- Daniel Carcillo verse undersized Patrick Kaleta - Captncyote
Daniel Carcillo is undoubtedly the fakest, most bogus tough guy in the NHL today. He would have never survived in the NHL of years past, and he would certainly not qualify for a heavyweight or a tough guy in the old NHL. Think about the great fighters in recent Philadelphia Flyers history. There was David Brown, Jesse Boulerice, Craig Berube, Rick Tocchet, Donald Brashear, Sandy McCarthy, and, briefly, Riley Cote. These guys were authentic tough guys, who battled all comers, at any time, any period, or on any shift. None of them would have been delerict enough to have essentially forced an overmatched Ian Laperriere to face Jody Shelley, or Arron Asham to deal with Colton Orr. Laperriere and Asham are two significantly stand-up role players; Carcillo superlatively craven.
Daniel Carcillo, Phony Tough Guy
Daniel Carcillo routinely ducks the roughest guys on the opposition. During the 2009-2010 season, he dodged and avoided Donald Brashear, Colton Orr, Andrew Peters, and just about every other heavyweight in the game. Who did Carcillo fight? Well, Gregory Campbell, Tim Conboy, Mark Stuart, Jim Slater, and Marian Gaborik, to name a few. That’s right, Marian Gaborik, a mild-mannered Slovakian on the New York Rangers, who may be one of the most docile players in the National Hockey League. Yes, Donald Brashear occasionally jumped a noncombatant to send a message to opponents, and Craig Berube ran a few goaltenders, but Carcillo has turned spot picking into a ravishing art form.
In 2008-2009, as a member of the Phoenix Coyotes, Carcillo’s sham toughness got him embroiled in 22 low-risk altercations with a noticeably scrawny, tame list of competitors. His dance card included rare combatants such as Roman Polak, Greg de Vries, and occasional fighters, but by no means heavyweights, such as Mark Giordano and Brandon Dubinsky.
In the 2007-2008 season, Carcillo showed a bit more guts, fighting legitimate top thirty heavyweights or light heavies such as Raitis Ivanans, Darcy Hordichuk, and Jared Boll. But except for Shawn Thornton, he has not fought a veritable top twenty or thirty contender in three seasons. Last year, the Philadelphia Flyers left winger, 6' 0", 202 pounds, refused to fight any of his team’s Atlantic Division foes - not Eric Godard (Pittsburgh Penguins), not Mike Rupp (Pittsburgh Penguins), not Andrew Peters (New Jersey Devils), not even Aaron Voros (New York Rangers). Carcillo repeatedly skates away from the challenges of legitimate tough guys - regardless of score, time or tempo of game, home or away - and he makes a once mighty, proud, fiery organization look like a pathetic breeding ground for sissies. Paul Holmgren and the Flyers must have had some semblance of concern or awareness, as the team signed authentic tough guys Jody Shelley and Matt Walker in the off-season.
Daniel Carcillo, Hockey Fights
The Philadelphia Flyers recently signed Carcillo to a one-year deal. Last year, Carcillo, 25, recorded 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) and 207 penalty minutes in 76 regular season Flyers' contests. But Carcillo was a flagrant liability throughout the playoffs, and was scratched from the lineup for most of the finals. He led the team in hits during the regular season (194), as well as penalty minutes; his two-hundred and seven penalty minutes were the fourth highest total in the NHL. However, those 207 penalty minutes were accumulated by evading battle with the true tough guys of the NHL and willfully seeking out marginally tough players such as Gregory Campbell. The only top thirty fighter he matched up against the entire season was Shawn Thornton, the first ever fight in the NHL’s Winter Classic, on Jan. 1, 2010. In typically Carcillo fashion, the fight itself was a dreadful yawner.
Carcillo is a self-professed tough guy. He boasts of his fearlessness and ruggedness, but his actions on the ice simply do not support his idle bragging. Carcillo isn't fooling anyone with this phoniness and, if wishes to earn the respect of the league, and wants fight fans to take notice, then, he has to step up the competition, no longer pick easy spots, and stop singling out the Marion Gaboriks or Matt Bradleys of the NHL for highly selective, phony tough guy enforcement.
Brian D'Ambrosio - Brian D'Ambrosio is the author of more than 500 published articles and seven books, including From Haikus to Hatmaking: A Year in the Life ...
