Hockey is a very physical sport, and players fight every now and then. But back in the 1990s, it was a different animal. Fights could break out anywhere—even in the players’ tunnel, where Rob Ray once fought Tim Hunter.
Enforcers still exist in today’s NHL. Several teams have one or two tough guys who aren’t afraid to drop the gloves to defend a teammate. But in the 1990s, the league was filled to the brim with fighters.
1990’s NHL enforcers
Joey Kocur, Bob Probert, Tie Domi—the list goes on. Rob Ray was one of the toughest. Drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the fifth round in 1988, Ray played 14 seasons with the Sabres before ending his career with an 11-game stint with the Ottawa Senators. Over 900 NHL games, Ray recorded 91 points and 3,207 penalty minutes. His penalty-minute total ranks sixth in NHL history, and he never backed away from a fight.
READ MORE: Rob Ray absolutely roasted Stuart Skinner on live TV
Rob Ray fought Tim Hunter in the tunnel
Appearing as a guest on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, Rob Ray recalled one fight against Tim Hunter that continued into the players’ tunnel—and even involved fans.
“Timmy Hunter—we’re in Vancouver. Him and I go at it on the ice, and I’m giving it to him verbally. I’m cocky, calling him an old man, this and that—and a little worse than that. He got thrown off the ice first, and I came off after. You walked underneath the stands and down—it was wide open down there. There were people down there and everything. I’m walking off, thinking I made it through that one. There’s a big concrete pillar, and all of a sudden I’m walking by it,” Ray said on the podcast.
Fought in a buffet
Ray then continued:
“And this arm comes out from behind the pillar, and he goes, ‘Old prick, eh?’ and grabs me as I’m going by. Him and I start going at it. There’s this big curtain—the fans were on the other side of it. We go through that curtain, and it’s like a buffet line. The buffet stuff goes flying everywhere. We’re throwing punches on concrete with our skates on. We’re falling, getting up, falling again. Our trainer, Jim Pizzutelli, is out there like, ‘Oh!’—he didn’t know what to do. We’re still going at it, then Pat Quinn comes over. He puts his hands on the backs of our jerseys and says, ‘That’s enough!’ We both stopped dead, looked at him, and he just lifted us up and separated us. Tim went one way, I went the other—and that was the end of it,” Ray recalled.
You can watch the hilarious story below.
READ MORE: Tie Domi once summed up Rob Ray in one perfect sentence
