The reality is chris...this doesn’t happen in the NHL anymore. ??♂️
Trust me, I agree, I was disappointed at the lack of response after that barrie hit on Saturday, at a bare minimum one of the young AHL guys you’d think would have stepped up to say “you aren’t doing that to Tyson barrie in a pre-season game” but nothing happened.
so yes I agree, someone needs to punch the guy in the face when he throws a cheap shot, you don’t need to be a giant goon tough guy to punch a guy in the mouth if you are 6’0 something 200+ pounds even if you aren’t a scrapper you are a big athlete, at minimum you can give ristolinen a shot in the mouth but at the same time, you do realize that back in the day the enforcers fought the enforcers, it wasn’t like you saw Scott Stevens fighting Marty Mcsorely or Bob Probert all of the time.
I would disagree with you if you think guys like kapanen, muzzin, zach hyman, Freddy the goat heck even spezza aren’t capable of holding their on out on the ice. They are all over 6’2 210. You don’t need to be a designated fighter that can’t skate or score to throw a few punches and hold your own. There is no fighting in the playoffs anyways when the season is actually on the line.