You can’t forget to mention the Legion of Doom when talking about NHL tough guys. The Legion of Doom was a forward line for the Philadelphia Flyers in the mid-’90s, comprising center Eric Lindros and wingers John LeClair and Mikael Renberg.
The trio would completely dominate opponents with their offensive play, but they were also unstoppable in the physical game. It’s not often a player have both the size and the skills, but in The Legion of Doom, all three of them had it. Each of the three was 6’2 or taller and weighed over 230 pounds.
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The Legion of Doom is a legendary line, and opponents hated playing against them. When you played the Flyers during those years, you knew you were up for a hellish game where you would be bullied for 60 minutes non-stop.
Matthew Barnaby was a tough guy, but even he was afraid of The Legion of Doom. Barnaby engaged in 191 fights during his 14 years in the league but still hated playing the Flyers.
On his podcast, ”Unfiltered With Matthew Barnaby,” he revealed that he used to give teammate Alexei Zhitnik a shot of vodka before playing the Flyers so that he would be able to stand up to the rock-hard Legion of Doom.
”You talk about playing in Philadelphia and having to play against you and in the playoffs, just going into Philadelphia… The Legion of Doom line, it’s so dominant,” Barnaby said when talking to Eric Lindros.
”You guys beat us on the scoreboard and physically. I used to bring a little vodka in the shower for Zhitnik when he was to play, I’m like, ’Sorry you have to take that all day long.’ He would just be like, ’Thank you, it’s rough coming in here.’”
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