Ducks won't let go of fight

By Eric Stephens

Feb. 6, 2007 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

The acquisition of winger George Parros by Ducks General Manager Brian Burke in November didn’t appear to rank high on the list of significant hockey transactions. After all, Parros, then of the Colorado Avalanche, had only five points in 74 NHL games.

Indeed, Burke’s trading of former first-round pick Stanislav Chistov appeared to make the most noise of the three he made that day.

The deal for Parros, however, raised some eyebrows around the league because the Ducks’ executive gave the Avalanche a second-round pick -- something that has become valued currency in a new salary-cap landscape.

The message was clear: Fighting still matters.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Ducks lead the league with 50 fighting majors and the margin between first and second isn’t even close. Nashville and St. Louis are second with 30.

“Brian Burke made a point,” said Detroit Red Wings Coach Mike Babcock, whose team through Monday had the lowest number of fights with six. “He gave up a second-round pick. They took that as a high priority.”

Parros isn’t alone in his willingness to drop the gloves. Ducks rookie Shane O’Brien has had 11 fights -- the same as Parros -- while wingers Shawn Thornton and Travis Moen have nine and eight respectively on their cards.

The Ducks have had five fights in the last three games.

Not one to mince words, Burke discussed his philosophy recently in front of a large group of season-ticket holders.

“That’s why Corey Perry doesn’t get roughed up after whistles,” Burke said. “That’s why Ryan Getzlaf doesn’t get punched in the head after he takes a shot at the net. We have a team that makes people accountable. That’s never going to change as long as I’m here.”

Protection sometimes comes at a steep price. A look at some of the NHL’s young stars who were first taken in the second round hints at what Burke may have given up -- from winger Michael Cammalleri with the Kings to defensemen Matt Carle and Marc-Edouard Vlasic in San Jose to centers Patrice Bergeron in Boston and Derek Roy in Buffalo.

But after Todd Fedoruk suffered a broken cheekbone in an October fight with Minnesota’s Derek Boogaard, all bets were off. Burke went shopping for what he calls a “heavyweight” and had no regrets.

“I try to make sure our young players see that they don’t get abused,” Burke said. “The longtime season-ticket holders like the kind of team we have. They’ve seen Paul Kariya face-washed after a faceoff. I believe in having an enforcer on your roster at all times.”

Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle, a four-time All-Star defenseman who himself was a second-round pick, agrees on the need to protect the team’s scoring threats.

“People don’t remember that we had five rookies in our lineup” last season, Carlyle said. “We felt it was a necessary component that they could go out there, feel comfortable and play. That there wasn’t an intimidation issue they were going to have to deal with.”

Some teams don’t subscribe to that philosophy, including Babcock’s Red Wings. “The best kind of toughness is team toughness,” said Babcock.

Detroit General Manager Ken Holland said he made a decision to go without an enforcer when he had to pare the team’s payroll down to meet the salary cap.

“There’s not a lot of those guys out there now,” Holland said. “If you have an enforcer who doesn’t fight, then how much use is he?”

The lack of fighting has not hurt Detroit (34-14-6), which is second in the Central Division with 74 points. The Ducks lead the Pacific Division with 72 points and a 32-13-8 record.

The NHL in 1992-93 moved to tighten rules in a bid to curtail fighting, penalizing players who instigate an altercation, for example. The league also can fine any coach who sends out enforcers to fight in the final five minutes of regulation. Such players face possible ejection and suspension.

The Ducks, with 933 penalty minutes through 53 games, are nowhere near the Philadelphia Flyers in their Stanley Cup-winning seasons of 1973-74 and 1974-75, when they had 1,750 and 1,969 penalty minutes.

Phoenix Coyotes forward Georges Laraque, whom many consider to be the league’s top fighter, said there was an orchestrated movement by the NHL to get rid of the enforcer.

“It’s not behind the scenes,” Laraque said. “Everybody sees it. And it’s too bad. I’m lucky because I’ve been in it long enough to make a career out of it.”

Bill Daly, the league’s deputy commissioner, disputes Laraque’s contention.

“There is nothing the league is doing overtly or covertly to rid the enforcer and fighting in the game,” Daly wrote in an e-mail. “The rules relating to fighting are what they are.”

But Laraque said even if the league wants to eradicate the sport’s “goon” image, it can’t deny fighting’s fan appeal.

“When there’s a fight, everybody is out of their seats,” said Laraque, who played for Edmonton last season. “And it’s tough that the NHL is trying to take us out of it.”

Parros said players who fill an enforcer role deserve a place on the ice. “Guys are now more complete,” he said. “They’re good enough to be in the lineup and, if you can fight too, it’s to your credit.”

The Ducks’ Scott Niedermayer appreciates the protection. “I’ve been fortunate that we have many, many guys who are more than willing to step up, whether it’s for me or for other teammates,” he said. “It’s a tough job. Guys have had to step in at times and I’m thankful for that.”

eric.stephens@latimes.com

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Five for fighting

The Ducks lead the NHL in five-minute major penalties for fighting this season.

(Through Monday)

Most major penalties

Ducks:50

Nashville:30

St. Louis:30

Phoenix:29

Calgary:28

Washington:28