Carolina Hurricanes Blast From The Past: Stu "The Grim Reaper" Grimson
The Carolina Hurricanes aren’t known for having a lot of enforcers in their history, but for two seasons they had one of the best in Stu Grimson
Stu Grimson scored only seventeen goals in his entire NHL career. But Stu Grimson wasn’t there to score goals. Grimson’s goal was to fight and it was something he did extremely well. In his entire NHL career, Stu earned over 2000 Penalties in Minutes as one of the best enforcers in the league. And he didn’t disappoint during his time with the Carolina Hurricanes.
If you’re a younger fan you may be wondering how someone like this could even make an NHL team. But not only did enforcer’s make NHL teams, management often set aside at least one roster spot for players of that ilk which lead to other teams doing the same. An enforcer’s “job”
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entailed protecting their team’s more talented players. Did this actually keep a team’s opponents from taking a run at the best players on the ice? No, not really but that was the excuse we told ourselves for why hockey should keep doing this. Also, some people still believe this is true. You can differentiate these fans by counting how much they use “heart” and “grit” in describing players.
Grimson’s Time With Hurricanes
During his time with the Carolina Hurricanes franchise from 1996 to 1998, Grimson scored five goals and eleven points while being penalized for 422 minutes. Here are a couple clips from some of his memorable fights while wearing a Hurricanes sweater.
Dennis Vial vs Stu Grimson Dec 16, 1997 https://t.co/1IcPiI4NQ6 via @YouTube
— Matthew Barlowe (@matt_barlowe) November 26, 2016
Tamer vs Grimson Oct 3, 1997 https://t.co/dBo4PQv2sa via @YouTube
— Matthew Barlowe (@matt_barlowe) November 26, 2016
As the clips show Stu Grimson was a formidable opponent with his fists even if he wasn’t with the puck.
Life After Fighting
Stu Grimson retired from the NHL in 2001 due to post-concussion syndrome symptoms. After leaving the NHL, Grimson returned to school and earned his law degree. He was the in-house counsel for the NHL Players Association from 2006-2008 and afterward worked for a Nashville law firm. Grimson now works as the color analyst for the Nashville Predators during their broadcasts on Fox Sports South.
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