Stu Grimson

Stu Grimson
Born	(1965-05-20) May 20, 1965 Vancouver, BC, CAN
Height	6 ft 6 in (198 cm)
Weight	240 lb (110 kg; 17 st 2 lb)
Position	Left Wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Calgary Flames Chicago Blackhawks Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Detroit Red Wings Hartford Whalers Carolina Hurricanes Los Angeles Kings Nashville Predators
NHL Draft	186th overall, 1983 Detroit Red Wings 143rd overall, 1985 Calgary Flames
Playing career	1988–2002

Stuart Grimson (born May 20, 1965) is a former ice hockey forward. Grimson played in the National Hockey League from 1989 to 2002. During this time, he played for the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, and Nashville Predators. Grimson was known as an enforcer, with over 2,000 penalty minutes in his career. His stature, his reputation as a fighter, and a play on his surname combined to earn him the nickname "The Grim Reaper". Grimson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, but grew up in Kamloops, British Columbia.

Playing career

During his lengthy career, Grimson improved as a fighter. In his younger days, he lacked balance, and was vulnerable to shorter, more powerfully built fighters. It was during his first stint with Anaheim that he began to show signs of improving his balance, and though his style still left him vulnerable, he scored wins over some of the league's tougher fighters. However, his best year in the NHL was the 1992–93 season with the Chicago Blackhawks, where he beat the leagues more formidable fighters such as Tie Domi, Marty McSorley, Darrin Kimble, Bob Probert (pre-season), Gino Odjick, Rob Ray, Kelly Chase, and more.

In the 1996–97 season, he scored decisive wins over established fighters such as Randy McKay, Darren Langdon and Enrico Ciccone, and he battered Ryan Vandenbussche and Shane Churla of the New York Rangers in one-sided victories. The following season saw Grimson move with the Whalers to Carolina, and as a Hurricane he continued to be a force in the league. He started a rivalry with Krzysztof Oliwa of the New Jersey Devils that season, which saw the two men fight several times over the next few seasons, usually to a draw.

Grimson spent the next two seasons back in Anaheim, and played his final full season with the Los Angeles Kings in 2000–01. He remained a respected and elite heavyweight fighter, but in his final season, in Nashville, he suffered from post-concussion syndrome and was forced to retire after a fight with Georges Laraque of the Edmonton Oilers. He had already been suffering effects before that bout, and even admitted he once blacked out in the middle of a fight.

Grimson enjoyed a career-long rivalry with enforcer Bob Probert, considered by many observers to be one of the top fighters in NHL history. Though the consensus is that Probert got the better of the rivalry, Grimson usually held his own and scored a couple of wins of his own against Probert.

In his final seasons, Grimson built rivalries with a new generation of fighters, such as Georges Laraque, Krzysztof Oliwa and Scott Parker.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1982–83	Regina Pats	WHL		48	0	1	1	105		5	0	0	0	14
1983–84	Regina Pats	WHL		63	8	8	16	131		21	0	1	1	29
1984–85	Regina Pats	WHL		71	24	32	56	248		8	1	2	3	14
1985–86	U. of Manitoba	CIAU		12	7	4	11	113		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	U. of Manitoba	CIAU		29	8	8	16	67		—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Salt Lake Golden Eagles	IHL		37	9	5	14	268		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Salt Lake Golden Eagles	IHL		72	9	18	27	397		14	2	3	5	86
1988–89	Calgary Flames	NHL		1	0	0	0	5		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Salt Lake Golden Eagles	IHL		62	8	8	16	319		4	0	0	0	8
1989–90	Calgary Flames	NHL		3	0	0	0	17		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		35	0	1	1	183		5	0	0	0	46
1991–92	Indianapolis Ice	IHL		5	1	1	2	17		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		54	2	2	4	234		14	0	1	1	10
1992–93	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		78	1	1	2	193		2	0	0	0	4
1993–94	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	NHL		77	1	5	6	199		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	NHL		31	0	1	1	110		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		11	0	0	0	37		11	1	0	1	26
1995–96	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		56	0	1	1	128		2	0	0	0	0
1996–97	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Hartford Whalers	NHL		75	2	2	4	218		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		82	3	4	7	204		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	NHL		73	3	0	3	158		3	0	0	0	30
1999–00	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	NHL		50	1	2	3	116		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		72	3	2	5	235		5	0	0	0	4
2001–02	Nashville Predators	NHL		30	1	1	2	76		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				729	17	22	39	2113		42	1	1	2	120

Personal

Despite his fearsome reputation on the ice, Grimson won respect as an intelligent and articulate man off it. He became a born-again Christian in the early 1990s and led the NHL's Christian Fellowship ("Jesus was no wimp," Grimson said in one interview).

After retiring, Grimson finished his undergraduate degree and began work on a law degree. He completed his law degree in December 2005 at the University of Memphis Law School. He was In-House Counsel for the NHL PLayer's Association (2006–2008) and then worked for the Nashville law firm of Kay, Griffin, Enkema & Brothers, PLLC (2008–2012). He now works as a Color Analyst for the Nashville Predators Hockey Club on Fox Sports South and the team's flagship network, 102.5 The Game.

He has four children: Jayne, Kristjan, Hannah, and Erin.

Grimson appeared in a 2001 commercial spot for The Foundation for a Better Life. It begins with on-ice game action leading up to an intermission. While in the locker room with the team, Grimson receives a phone call. It is revealed that the caller is Grimson's young daughter, who asks him to sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider". He reluctantly complies, much to the amusement of his teammates. Grimson replies "Hey, it's my girl! You know, my daughter?" The commercial showed a softer side of Grimson as a good family man.

During an October 6, 2011 edition of Hockey Night In Canada, Don Cherry accused Grimson, along with Chris Nilan and Jim Thomson, of being 'pukes' & 'hypocrites' for supposedly making a living as an enforcers and now complaining about it. Grimson, by then a licensed attorney, indicated that he considered legal action against Don Cherry on behalf of himself, Chris Nilan and Jim Thomson citing Cherry's claims as "baseless and slanderous." After an apology on Hockey Night in Canada by Cherry, Grimson reconsidered his lawsuit against Cherry stating that "This is a decision for Canadians. The CBC is your network; you pay for it. And you hold the network to certain standards and values."

See also

• List of NHL players with 2000 career penalty minutes

External links

• Stu Grimson's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Stu Grimson's biography at Legends of Hockey
• hockey draft central