During the preseason, the Tampa Bay Lightning had a few very rough games against their Florida rivals, the Panthers. So this Monday, the Lightning claimed 6’9”, 243-pound forward Curtis Douglas off waivers. Last night, he made his debut — with quite a bang.
The Florida Panthers have won back-to-back Stanley Cups not only by playing amazing hockey but also by playing very hard — and sometimes even over the line — against their opponents. The preseason saw the Panthers face the Tampa Bay Lightning three times, and all games were extremely physical, with a combined total of 498 penalty minutes and 14 game misconducts.
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Tallest player ever in the NHL
In order to be able to stand up to the Panthers — and other physical teams, of course — the Lightning claimed Curtis Douglas off waivers from the Utah Mammoth. Douglas was drafted in the fourth round, 116th overall, by the Dallas Stars in 2018. He has spent the past few seasons playing in the AHL, where he racked up 508 penalty minutes in 261 games. He is also just the third player in NHL history to stand 6’9” tall — the tallest in NHL history, alongside Zdeno Chara and Matt Rempe. He also weighs 243 pounds.
First fight after nine seconds
Last night, Douglas made his NHL debut against the Ottawa Senators. Two minutes into the first period, Douglas stepped onto the ice. Nine seconds later, he had dropped the gloves. Going up against veteran Kurtis MacDermid, Douglas held his own and is now earning praise from coach Jon Cooper.
“It’s a home opener, it’s your first game, and you get into a fight on your first shift. I think the crowd appreciated it — and so did the team — because the guy he was going against is a big boy himself. So good on him; it was a positive impact,” Cooper said at the postgame press conference.
Tampa Bay Lightning fans giving praise
Douglas is also receiving praise on social media.
“Hahahahaha oh god, poor Sens fans,” one fan wrote about the fight on X.
“Rockstar. Ekblad and Greer won’t make it to Christmas,” another fan added.
“Dude will be a handful for people sucker-punching Hagel,” a third one wrote.
You can watch the fight below.
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