Aaron Downey Aaron Downey , ( born August 27 , 1974 , in Orangeville , Ontario , Canada ) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward . Playing career . Downey , a journeyman for the bulk of his NHL career , had previously played for the Montreal Canadiens , Chicago Blackhawks , St . Louis Blues , Boston Bruins and Dallas Stars . He has also played in the minor leagues for the Manitoba Moose , Portland Pirates , Providence Bruins , Norfolk Admirals , Hampton Roads Admirals and is currently ( 09 ) with the Grand Rapids Griffins . Downey played his junior hockey for Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League . He ' s played for four of the Original Six NHL teams over the course of his career . Downey is mostly known for his role as an enforcer , though he instantly shot into notoriety after knocking the Carolina Hurricanes ' Jesse Boulerice down with one punch on February 11 , 2003 ; the incident left Boulerice with a mild concussion and a broken jaw . After the fight , Stars color commentator Daryl Reaugh coined the short - lived nickname " Aaron ' One punch and he ' s ' Downey . " On February 26 , 2007 , Aaron Downey was placed on waivers by the Montreal Canadiens , and was sent down to the Hamilton Bulldogs . On March 2 , 2007 , Downey was loaned to the Providence Bruins from the Hamilton Bulldogs for Philippe Sauvé . Downey was invited to the 2007 Red Wings training camp on a tryout basis . He was offered a two - way contract at the end of camp and chose to sign . Downey begins the 2007 – 08 NHL season as a member of the Red Wings , his fourth Original Six team . He was called up to the Detroit Red Wings lineup in mid October and had his first major league tilt as a Red Wing in a game against the San Jose Sharks , with Kyle McLaren , after McLaren took a run at Henrik Zetterberg and Dallas Drake . Less then a week later the Wings played the Sharks again and Downey had a heavyweight battle against then San Jose tough guy Rob Davison . Downey has added an element of toughness to the Red Wings with his willingness to fight . For the past several seasons , the Red Wings had been last in the NHL in fighting majors . The team had 6 for the 2005 – 06 NHL season , and 10 during the 2006 – 07 NHL season . Through February 2008 , Downey has accounted for 9 of the teams 19 fights . He is often praised by head coach Mike Babcock for his willingness to stick up for teammates and his positive attitude in the dressing room . Perhaps his most memorable bout was against Colorado Avalanche player Ian Laperrière who had hit and injured Red Wings superstar defenceman Nicklas Lidström earlier in the game . The two fought late in the first period and came together again early in the third . Aaron is well know in the community for his various charitable contributions . Mainly the house 9 foundation for children as well as his fundraising for leukemia research , a sickness that hit home when Kyle was diagnosed but later beat a rare form . In 2007 – 08 season he won the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings . Although he did not appear in a playoff game , he did play the required 40 regular season games . Downey spent the majority of the 2008 - 2009 season playing for Detroit ' s minor league affiliate , the Grand Rapids Griffins . Downey played 65 games for the Griffins during the 2008 - 2009 season , scoring 2 goals , getting 7 assists and racking up 126 penalty minutes , with 9 fights . Downey also played 4 games for the Red Wings in 2008 - 2009 , in those games he had 1 goal , 1 assist , an Even plus / minus , 7 penalty minutes , 1 fight and led the team in Shooting Percentage with an even 50 . 0 % . Downey ' s one fight with the Red Wings during this season was against the St . Louis Blues Cam Janssen , it lasted well over a minute and was regarded by many hockey fans as one of the best fights all season . Downey played for the Griffin ' s during the playoffs , getting 1 assist , 44 penalty minutes and 1 fight in 10 games , before the Griffins were eliminated by the Manitoba Moose . Downey was then called up to the Red Wings roster for the remainder of their playoff run , but he was a healthy scratch the entire time , not playing a single game . According to an article published by detnews . com Wings GM Ken Holland has told Downey ' s agent they are not interested in his services in the future and he should try to find another home , because Detroit will not re - sign him . On August 21 , 2009 Downey signed with the Phoenix Coyotes . The Coyotes released him on September 20 , 2009 . He is now a part - time coach with the Red Wings .