Yahoo Sports Toronto Maple Leafs Defenceman Bryan McCabe Recalls The Night He Got Rag-Dolled By Ottawa Senators Defenceman Zdeno Chara
It will go down as one of the more amusing moments in the NHL's now ancient Battle of Ontario.
It was January 31st, 2004, and the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs were a few months away from their fourth and final playoff meeting. Back then, any time the two clubs got together, fuses were short.
And if things ever got too testy, the Senators had the ultimate hammer in defenceman Zdeno Chara – the biggest and probably strongest hombre in NHL history. On this night, Chara was parked in front of the Toronto net on an Ottawa power play and was more than Leafs defenceman Bryan McCabe could handle. He was more than anyone could handle.
According to McCabe, who appeared last week on the Spittin' Chiclets Podcast, it was Leafs goalie Eddie Belfour who riled the big man up.
"Eddie is trying to break (Chara's) kneecap from behind," McCabe told host Ryan Whitney. "And I see the wires crossing for Chara. And I'm like the closest guy. At no point do I want to do this."
But since Chara had given his goalie a slash in return, McCabe couldn't let that stand, no matter big he is. He gave Chara a left jab to the head and the 6-foot-9, 250-pound defenceman started throwing McCabe around like he was a stuffed toy.
"It was like I was a feather," McCabe said. "In my equipment, I'm 250 pounds if not more, maybe 260, you know, skate, sticks, gloves. (Chara) picked me up like I was nothing. My legs were like three feet off the ice. And he was just like, it was nothing. And he was just like... dusting me."
At best, Chara may have gotten a jab in at the end when they fell to the ice. But McCabe says no. He was the one who actually threw the only punch.
"Thank God he didn't hit me with a punch. And then I fell down and then I rabbit punched him once. And I went to the box and I was actually laughing. I was so embarrassed. And I was actually laughing that I made it through okay."
For as memorable and satisfying as the incident was for Senators fans, McCabe didn't take all that much abuse that day. But the visuals were enough. It was a show of domination by one man over another like we're rarely ever seen in a game.
Unfortunately for Ottawa fans, it was one small (but glorious) victory during a lot of lost battles in that era.
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