Enforcers Week: Georges Laraque's Most Memorable Fights

All-time heavyweight Georges Laraque remembers the tilts that defined his NHL career from a personal standpoint.

One of the all-time great enforcers in the NHL, Georges Laraque, had a ton of big fights during his career. But which were his most memorable? We went to the man himself for the answers.

1. My First Fight Against Rob Ray

The game before, I was playing for the Oilers at home against Buffalo. End of the game, I'm sitting on the bench, and Rob Ray roughed up Doug Weight and Bill Guerin after the whistle. The media asked me after the game if I had anything to say about that. I said that I was gonna make him pay next game. So the media made a countdown to that game, and since I was a young guy, I was so scared; I thought he was gonna kill me. The media asked Rob about my comments, and he said, "What is he gonna do, beat me up? Ha ha ha." I didn't sleep the night before the game in Buffalo. Well, we fought, and it went pretty well for me.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJJlHbobHQE[/embed]

2. First Fight Against Derek Boogaard – May He Rest in Peace

One of the most intimidating fighters of all time. He was the next up-and-comer, the guy that was gonna take over from me when I was out of my prime, and it was inevitable that we were gonna fight. In the warmups, I knew he wanted a piece of me. Even my teammates knew – it was a fight that everyone wanted to see (except me, haha). I was pretty nervous, but again, I did pretty good and won the tilt​.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umk6dWQiI1A[/embed]

3. First Fight Against the Best Heavyweight in the History of the NHL, Bob Probert

Even though he was no longer in his prime (thank God), it was always scary to face Probert, and I always had tremendous respect for him. I was playing the Blackhawks and beat up Mark Janssens in a fight, so Probert knocked on the glass in the penalty bench and told me, 'Kid, I'm next.' It was the worst five minutes of my life, haha. I didn't rest at all, and I was so nervous. I fought a second time that game with him – it was a draw, and I was happy I was still alive after that. I even got a signed stick from him after the game – I still have it today.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k53lH1H4kDI[/embed]

4. My Only Fight Against Darren Langdon

How bad can it be to fight someone much smaller and lighter than you; shouldn't be that bad, right? Well, not with this man. I was playing in Edmonton at home, and he was with the Rangers, and we fought – well, I fought alone for like 45 seconds, as hard as I could, and he would just hold me tight, all defense escaping all bombs I was throwing at him – so after I was gassed and done, I looked at the referees to come in, but they never did. They stayed way back, and that's when he started to get excited. I was gassed out, I wanna die, I was like in my head, when is this gonna end? My God, where does he get that stamina? It was a draw, but as the bigger guy, it made me look bad – I never ever wanted to fight that guy again. I remember we faced off another time during the first-ever Heritage Classic between the Oilers and the Canadiens, but it was minus-50 outside with the wind, and neither of us was interested in freezing while fighting.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwsDnyjTbZQ[/embed]

5. Fight and a Point with Donald Brashear

I was playing in Pittsburgh, and he was in Washington. Donald is definitely a top-five fighter in the history of NHL heavyweights, and we were rivals my entire career. It was the first time when I squared off that in that same sequence, we scored a goal, I got an assist and fought all at the same time. I got the edge, but even better, when I got back in the room while the play was still going on, Sidney Crosby came to see me and said, 'Good job, Georges.' I thought it was pretty neat of him. Couldn't believe I had an apple on the play!

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VZxAEDtmhc[/embed]