You can’t leave Tie Domi out of the discussion when talking about NHL bad guys. Off the ice, he was known to be one of the friendliest guys, but on the ice, well…
Domi is one of the most feared fighters in history, and throughout his career, he accumulated 3 515 penalty minutes.
He’s most remembered for his ten seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, where his main objective was to protect Swede Mats Sundin.
“He protected me all those years. It was a tough job, both physically and mentally. To be an “enforcer” was the toughest job in the league,” Sundin told the Toronto Star.
Tie Domi threw his gloves 270 times; luckily for him, he was a pretty good fighter. During his days, enforcers were more common than today. Almost every time, there was at least one guy ready to make opponents pay for bad hits or plays.
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It’s hard to actually rank the best–or worse, depending on how you look at it–enforcers in NHL history. But one time, Tie Domi was asked who was the toughest guy in the league. However, Domi refused to answer it. And the reason is pure gold.
”Aw, I don’t answer that one anymore. I don’t rank fighters anymore. I did it once a few years ago when I said Bob Probert, and it was like the heavyweight championship of the world the next time we went at it,” he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Bob Probert spread fear in the NHL during the last 80s and early 90s and was one half of the ”Bruise Brothers” with Joey Kocur in Detroit.
In the same interview, he got asked who’s the toughest to play against, not talking about fighting.
”I would have to say the toughest player in the league is Peter Forsberg. He’s tough. Though to play against, strong with the puck,” Domi said.
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