For a team with a proud history of pugilists, the Red Wings don't throw punches like they used to. And while fighting is being phased out of the game, hockey will always have a place for heavy, hard-nosed players. Steve Yzerman and the Wings added one this offseason in 6'4, 230-pound Klim Kostin.
Yzerman knows as well as anyone the value of taking the ice with an edge. He was teammates in Detroit with enforcers like Bob Probert, Joey Kocur and Darren McCarty. He was roommates with Gerard Gallant. Those Red Wings teams had no shortage of skill -- and no issue standing up for themselves. Likewise, Yzerman built a juggernaut in Tampa that got over the hump in part by getting meaner. The Lightning, known for their all-world talent, have the third most fighting majors in the NHL over the last five seasons.
The Red Wings had the second fewest last season. They didn't have a player drop the gloves until Game No. 20: Michael Rasmussen, who's not the bully his build might suggest. It took noted tough guy Ryan Reaves obliterating not one but two Red Wings defensemen in a single game last season for anyone on Detroit's bench to step up. That was Ben Chiarot, and Reaves applauded him after the game for actually doing something about it. As if to say: What took them so long? The only other players on this year's team who answered the bell last season were Andrew Copp and Jake Walman. With due respect, no one on that roster sent a shudder down your spine.
"There were plenty of times this year, I felt, that guys took liberties, whoever it was on the other team," captain Dylan Larkin said at the end of the season. "Their tough guys kind of had free nights. I think that’s something that needs to be addressed, to have an answer to that."
The Red Wings were leading the Blue Jackets 4-0 in the third period Monday night when Kostin barreled into the offensive zone and leveled forward and former 12th overall pick Cole Sillinger. Compelled to defend his 20-year-old teammate, Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson challenged Kostin to a fight. The 6'5 Gudbranson has 44 bouts on his NHL fight card. Kostin was ready and willing to have a go. And what a go it was: a back-and-forth slugfest that would have made Probert, Kocur or McCarty proud. When it was over, Kostin's teammates banged their sticks against the boards like they meant it. Kostin seemed to grin as he made his way to the box.
Asked about the fight after the Red Wings' 4-0 win, Kostin put it simply in an interview with Bally Sports Detroit: "They were losing by four goals, (which is) usually frustrating, and they started playing a little dirty. We just can’t let that happen. Can’t let them play dirty against us. We need to protect ourselves."
Kostin played in 57 games for the Oilers last season and fought five times, including once in the playoffs. He also led the team and finished 12th in the NHL in hits/60 minutes (among players with at least 50 games played). The 24-year-old, acquired by Detroit in an offseason trade, plays a physical brand of hockey that sends a simple message about these Red Wings: they're done taking crap.
"Every team who wants to win the Cup, who wants to go deep in the playoffs, they need to have that character," Kostin said. "There’s no way you can play in the playoffs with a soft team."
Larkin wasn't the only one last season who acknowledged the Wings' lack of snarl. Head coach Derek Lalonde admitted, "There were times that we got pushed around. The Ottawa series, that’s a reality. In those two games, we got pushed around without pushing back much. ... You don’t need to go fight four times or after every whistle, but you do need to stand up for your teammates and push back."
Kostin did that by standing up for himself. In his third game with Detroit, he set a precedent that neither he nor this team will be bullied. Not anymore. As Lalonde said after the game, "We have not had that of late."
"And that was big. One, just to play that way, I love that he’s so physical. And then just to defend himself at the end. Not only big for tonight, but I think a big thing going forward, too," said Lalonde.
Kostin, by the way, isn't just a bruiser. He's lighter on his feet than you might think, heavy on the forecheck and he's got a nose for the net. He scored 11 goals last season in limited ice time. Whatever offense he provides the Red Wings will be a bonus. His purpose is to make them harder to play against. In Yzerman's day, there was a price to be paid for playing Detroit. This season, it will come at a Kost.