If trying to build a team of enforcers, these are the Panthers players you'd want
The Florida Panthers have had some tough customers patrolling the ice over the years.
Enforcers and their role in the game of hockey have grown smaller in recent seasons.
There is still a place on the team for heavy hitting players who strike fear into the hearts of opponents, but they're asked to do a whole lot more than in the early days of the franchise.
Back then, having a designated fighter on the team was more a necessity than it was a luxury.
Over the course of their 30 seasons, the Panthers have had their fair share of enforcers.
The two biggest fighters the franchise has ever seen are Paul Laus, who fought 169 times during his 530 NHL games, all with Florida, and Peter Worrell, who fought 113 times during his 342 games with the Panthers.
Nobody comes close to those two in terms of dropping the gloves while playing for the Panthers (next on the list, with a paltry 36 fights in a Panthers sweater, is Scott Mellanby).
If we were to build an all-time Florida Panthers team of enforcers, Laus and Worrell would be the top two picks.
Going year-by-year through all the Panthers fighters, THN compiled a list of players who would be the top choices for the all-time Florida enforcer squad.
This isn't a list of the guys who simply fought the most with the Panthers. We did that already.
These are the guys who fought the most frequently and/or were the most feared while on the ice. The scary guys.
Some were around for a while and others were barely with the team long enough for a cup of coffee.
Listed with each player are how many times they dropped the gloves in a Panthers sweater and how many games they played for the team, to give an idea of how often they fought.
Forwards: Peter Worrell (113 fights in 342 games), Shawn Thornton (17 fights in 146 games), Darcy Hordichuk (29 fights in 124 games), George Parros (nine fights in 39 games), Micheal Haley (24 fights in 99 games), Krys Barch (22 fights in 96 games).
A special nod goes to Scott Levins, who fought seven times in only 29 games with the Panthers. Levins is quite notable for this list, and for Enforcer Week in general, as he was the first player to drop the gloves in Panthers franchise history.
Defensemen: Paul Laus (169 fights in 530 games), Erik Gudbranson (20 fights in 309 games), Todd Simpson (18 fights in 107 games), Radko Gudas (15 fights in 203 games), Jason Wiemer (13 fights in 70 games), Rhett Warrener (25 fights in 217 games), Alex Petrovic (20 fights in 254 games), Steve Montador (18 fights in 196 games), Joey Tetarenko (17 fights in 69 games), Brent Severyn (15 fights in 76 games)
When thinking of which goalies to would best compliment this squad, interestingly enough, a few options come to mind.
The first goalie fight officially on the franchise books goes to Mark Fitzpatrick. He fought Bill Ranford in game against Washington in April of 1997.
Sean Burke fought six times during his career, including once with the Panthers in April of 1999 against Vaclav Varada of the Buffalo Sabres.
Those are the only two goalies in Panthers history with fighting majors.
John Vanbiesbrouck actually got into a couple goalie tussles during the 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs, though he wasn't formally issued any fighting majors.
In terms of tendies that nobody would ever want to mess with, Ed Belfour, Trevor Kidd and Tim Thomas come to mind.