Top five fighters in Vancouver Canucks history

CALGARY, AB - OCTOBER 16: Brandon Prust #33 of the Calgary Flames fights Rick Rypien #37 of the Vancouver Canucks on October 16, 2009 at Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Brad Watson/NHLI via Getty Images)
CALGARY, AB - OCTOBER 16: Brandon Prust #33 of the Calgary Flames fights Rick Rypien #37 of the Vancouver Canucks on October 16, 2009 at Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Brad Watson/NHLI via Getty Images)
3 of 6
VANCOUVER, BC – 1984: Dave “Tiger” Williams #22 of the Vancouver Canucks poses for a portrait circa 1984 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BC – 1984: Dave “Tiger” Williams #22 of the Vancouver Canucks poses for a portrait circa 1984 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images)

4. Tiger Williams

He just looks like someone you wouldn’t want to mess around with under any circumstances. You mess with the Tiger, you get the claws. I’m not sure if anyone ever said that about Dave “Tiger” Williams, but it’s a pretty accurate statement about the fiery temper and brute force of Tiger Williams. Unlike Rypien, Tiger wasn’t the most fundamentally sound fighter. While Rypien used boxing techniques to win his fights, Tiger was just tougher than anybody on the ice.

According to HockeyFights.com, over the span of his 14 year NHL career, Tiger got into over 200 fights, with 65 of them coming in a Canucks uniform. Much like Rypien, Tiger was not the biggest competitor, but nearly everybody who came into contact with him knew not to mess with him. Tiger was tougher than a two-dollar steak and would fight anyone, anywhere, anytime.

The all-time leader in career penalty minutes was known around the league as “Tiger” for a reason. He amassed 3,971 penalty minutes and picked up over 250 penalty minutes in 11 of his 14 seasons in the NHL. Although the majority of his fights came as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tiger will go down as one of the toughest fighters the Canucks have ever seen.