Playing Career
During his lengthy career, Stu 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.
It wasn't until the 1996–97 season, when Stu moved to Hartford, that he became one of the NHL's elite fighters. Almost overnight, his balance improved dramatically and he added some muscle to his previously lanky frame. In that 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 Stu 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.
Stu spent the next two seasons back in Anaheim, and played his final full season with the Los Angeles Kings in 2000–2001. 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.
Stu enjoyed a career-long rivalry with legendary 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, Stu usually held his own and scored a couple of wins of his own against Probert.
In his final seasons, Stu built rivalries with a new generation of fighters, such as Georges Laraque, Krzysztof Oliwa and Scott Parker.
Read more about this topic: Stu Grimson
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