NHL players vote Bruins D Zdeno Chara as the league’s hardest hitter
Posted: January 18, 2012 Filed under: NHL, Players Poll | Tags: boston bruins, cal clutterbuck, dion phaneuf, douglas murray, jordin tootoo, minnesota wild, nashville predators, nhl hardest hitters, san jose sharks, toronto maple leafs, zdeno chara Comments Off
NOTE: This NHL Players Poll appears on page 17 of the Jan. 23 issue, on newsstands now.
Who is hockey’s hardest hitter?
- Zdeno Chara, Bruins D….18%
- Jordin Tootoo, Predators RW….15%
- Cal Clutterbuck, Wild RW….11%
- Douglas Murray, Sharks D….10%
- Dion Phaneuf, Leafs D….8%
[Based on 193 NHL players who responded to SI’s survey]
FAST FACTS: Chara may be feared in the East, where he has played his entire career, but Western Conferencers voted Tootoo and Murray (15% each) as the heaviest hitters…. The top 10 vote-getters average 6′ 2″ in height; Chara, of course, is 6′ 9″…. Of the 15 players who received more than one vote, the Senators’ Chris Neil (2.1%) has the most penalty minutes (82, ninth in the NHL)…. In a similar poll on Facebook, SI readers also named Chara (38%) the hardest hitter, just ahead of Red Wings D Niklas Kronwall (31%).
