The tough club

Sporting News, The, April 2, 2001 by Larry Wigge

The 30 most fearsome players the game has known

A player doesn't have to sharpen his knuckles on sandpaper or punch an opponent into next year to be considered tough. He doesn't have to be a bully or the big man on campus. Real toughness is reserved for a player who strikes fear in opponents both physically and because of his skills. He creates a presence with a combination of grit and talent.

When THE SPORTING NEWS sought help in finding the 30 toughest players ever, we talked to players, coaches and general managers, and the first player everyone mentioned as Mr. Tough was Gordie Howe.

Former Maple Leafs owner Corm Smythe once said of Howe, "He can beat you on the ice or in the alley."

That's toughness personified.

1 Gordie Howe, 1946-47 through '70-71; 1979-80. The resiliency of hockey players has long been marveled at by followers of other sports. Howe provided a prime example of why when he recovered from a fractured skull suffered in 1950--the injury occurred when he was knocked heavily into the boards by Toronto's Teeder Kennedy--and became the NHL's scoring leader the next season.

Once, in an important game in the late 1960s, Howe skated up to Montreal tough guy John Ferguson and tossed ice in his face as a challenge. Knowing his opponent, Ferguson backed down. "Gordie would simply stand there with that grin on his face and psych out opponents," says Ferguson, now the chief scout for the Sharks. "I could have punched him for that ice shower. But no one challenged Gordie Howe. He scared every opponent he faced because he could beat you any way he wanted."

Howe was the MVP six times, the leading scorer six times and the No. 1 power athlete hockey has seen and ever will see. Even at 51--yes 51, when some said he should have been home with his grandchildren--Howe was still the man, playing with sons Mark and Marty for Hartford.

2 Maurice Richard, 1942-43 through '59-60. Those menacing, fiery eyes and the rugged, never-give-in style of play. He would not allow anyone to stop him. His 50 goals in the 50-game 1944-45 season became the standard for goal scorers. Richard could use his dazzling speed, but he also took delight in going through opponents on the way to the goal. No one scored more meaningful playoff goals than the Rocket, a member of eight Stanley Cup championship teams. It seemed he was made to be marveled at, swooping in on right wing and ramming the puck past the goalie with an exclamation point.

3 Eddie Shore, 1926-27 through '39-40. He helped hockey survive the depression years. Shore was virtually indestructible and fearless--the first defenseman to carry the puck at a time when opposing players used sticks to chop down star players. He finished one game in the 1920s with a broken nose, three broken teeth, two black eyes, a broken cheekbone and a two-inch cut over his left eye. And he was in the lineup for Boston the next night. Shore helped the Bruins franchise survive and, during the tough times, was the target of some of creative attempts to buy him away from Boston.

4 Mark Messier, 1979-80 to present. Opponents talk about the steely glare they see in Messier's eyes when he is on a mission to trample them. He's a leader's leader who never takes no for an answer--witness five Stanley Cups with Edmonton and one with the Rangers. No one will forget how he guaranteed victory over New Jersey in Game 6 of the 1994 Eastern Conference final and single-handedly took the Devils out before helping the Rangers win their first Cup since 1940. Like Howe and Richard, he seems to enjoy going through an opponent when he also could score with some of his other skills.

5 Scott Stevens, 1982-83 to present. When he broke in with the Capitals, he was one of the most feared fighters in the game. When he arrived in St. Louis in 1990, then-coach Brian Sutter took Stevens aside and told him he was too good to be a goon. Message received, loud and clear. Two Stanley Cups later, Stevens is the most feared captain in the game. No one rivals his defensive presence. His hits on Slava Kozlov in the 1995 Cup finals and on Eric Lindros in the Eastern finals last year are legendary.

6 Milt Schmidt, 1936-37 through '41-42; '45-46 through '54-55. The game's first power forward and the most skilled center in the game until Wayne Gretzky arrived. Schmidt was a big, strong and elegant playmaker.

7 Clark Gillies, 1974-75 through '87-88. He could beat anyone in a fight but didn't have to because opponents didn't want to face linemates Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier on the power play. How do you think Bossy and Trottier got so much room to work their magic with the puck?

8 Ted Lindsay, 1944-45 through '59-60; '64-65. "Terrible Ted" was one of the most apt nicknames ever. His competitive spirit made him one of the toughest and most feared skaters in history. Just 5-8, 163 pounds, he played with his stick high and a tenacity that made him a perfect fit with Howe and Sid Abel on the Production Line.

9 Chris Chelios, 1983-84 to present. A three-time Norris Trophy winner, Chelios played for an entire season on a knee that needed surgery and didn't tell Chicago team doctors about his pain. He has manhandled opposing forWards for nearly twenty years.