Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Haley: More than an enforcer
There’s no question that the role of the enforcer in hockey is starting to feel as relevant as folding maps and landlines.
But lets not put these on-ice bodyguards in the garage with the rusting Smith-Corona typewriter and dust-collecting VCR just yet.
Concussion studies in major sports, premature deaths of enforcer-type players and the NHL’s stricter penalties, including fines and suspensions, on guilty offenders who instigate brawls and dole out head hits have all contributed to a dramatic reduction of fighting over the past decade.
Also, mandated visors have created a chilling effect on ice-skating pugilists who are more apt to break their hand than inflict punishment.
But don’t tell Florida Panthers president of hockey operations and general manager Dale Tallon or new coach Bob Boughner there isn’t a need to have at least one player on the team that’s willing to drop the gloves to protect his teammates who are more skilled with their sticks than fists.
That’s why a month after toughie Shawn Thornton retired and went from punching faces to pushing pencils as the Panthers’ vice president of business operations, Tallon signed former San Jose Sharks forward Michael Haley on July 1 to his first one-way, two-year deal worth $1.65 million. Haley played the past two seasons for then Sharks assistant Boughner, who was considered an enforcer with 106 fights in his 10-year NHL career.
However, in an era where the NHL is
getting younger, faster and more skilled with coaches rolling out four lines that can produce goals, the modern-day enforcer must be able to be responsible defensively while creating scoring chances, and not just havoc.
“Intimidating is still part of life and is definitely still part of hockey,” said Thornton, who had 141 regular-season NHL fights over parts of 14 seasons according to hockeyfights.com. “When you have 20 guys playing together and have someone like Michael Haley willing to do anything to protect his teammates, it gives everyone extra confidence in going out there to play.
“He was a second- and third-liner in the AHL, kind of like how I was. He played special teams down there, so just because he gets the mitts off and isn’t afraid to … stick up for his teammates, I don’t want to take away from the fact he can actually play hockey.”
Haley, 31, a solid, 5-foot-11, 205 pounds, has just 5 goals and 16 points in 130 NHL games over seven seasons with the New York Islanders and Sharks. He has 350 penalty minutes, including a career-high 128 in 58 games last season in which he notched 2 goals, a career-best 12 points and 129 hits in 9:11 of average ice time.
“I don’t think it just means physically hitting and fighting,” said Haley, whose 16 fights were the second most in the NHL last season behind Colorado’s Cody McLeod’s 19. “Boughner believes in in-your-face; that doesn’t necessarily mean roughness, but always hunting, always chasing the puck, taking away their time and space.
“You don’t want to come in here and think it’s going to be an easy two points, an easy game. You know when you step on our ice surface we’re going to be coming and be giving everything we got.”
Tallon and Thornton agreed the Panthers weren’t as hard to play against last season as they were in 2015-16 when they won the Atlantic Division title.
“For sure we weren’t; 100 percent [as tough],” said Thornton. “It was just the way the team was built last year. It was a little different direction. Sometimes you gain things and lose others.
“We lost a little bit of spunk, size and toughness with the loss of [Erik Gudbranson, Dmitry Kulikov, Garrett Wilson and Logan Shaw]. We had some big boys in the lineup [in 2015-16], but we went with a faster, better skating, more skilled team [in 2016-17]. When you do that, it’s tough to combine the two of them.
“[With Boughner] it’s going to be high-pace, high-energy, aggressive style game.”
There’s no question the opposition took some cheap shots against some of the Panthers’ younger skilled players last season.
Haley’s presence may deter such liberties this season.
“That’s always been in my game,” said Haley, a veteran of 45 NHL fights. “It’s a team attitude. If you’re going to be hard to play against there’s going to be a push-back. You can use that against teams. If they’re worrying about that and not worrying about playing the game, that’ll fall right into our hands.”
Haley even tested out the bigger, muscular Thornton just 2:48 into the first period on Nov. 5, 2015, and certainly held his own.
“It was an honor to fight him,” smiled Haley.
“A lot of people don’t want to fight smaller guys because they have nothing to gain by it,” Thornton said. “If you win the fight you’re supposed to; if you lose it looks even worse.
“[As to our fight,] it wasn’t much of one. My jersey came up over my face part way through and someone fell. … We’ll call it a draw and go back to being friends.”