Fighting is becoming a lost art. There are a handful of guys in the NHL who can throw down, like Mathieu Olivier, Matt Rempe, and Carolina's own Nicolas Deslauriers. However, it's a far cry from the era of the enforcer, when teams had designated guys who'd come off the bench with the sole purpose of putting their fists through someone's face.
According to Hockeyfights.com, fighting over the last decade has faced a steady decline. The number of fights in 2025-26, across the regular season and the postseason, was slightly up from 2024-25, but the number of fights per game saw a small drop. Since the turn of the century, fighting peaked around the late 2000s, with over 41 percent of games in 2008-09 seeing a scuffle.
The Carolina Hurricanes have seen a similar trend. In 101 total games in 2025-26, the Canes featured in nine fights, with Jordan Staal being the only repeat offender. Before Deslauriers' arrival, the team didn't have a certified fighter. Jack Drury dropped the mitts four times from 2023 to 2025. Brendan Lemieux did the same in 2023-24 as well. Otherwise, fights were sporadic at best.
While not a comprehensive list of enforcers and fighters, I did want to highlight some of the toughest customers the franchise has ever seen, spanning much of their time in Raleigh. Again, this isn't every fighter. Just some of the notable players. When I think "enforcer", these are the Hurricanes that immediately come to mind.
Stu Grimson, 1997-98
Kamloops, British Columbia, has produced some tough players, and the Hurricanes have seen that first-hand. They've been blessed to have one on each of their Stanley Cup teams, with Mark Recchi in 2006 and Logan Stankoven in 2026. While both are tough in their own right, neither packs the same wallop that Stu Grimson did.
By the time he was claimed off waivers by the Whalers in 1996, Grimson had played for four teams in ten years, scoring 15 points and amassing 1,106 penalty minutes in 347 games. With Hartford in their final season, Grimson dropped his gloves 24 times. He finished the year with 218 penalty minutes and just four points. He followed the team to North Carolina, and he set some tough numbers to beat.
Grimson is the owner of the Hurricanes record for the most major penalties in a season (22), six more than the next closest, and is the only player since relocation to sit for over 200 penalty minutes in a season (204). He averaged 4:23 in ice time per game in 1997-98, playing the full 82-game slate, and he spent 2:29 in the box each night. He left quite the impression.
Jesse Boulerice, 2002-06
While he might not be the same size and weight as Grimson, Jesse Boulerice wasn't one to back down from an altercation. In fact, in parts of three seasons with the Hurricanes, he's tied for the most fights in team history, fighting his opponents 36 times. Grimson might have the single-season record, but Boulerice occupies the next two spots, going 16 times in 2002-03 and 15 more in 2003-04.
During each full season, Boulerice spent over 100 minutes in the penalty box, with his 127 in 2002-03 ranking sixth in Canes history. Those 36 fights also don't include the nine that he participated in during the preseason. He might not have always been the biggest dog in the fight, but Boulerice wouldn't let that dictate whether he had a chance to win.
While you hope to see your guy win every fight that he's in, arguably the most famous fight of Boulerice's career was one that he lost. On February 11, 2003, Boulerice, holding the size advantage, faced off against Dallas' Aaron Downey. That didn't matter. Downey hit him flush, knocking him out with one punch. It was quick and poignant, just not in Boulerice's favor.
Wade Brookbank, 2007-09
For whatever reason, Wade Brookbank was genuinely the first player that came to mind when I thought of fighters in team history. Maybe it's because his last name stood out enough that I remembered him a little more than others. It's not like he played a ton. In 59 games across parts of two seasons, he only averaged 3:12 on ice per game.
By the time he reached the Hurricanes, Brookbank was 30 years old and hadn't spent long in the NHL. However, he'd left his fair share of carnage during stops with Nashville, Vancouver, and Boston. Brookbank engaged in fisticuffs 18 times with the Hurricanes, including 12 tilts in 32 games in 2007-08, tied for the fourth-most in a season.
His dance partners were pretty impressive. Georges Laraque. Donald Brashear. Shawn Thornton. Colton Orr. Josh Gratton. Eric Boulton. He didn't win them all, but he made the most of his chances. Carolina was his final spot in the NHL before spending the rest of his career in the AHL. You might be shocked to know that he fought a lot there as well.
Tim Conboy, 2007-10
If Brookbank was the first name that came to mind, Tim Conboy was a close second. I'm now realizing that it might've been because I was playing a lot of NHL 08 on my PlayStation 2. Eric Staal was the cover athlete after all. In many ways, Conboy was similar to Brookbank. He didn't play a ton in the NHL, but he sure did like to fight.
Conboy played the same number of games with the Canes as Brookbank (59), doing so over his only three seasons in the NHL. While he never scored an NHL goal, Conboy fought 16 times, just a shade below Brookbank for eighth in team history. Almost half of those came during his first season in Carolina, though he added 15 more in the AHL that year.
One distinction that Conboy holds over the three names above is that he also dropped the gloves in the postseason. He only made three appearances for the Canes during the 2009 playoffs, but he got a scrap in for his troubles. In Game 5 of the conference semifinals against Boston, Conboy fought Mark Stuart. That game also featured the infamous Scott Walker-Aaron Ward debacle.
Tim Gleason, 2006-14/2014-15
My recollection of Tim Gleason's career with the Hurricanes has clearly been skewed by what he has done behind the bench for the team over the last few years. He had a little more time to do it, but Gleason is tied with Boulerice for the most fights as a Hurricane, squaring off with his opponents 36 times in 546 games across nine years and two stints.
Gleason never fought more than six times during a season, doing so in 2007-08 and 2009-10. However, those numbers built up over time, helping to propel him to the top of the leaderboard. He took part in one of the most mesmerizing fights ever. In 2012 against the Penguins, Gleason and Deryk Engelland were in sync while throwing haymakers at one another. It was quite the spectacle.
While he might share the record for fights during the regular season, Gleason sits alone in the playoffs. He's the only Hurricane to ever fight twice in the postseason, both coming in 2009. He sparred with David Clarkson in the opening round before battling Kris Letang in the Eastern Conference Finals. He also fought during the 2014 playoffs with the Capitals.
While we're slowly seeing fighting become less prevalent in the NHL, there's still a good time and place for it. Jordan Staal set the tone this postseason when he fought Brady Tkachuk right after the puck dropped for Game 1 of the first round. It might be going away, but I don't think it'll ever really leave. Sometimes, it's nice to let our primitive urges take over.
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