Back in the '90s, every team had an enforcer; sometimes two. Guys like Rob Ray, Matt Barnaby, Ulf Samuelsson, Darius Kasparitis, Tie Domi, Gary Roberts, and Eddie Olczyk thrived. They were unleashed to attack a team's best players. In response, others would retaliate. For example, Marty McSorley protected Wayne Gretzky for much of his career. It was a great time to watch hockey if you liked the physical aspect of the game.
But as stars like Eric Lindros kept getting hurt from the physical abuse they were constantly taking, the NHL changed some of the rules. Fighting and super physical behavior were starting to be curtailed. For Flyers fans used to seeing their team play like this, it was quite a blow.
That's not to say that all fighting and big hits were eliminated. It's just that as the game sped up, the "enforcer" role was greatly diminished.
In 2022, the first free agent signing with new head coach John Tortorella was Nic Deslauriers, who signed a four-year deal worth $1.75 million per year. It wasn't a major signing, but it has paid off.
First of all, if you missed physical, Broad Street Bully-type hockey, he brought it back. In his three seasons in Philly, he has been in 28 fights. That number is even more staggering when you consider he had just three last season.
Secondly, he protected a lot of the younger players. It can be intimidating for some rookies or younger players, like Bobby Brink or Matvei Michkov, to hit the ice with some of the big bruisers out there. If anyone went after them, it was nice to know that Deslauriers would come out and lay the smackdown on someone who went too far.
He's never been much of a goal scorer, but he was quite productive in his first season in Philly with six goals and six assists. That sort of production out of a fourth-line winger is not bad.
Then came last season. He appeared in just 31 games. He suffered an upper body injury in early November, didn't start skating again until late January, and was activated off IR in February. Even then, he was used sparingly. He only averaged 7:38 minutes of ice time.
Deslauriers is 34 years old. If healthy, he could make a viable trade deadline move, albeit for a low-level draft pick. He will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. It is unlikely the Flyers will retain his services. If he is signed this offseason, he might be the kind of guy who only commands cheap one-year deals at this point. The NHL is changing, and big bruisers like him are finding work hard to come by nowadays.
With an emphasis on getting younger and faster, Deslauriers may find it hard to get ice time. At the same time, new coach Rick Tocchet may appreciate his physicality. After all, Tocchet is one of the few players in NHL history to collect 400 goals and amass 2,000 penalty minutes, and was known to get into a scrap or two. Still, you gotta imagine this is his last year in Philly.