Donald Brashear Donald Brashear ( born January 7 , 1972 ) is an American - Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who is currently a member of the Rivière - du - Loup CIMT in the Ligue Nord - Américaine de Hockey ( LNAH ) . He previously played for five organizations in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . His main role is that of an enforcer . He was considered one of the best , and most feared , in the NHL . His aggressive style of play has led to being among the league leaders in penalty minutes six times , while currently ranking 15th all - time in NHL history , and has resulted in multiple suspensions as well . He remains the Vancouver Canucks all - time single season leader in penalty minutes , which he set in the 1997 – 98 season . He was the victim of one most publicized incidents of on - ice violence in NHL history , when he was slashed in the head by Marty McSorley , during the 1999 – 2000 season . Brashear was born in Bedford , Indiana but moved to Quebec as a child . He has represented his native United States twice internationally , playing in consecutive IIHF World Championships in 1997 and 1998 . Early life . Brashear is the youngest of three children born to an African - American father and Québécois mother , Johnny and Nicole Brashear , in Bedford , Indiana . His father was an alcoholic who abused his family , including beating Donald with belts and electrical cords . On one occasion he threw a six - month - old Donald across the room . His mother , fearful that Johnny might kill her , left the family and returned to Canada . Later she came back to take the children , but left Donald to live with his father for another four years , until Donald ' s paternal grandmother sent him to Canada . Donald ' s mother later stated that she left him behind because her future husband was prejudiced and did not want another mixed - race child in the house . Brashear moved in with his mother and his new stepfather in Lorretteville , Quebec . He suffered further abuse in his new surroundings , he was forced to sleep with a garbage bag tied around his waist to help him stop wetting the bed , and he was verbally berated for not being able to tie his shoes . His mother finally decided to give him up to foster care , due in part because of what she called " mental problems " from the abuse he had suffered , and because he did not accept her as his mother . Brashear lived in two different foster homes that sent him away since the families believed he was a " little too much to handle . " At the age of eight Brashear moved to Val - Bélair , Quebec City and settled into a new foster home . Once there he began playing hockey with his new siblings . In order to help pay for hockey , Brashear sold baked bread and garbage bags door to door . Later he became a paper boy . Professional career . Early career . Brashear was signed as a free agent by the Montreal Canadiens in 1992 . He spent parts of three seasons with their American Hockey League ( AHL ) affiliate , the Fredericton Canadiens before becoming a regular in Montreal . During the 1993 – 94 AHL season he registered professional career highs of 38 goals and 66 points , along with 250 Penalty Minutes ( PIMs ) in 62 games . His 38 goals tied him for the team lead and the 250 PIMs led Fredericton . Brashear made his National Hockey League ( NHL ) debut on November 15 , 1993 against the Ottawa Senators . He registered an assist in the contest , his first NHL point . Two days later he scored his first NHL goal in a game vs . the Edmonton Oilers . After playing parts of four seasons with the Canadiens , his time in Montreal ended following a heated verbal exchange with head coach Mario Tremblay during a team practice on November 9 , 1996 . Four days later Brashear was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for Jassen Cullimore . Brashear finished the year with 13 points and 245 PIMs , seventh in the league . The following season Brashear led the NHL in penalty minutes and set a Canucks ' franchise record with 372 PIMs , while adding 18 points . During the season he also received a four - game suspension for delivering a blind - side punch to Ian Laperriere . Brashear stated that he hit Laperriere in retaliation to Laperriere punching Brashear ' s teammate , Gino Odjick from behind . The 1998 – 99 season marked the first and only time in his career which he played in all 82 games , again leading the Canucks in penalty minutes and finishing 8th in the NHL . In the 1999 – 2000 season Brashear set a career high in goals with 11 , but the season was marred by one of the most published incidents of excessive violence in the modern era of hockey . McSorley incident . During the February 21 , 2000 Vancouver - Boston game , Brashear was involved in a fight with Marty McSorley . Brashear handily won the fight and on his way to the penalty box taunted the Bruins bench . Later in the game Brashear collided with Bruins ' goaltender Byron Dafoe , who had to be taken off on a stretcher with a knee injury . For the rest of the game , McSorley attempted to fight Brashear , who refused . With three seconds left in the game McSorley struck Brashear with a two - handed slash to the temple with his stick . Brashear collapsed . The stick dislodged Brashear ' s helmet , and his head bounced off the ice . He suffered a seizure on the ice and the slash resulted in a grade 3 concussion . McSorley received an indefinite suspension and was charged with assault with a weapon as a result of his actions . The case went to trial in British Columbia , where Brashear testified that he has no memory of the incident . McSorley testified that he tried to hit Brashear in the shoulder to start a fight with him , but missed resulting in the head shot . McSorley was found guilty but avoided a jail sentence . He was required to complete 18 months of probation , in which he was not allowed to play against Brashear . Brashear returned to play prior to the end of the season . McSorley , who missed the remaining 23 games of the season , had his suspension officially set at one year following the conviction . He never played in another NHL game . Mid - career . Brashear played in 79 games the following season registering 19 assists and 28 points . After leading the Canucks in penalty minutes for the previous four seasons , Brashear was traded 31 games into the 2001 – 02 season to the Philadelphia Flyers . The Flyers received Brashear and the Canucks ' 6th round pick in the 2002 draft , in exchange for Jan Hlaváč and the Flyers 3rd round pick in the same draft . While splitting time between the two franchises , Brashear set a career high in points , totaling 32 , while amassing 199 PIMs . In 2002 – 03 he recorded 8 goals , 25 points and 161 PIMs . Thanks in part to his strong work ethic , he was awarded the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy , an annual award given to the Flyers ' most improved player . During the 2003 – 04 season he was among the league leaders in PIMs , registering 212 , ranking him 5th . His PIM total was aided by his role in the most penalized game in NHL history . On March 5 , 2004 the Flyers were defeating the Ottawa Senators 5 – 2 , when with 1 : 45 remaining in the game , Brashear fought Ottawa enforcer Rob Ray . The fight was believed to be in retaliation to Flyers forward Mark Recchi being slashed in the face by the Senators Martin Havlat . Following Brashear ' s fight , five separate brawls broke out . For his role in starting the fighting Brashear was assessed 34 PIMs , more than any other Flyer . When asked later why he started the fighting , he responded by saying , " Why wouldn ’ t I ? Did you see the last game ? " Due to the cancellation of the 2004 – 05 NHL season by the NHL lockout Brashear signed with the Quebec Radio X of the semi - pro Ligue Nord - Américaine de Hockey league ( LNAH ) . The deal was reportedly worth $ 300 , 000 . He registered 18 goals and 50 points in 47 games , but was reluctant to fight and felt the league did little to protect him from players wanting to make a name for themselves against an established NHL enforcer . Brashear was suspended from the league following an incident where he continued punching a player in the face while he was lying on the ice . Following the lockout , Brashear voiced his displeasure with the new way the league called games , stating that the NHL changed the rules to favor " superstars , " and he felt that there was no longer a way to " get respect " on the ice . His statement came following a game in which he attempted to fight Darius Kasparitis , who the Flyers believed delivered a " cheap shot " to Simon Gagne in an Olympic game earlier in the year . After Kasparitis refused to fight Brashear at various points in the game , Brashear hit Kasparitis with a gloved punch with 1 : 53 remaining in the game . Kasparitis did not fight back and instead covered up to protect himself . Brashear was assessed 29 PIMs for the incident , including an instigator penalty . Brashear was given a one - game suspension , due to new league rules for the 2005 – 06 season – any player given an instigator penalty in the final five minutes of regulation or overtime would receive an automatic one - game suspension . At the end of the year he was again in the top ten ( 8th ) in PIMs accumulating 166 , but his offensive production dropped to a mere 9 points . The Flyers elected not to re - sign the enforcer . The Washington Capitals signed Brashear on July 14 , 2006 to a one - year , 1 million dollar contract . The signing was to provide Alexander Ovechkin with some protection . Capitals management felt that Brashear was skilled enough not to be a liability on the team while bringing an intimidating presence . During the 2006 – 07 season the Capitals decided to extend Brashear ' s contract , signing him to a one - year , $ 1 . 1 million contract extension . He was also suspended one game of the season for punching New York Rangers defenseman Aaron Ward , following a fight between Brashear and Brendan Shanahan . In the game Shanahan felt Brashear was taking liberties with Ranger Captain Jaromír Jágr and challenged Brashear to a fight . Brashear won the fight and motioned as if he was dusting off his hands . Ward then approached him and had words with Brashear who responded by punching him in the face , earning Brashear a game misconduct for intent to injure and eventually the suspension . At season ' s end his point total increased from the previous season to 13 and his 156 PIMs ranked him in the top ten ( 6th ) in the league for the sixth time in his career . In the 2007 – 08 season , Brashear played in 80 games for the Capitals but his offensive production slipped down to 8 points while registering only 119 PIMs . Yet he served as one of the Capitals ' alternate captains . On January 24 , 2008 the Capitals once again re - signed Brashear , this time to a one - year , $ 1 . 2 million extension . In the 2008 – 09 season Brashear ' s point total dropped to 4 , his lowest total since 1995 – 96 while he was with Montreal . During the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs he earned a suspension for two separate on - ice incidents . On April 26 , 2009 the Capitals faced the New York Rangers in game 6 of their first - round series . In the pre - game warm - ups Brashear shoved Rangers ' enforcer Colton Orr and mid - way through the first period delivered a blind - side hit to Blair Betts . As a result of the hit , and a possible elbow , Betts suffered a broken orbital bone and was out indefinitely . Colin Campbell ruled that the hit was late on an unsuspecting player ; he also believed it targeted the head , and as a result caused significant injury . For his actions Brashear was given a 6 - game suspension ( one for the pre - game altercation and five for the hit on Betts ) . Later career . Brashear was not given an extension during the season and prior to the start of free - agency indicated that he would like to return to Washington with the prospect of winning the Stanley Cup . Brashear noted that at his age and place in his career , taking care of his family was top priority and money would be the deciding factor . The Capitals did not re - sign him . After talks with the Kontinental Hockey League ' s ( KHL ) Vityaz Chekhov he agreed to a two - year , $ 2 . 8 million contract with the New York Rangers . At an event for season - ticket holders , Brashear was booed due to the altercation with the Rangers in the previous post season . He set a personal milestone during the 2009 – 10 season by playing in his 1 , 000th NHL game , on November 12 against the Atlanta Thrashers . Brashear struggled in New York registering only one assist and 73 PIMs in 36 games ; he became unhappy with his role in New York and asked the Rangers for a trade . Following a stretch of seven straight and 12 of 13 games where he was a healthy scratch , the Rangers placed Brashear on waivers . After clearing waivers , he was assigned to the Rangers AHL affiliate the Hartford Wolfpack . Despite the demotion Brashear was happy to be getting steady ice time in Hartford . At the end of the season , the Rangers again placed Brashear on waivers , making him eligible for a contract buyout . Instead of buying out his contract , the Rangers traded Brashear on August 2 , 2010 , along with Patrick Rissmiller , to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for center Todd White . Atlanta then placed Brashear on waivers and bought out the remaining year of his contract , making him an unrestricted free agent . At the end of the 2009 – 10 season , Brashear ranked 15th all - time in NHL history for penalty minutes . After not receiving serious interest from any NHL teams Brashear decided to return to the LNAH and signed with Sorel - Tracy GCI . He noted that his decision was based on his desire to continue playing hockey , his love of playing in Quebec , and a chance to reunite with some former teammates . He was later traded during the season to Rivière - du - Loup CIMT to add talent and toughness to the team . Rivière - du - Loup CIMT considered acquiring Brashear a " coup " noting that they could not pass up the chance to add him to the team . Late in the season Brashear was given a suspension following a his actions in a brawl against Trois - Rivières . During the melee Brashear " attacked " goaltender Julien Ellis after he slashed one of Brashear ' s teammates who was engaged in a different fight . Brashear hit Ellis with several gloved punches before one of Ellis ' teammates attempted to restrain Brashear . Brashear fought with the intervening player and after falling to the ice Brashear continued to punch the " defenseless " player . He went back after the goaltender before a linesman tackled him . The suspension was originally for eight games , but after the league met with Brashear and Rivière - du - Loup ' s general manager it was reduced to five games . International play . Brashear has represented the United States on two separate occasions . He made his international debut at the 1997 World Championship where he registered 2 goals and 5 points in 8 games , helping the Americans to a 6th place finish . He later noted that he was surprised by the invitation , but felt that it gave him an opportunity to show he could play other roles besides being an enforcer . He played for Team USA again the following year at the World Championship playing in 6 games and accumulating 10 penalty minutes as the Americans finished in 12th place . Playing style . Brashear was an enforcer ; his role was to protect his teammates if an opponent is going beyond what is considered acceptable physical play to " dirty " play or taking " cheap shots " . Brashear was a tenacious forecheck er , who could create momentum by playing aggressive and delivering body check s , while possessing an underrated shot . When fighting he uses a combination of balance and upper body strength while taking his time trying to control his opponents before landing punches . Although left handed by nature , he became adept at using either hand during fights . He was considered one of the toughest players in the NHL as well as one most feared . In the January 2010 issue of " The Hockey News " , Brashear was named enforcer of the decade , noting that although he did not lead the NHL in number of fights , during the decade , he would have been involved in more if " he wasn ' t so feared " . Hockey analyst Bill Clement states that " Brashear has a great sense of when his fighting skills are necessary and he picks his spots before dropping the gloves . He ’ s excellent at understanding when a bit of pugilism might well provide the push or nudge to get some momentum going for his team . " " The Hockey News " also assessed his skills by saying he possessed one of the most intimidating packages in the league , had a decent skating stride and was one of the best pugilists in the NHL . He was a bit too deliberate when handling and passing the puck , and fought much less as he got older , while slowly breaking down over time . Personal . Brashear has two sons , Jordan and Jackson ; he separated from their mother , Gabrielle Desgagne , his common - law wife , in 2007 . In 2000 Brashear was charged with assault following an incident where he grabbed a man by the neck and shoved him . The incident occurred after the man complained to Desgagne about the couple ' s infant son crawling on the exercise machines in a communal gym . Brashear received six months probation after pleading guilty to common assault . During the lockout he spent time as an amateur boxer compiling a 2 – 1 record . Later he trained with former heavyweight champion , Smokin ' Joe Frasier In 2007 Brashear , along with some friends , started the house building company , DEC Construction . During the off - season he works on site doing various jobs . He has a knack for languages speaking French and English , and learning Russian and Spanish . He enjoys music as well playing the piano while learning the acoustic guitar . Brashear ' s great - uncle Carl Brashear , was the first African - American to be certified as a Master Diver in the U . S . Navy . He was the inspiration for the movie " Men of Honor " , in which he was portrayed by Cuba Gooding , Jr . Career statistics . ! colspan = " 3 " bgcolor = " # ffffff " | ! rowspan = " 99 " bgcolor = " # ffffff " | ! colspan = " 5 " | Regular season ! rowspan = " 99 " bgcolor = " # ffffff " | ! colspan = " 5 " | Playoffs ! Season ! Team ! League ! GP ! ! G ! ! A ! ! Pts ! ! PIM ! GP ! ! G ! ! A ! ! Pts ! ! PIM ! colspan = " 3 " | NHL totals ! 1 , 025 ! ! 85 ! ! 120 ! ! 205 ! ! 2 , 634 ! 60 ! ! 3 ! ! 6 ! ! 9 ! ! 121 International statistics . ! colspan = " 3 " bgcolor = " # ffffff " | ! rowspan = " 99 " bgcolor = " # ffffff " | ! Year ! Team ! Event ! rowspan = " 99 " bgcolor = " # ffffff " | ! GP ! ! G ! ! A ! ! Pts ! ! PIM ! colspan = " 3 " | Totals ! 14 ! ! 2 ! ! 3 ! ! 5 ! ! 18