Top 5 Goons

Just like this movie shows, fans love goons.  Goons get their team going, they get the fans mad, or excited. They hit, they fight, they sacrifice their bodies to protect the all stars of their teams.

The movie Goon.

   The goons that will be in this top 5 may not be players you know, as they are all retired now, but if you have the chance, search them up and watch some of their footage.  They are crazy. Very strong, very physical men.

Number 5. Terry (Bloody) O'Reilly. Dirty. Dangerous. Disturbed. “Bloody” O’Reilly did not follow the rules of the NHL. If he wanted to do something, he was going to do it. He spent a good chunk of this career protecting Ray Bourque while his 6 ft 1 inch, 200 pound frame racked up over 2,000 penalty minutes. In a famous 1979 post game brawl (fight), O’Reilly climbed over the glass into the crowd after a guy who somehow got a hockey stick and attempted to spear him with it. Heck of a hockey player. Heck of a goon.

Number 4. Joey Kocur. 6 feet tall, 220 pounds - One half of the very famous “Bruise Brothers,” Kocur may have had the most powerful right hand in NHL history. That right hand has broken orbital bones, noses and at least 10 hockey helmets. Expect to get injured challenging this guy as players have suffered concussions fighting Kocur with their helmets on.


Number 3. Dave Shultz. 6 ft 1 inch, 195 pounds - A key member of the “Broad Street Bullies” of the 1970’s, Shultz’s aggressiveness earned him the name “Hammer.” He holds the record for penalty minutes in a single season with 472 and was the first fighter to ever wear boxing straps in hockey fights which eventually were banned. Funny enough, he got his ego fed to him when he looked like a novice against a much smaller and older Tim Horton.


Number 2. Bob Probert. The heavyweight champion of the 1990’s, no question, Probert was the second half of the “Bruise Brothers.” Players tried to take his belt on many occasions and after losing, they would try and lose again to this 6 ft 3 inches, 230 pound goon. He has fought everyone at least once including taking on Grimson 13 times. Red Wing teammate Keith Primeau was one of the few that stood his ground against Probert during a fight at a team practice.

Probert was involved in 283 NHL fights and how many he won is very opinionated, though I am sure around 210 of them are convincing wins. He was big, mean and let his fists do all the talking.

And number 1. The biggest goon to ever live. Tiger Williams. At 5 ft, 11 inches tall and 200 pounds, Tiger Williams is our godfather of NHL goons. This guy sat in the penalty box for 4421 minutes or almost 74 hours; more than anybody else in history. Williams tallied over 300 penalty minutes in a season six times and over 250 penalty minutes, ten times. These are the penalties that the referees caught; Williams was incredibly dirty behind the scenes.

Tiger fixing his equipment after a fight.