I don't know what it is about NHL enforcers, but I always seem to be attracted to them....and them to me. Perhaps it all started back when "Sportsline" was in it's infancy. The weekly "Hebsy" awards always featured big hits and fights (way before Don Cherry's Rock em Sock em franchise) and that's how enforcers got their TV time. You didn't often see between periods interviews with these guys, so their only hope for recognition would involve getting into a fight, and hoping we'd show it on the highlights. Now, some guys, like Rick Tocchet, Bob Probert and Brendan Shanahan could fight AND score. Others, like Craig Berube, currently an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers, could intimidate you, scare the hell out of you, threaten to run you, and then, if necessary, fight you. Today on TSN Radio, I heard former Leaf and Carolina Hurricane Jeff O'Neill (@odognine2) tell the story of how, during a pre-game warmup when both were playing, Berube skated past him and gave him the "throat slash" signal. O'Neill wondered what that was all about, and decided that Berube was going to kill him. He couldn't get the thought out of his head, and subsequently played one of his worst games ever. Berube never laid a glove on him.
I was surprised to learn that Berube, nicknamed "Chief", finished his career with over a thousand games played. He's also one of only 9 players in history to accumulate over 3000 penalty minutes. To spend that much time in the penalty box and still play a thousand NHL games is no easy feat. Berube only scored 61 career goals, but his value to the team was never measured by the number of points he scored. When he played for the Flyers, early in his career, he was part of a team that featured Tocchet and Dave Brown as enforcers, with a little help from Ed Hospodar and of course, goalie Ron Hextall (Over 100 PIM in each of his first three seasons). He was eventually sent to the Maple Leafs, where I got to know him, and then went to Calgary as part of the Doug Gilmour deal. After a few years Berube settled in with the Washington Capitals, and was, indirectly, responsible for one of the scariest moments of my career.
While working on the Leafs radio broadcasts, I would regularly be in the rink a good 2-3 hours before puck drop. This is when you can develop your contacts best, because hockey players generally spend the hours before a game taping and re-taping their sticks, drinking coffee and watching the clock. They have lots of time on their hands. On this night in Washington, I decided to go and visit my old friend "Chief". I went to the visitors locker room and asked the attendant if he could call Berube and tell him that "Hebsy" was here to see him. I waited a few minutes before a large, angry looking man with very, very long black hair appeared. He was wearing only a pair of shorts and looked like one of those warriors from Conan the Barbarian.
It was Chris Simon, another enforcer on the Capitals and a man I'd never met, but feared from afar, Simon was just as tough, just as mean and just as intimidating as Berube. Maybe more so. He stared at me and finally said "What, you didn't come to see ME?" I didn't know if he was truly offended or was just kidding (It was kind of tough to tell with him). As I stood there, shaking, Chris offered his hand and a big smile. "Used to watch you all the time up in Ottawa. Nice to meet you". As I exhaled, Berube finally showed up and had a good laugh. Once an enforcer, I guess, always an enforcer. The funny thing is, most of these so called "tough guys" are the nicest fellows. I enjoyed the company of guys like Simon and Berube. Same goes for Tocchet, Bob Probert, Joe Kocur, Marty McSorley, Rob Ray and Basil McRae.
The one guy I'll never forget is the late John Kordic who dabbled in steroids and other drugs during his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Kordic's behaviour could be described as erratic at best, but nobody knew what "roid rage" was in those days, so it was assumed that he just had a nasty temper. I'll never forget seeing him the Leafs dressing room after he took off his shirt one day. Man, was he cut! He had the body of a Greek God. A few weeks later, I saw him again, shirt off, and he was all flabby. I couldn't figure it out until much later when we learned of the dangers associated with steroids. Kordic was a troubled young man. His job was to fight, intimidate and cause mayhem. He was a reluctant tough-guy UNTIL he found that drugs and alcohol could turn him into the player the Leafs wanted. Once, he flicked a lit cigarette at me while I was interviewing Ed Olczyk. "Eddie O" told me not to pursue it, or else Kordic would end up doing even more weird stuff. Once, after a Leafs road trip, we were getting off a plane at Pearson Airport. I had my suitcase. Kordic had a plastic bag with, I assume, a toothbrush, a change of underwear and maybe a shirt. "Hebsy" he called out "Can you loan me 50 bucks?". My first instinct was to say "no", but I was so intimidated by Kordic and so afraid of what he was capable of doing, I coughed up the $50, never expecting to see it again. With that, Kordic walked out the airport doors and into a waiting limousine that had two girls in it. They were off to party with my $50. I never saw the $50 or Kordic again. Less than two years later, he was dead. A drug overdose and a fight with police led to his death at the age of 27 due to lung failure. He was one enforcer whose life on the ice mirrored his private life. One of the unlucky ones.
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