Are the Canucks Tough Enough? The Myth of the Heavyweight and the Role of the 4th Line

There has been a lot of nonsense spewing from the airwaves of the Team 1040 radio station in the last few days. You see, the Canucks have suffered a few injuries and in turn a few on air radio personalities (and callers) have decided that they need a heavyweight enforcer! I, for one, think it’s a gross overreaction. The Enforcer Myth So much of the argument for having an enforcer is outdated. Enforcers rarely get retribution on guys like Getzlaf (who injured Hamhuis) or Michalek (who injured Ballard). They also rarely play. Had the Canucks dressed a guy like Derek Boogaard, Getzlaf would have still injured Dan Hamhuis and the Canuck enforcer would not have fought George Parros… maybe. What good does that do? If you have an enforcer that can play, great. Unfortunately there’s not a lot of those guys out there, and they don’t come cheap (Chris Neil will be available, but he makes $2 million a season). If you want proof that enforcers don’t do a whole hec...