Ranking the top 5 Toronto Maple Leafs enforcers in franchise history

It was announced on Friday that Toronto Marlies and former Toronto Maple Leafs forward and enforcer, Kyle Clifford, would be retiring from the sport of hockey. It was later confirmed that he would be stepping into a player development role with the Leafs.

While Clifford only played a total of 41 games with Toronto’s NHL club, he took part in nine fights during that brief span, making him an iconic enforcer for the team despite his limited games.

With Clifford’s retirement and the trade that sent existing Leafs enforcer Ryan Reaves to the San Jose Sharks, it seems like the lineage of Toronto enforcers may be at its end. But while we wait to see if GM Brad Treliving brings in someone new to slot into the enforcer role, let’s take a look back at the top five greatest enforcers that the Leafs have had in their franchise history. We will be looking at the total number of fights, the total penalty minutes, as well as the player’s overall notoriety within the Leafs franchise, in order to fairly rank this list.

Let’s get to it.

5. Colton Orr (56 fights, 637 PIM)

As will be the case with most of the players on this list, Orr by no means lit up the stat sheet during his career, but what he did do was step up to fight whenever his team needed him to. But during the dark ages of Leafs hockey before the team drafted Auston Matthews in 2016, Orr was the most iconic Leafs enforcer.

Orr initially went undrafted before getting picked up by the Boston Bruins in 2003–04, but it was not until the 2009–10 season that Orr joined the Maple Leafs after signing with them in July of 2009. Orr immediately made the Leafs one of the more physical teams in the league when he came on board, and he even had a league-high 23 fights in his first season with the team.

While there was only one team playoff appearance during Orr’s time with the Leafs–an appearance that resulted in a first-round exit–his physical play at least made the tough times more interesting.

4. Wade Belak (67 fights, 763 PIM)

Belak had a long 15-year NHL career, and around six of those were spent as a Maple Leaf. And during that time with Toronto, Belak was an impeccable enforcer whenever he was called upon. During his Leafs tenure, Belak had an astonishing 67 fights, and in each of his seasons with the team, he never fought fewer than nine times per season.

Unfortunately, Belak died in August of 2011, a victim of suicide. While he is no longer with us, his legacy definitely lives on through the grit and skill he brought to the Leafs and the rest of the NHL during the early 2000s.

3. Dave “Tiger” Williams (114 fights, 1,670 PIM)

Williams was a second-round pick by the Leafs in 1974, and he immediately became a key piece of a Leafs team that made the playoffs every year he was on the team. Unlike the previous two players on this list, Williams was a fairly solid scorer with his best season with the Leafs coming in 1977–78 when he put up 31 assists and 50 points in 78 games.

It was during the 1977–78 season that Williams took part in 36 fights, his most as a Leaf, and coincidentally, the Leafs also reached the conference final that season, a postseason that saw Williams fight five times. And adding even more to that season, Williams registered 351 penalty minutes, a career high during his years with the Leafs, and the 25th highest total in NHL history.

2. Wendel Clark (108 fights, 1,535 PIM)

It was a toss-up between Clark and Williams for the No. 2 spot, but we are giving the edge to Clark for his overall notoriety among not just Leafs fans, but Toronto sports fans as a whole. Clark was one of the most iconic Leafs players of all time, and he put up solid point totals during his 12 seasons with Toronto, most notably during the 1993–94 season when he put up an impressive 46 goals and 76 points in just 64 games.

Pure skill aside, Clarke was never afraid to drop the gloves with opponents. He had 108 career fights, and 30 of those took place during the 1986–87 regular season, a season in which he also scored 60 points. And Clark is the only player on this list who also served as the Leafs’ captain.

1. Tie Domi (188 fights, 2,265 PIM)

Domi isn’t just the greatest Leafs enforcer of all time, but he is arguably one of the greatest enforcers in NHL history. Domi played nearly 11 seasons with the Leafs, and it is no coincidence that his time with the team also saw the team reach the conference final three times.

Although his scoring was nothing to write home about, Domi’s physical presence made him an instant fan favourite in Toronto, and he was always willing to throw down with the opposition’s top enforcers. Excluding his final season in Toronto, Domi never took part in fewer than 13 fights during each of his seasons with the Leafs.

There’s a reason why Domi is seen as one of the most iconic players in the Leafs’ franchise history.

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