose to scramble for a 1st down even though it's "legal." But if the dude from Team A unnecessarily smears a dude from Team B, ALL of Team B will be after that guy, and Team A will let it happen, to a certain extent. The "sentence" has to match the crime though, and if it gets out of hand then Team A will start going after Team B. It's extremely ironic to me how closely professional hockey mirrors inner-city gangs when you consider the sheer lack of black hockey players lol.
Hey Daz,
You bet they will put their enforcer out, and even things up.
Dave Attell, Skanks for the Memories album! DO NOT PASS IT UP.
I believe the issue with a few of the hits was players leaving their feet to make contact. That's a violation. As others have mentioned here, the offending Colorado player was not Mario Lemieux (who played for the Pittsburgh Penguins) but Claude Lemieux. The problem with that guy was that even if you sent out an enforcer to "send him a message", he often would just turtle: he wouldn't fight. It was frustrating to deal with. Another guy from that era was Brian Marchment. He seemed to come out of nowhere with these huge hits. I watched him once and noticed that he could tomahawk, that is go from skating backwards to skating forwards, in one stride and nearly full speed. He could make contact before the opposing player could even react. The end result was usually a stoppage of play as the opposing team tried to dismember Marchment. Players and fans alike hated him but it had the intended effect of distracting offensive players.