Eric Cairns Eric Cairns ( born on June 27 , 1974 in Oakville , Ontario ) is a retired defenceman and current pro scout for the New York Islanders . His last season ( 2006 ) was with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL . Playing career . Drafted by the New York Rangers in 1992 , he spent several seasons there before being placed on waivers . The Rangers ' crosstown rivals , the New York Islanders , claimed Cairns on December 22 , 1998 . He played six seasons with the team before they declined to renew his contract . After the 2004 – 05 NHL lockout the Florida Panthers signed him as a free agent . Cairns was then traded to the Penguins mid - season . He missed most of the 2006 – 2007 season with post - concussion syndrome and various other injuries . Cairns , an enforcer , received less playing time in his last year of play as the enforcer role is less prominent in the post - lockout NHL . Since entering the league in the 1996 – 1997 season with the Rangers , Cairns accumulated 1 , 117 penalty minutes , 10 goals , and 32 assists . Islanders - Rangers rivalry . During his tenure with the Islanders , Cairns was actively involved in the team ' s rivalry with the Rangers , particularly feuding with Theo Fleury , Sandy McCarthy , Matthew Barnaby and Dale Purinton . In a game on November 08 , 2001 , McCarthy challenged Cairns to a fight ; initially , Cairns declined , but he later chased McCarthy down the ice into the Islanders ' zone . During this time , McCarthy scored on a rebound . As McCarthy celebrated , Cairns gave him a jab to the jaw , which led to a fight between Cairns and Steve McKenna . Afterward , with Cairns in the penalty box , Fleury mocked him by flapping his arms like a chicken to suggest that Cairns was afraid to fight McCarthy , who flexed his biceps and looked at Cairns . In the next game between the two teams , on December 21 , Cairns and McCarthy fought at the beginning of the first period following an early Islanders goal . Cairns won the fight , and McCarthy said of him after the game , " I never said he wasn ' t a tough guy . " In another incident on February 19 , 2004 , Dale Purinton sucker - punched Cairns in the face and continued to punch him after he was down on the ice . The rest of the game included a number of fights . Cairns called Purinton " gutless " and suggested that he violated the " code " of hockey enforcers by delivering the sucker punch . A week later , on February 26 , the Islanders and Rangers again faced off . Cairns and Purinton came together , and Cairns began to throw punches , but Purinton dropped to the ice and turtled . Cairns let Purinton get up and challenged him , but Purinton refused to fight . Barry Melrose criticized Purinton for declining the chance to fight Cairns in a fair match . London Racers incident . During the lockout , Cairns played on the London Racers . On March 23 , 2005 , he was involved in a notorious fight with Wade Belak ( playing for Coventry Blaze ) , during which , he punched the referee . The incident began shortly after a whistle when Belak & Cairns made contact behind the net . Cairns was called for a penalty and immediately lost it and tried to get his revenge on Belak and the other officials . The referee was holding him when Cairns threw a punch with his left hand to free himself . He skated around the rink for about a minute , unable to lose his teammates who were following right next to him to make sure he didn ' t escalate the incident anymore . Finally , he raced to the Coventry bench where he threw a punch which finally dragged Belak back onto the ice for a " proper " fight . He was suspended for the remainder of the season , although the NHL allowed him to return the following year . Pittsburgh Penguins . Cairns was acquired from Florida Panthers in January 2006 to strengthen the Pen ' s defence and protect Sidney Crosby . Amazingly , Cairns started with a goal against the New York Islanders . Spent 124 minutes in the penalty box and was involved in the team ' s fight of the season after making short work of Philadelphia Flyers winger Donald Brashear . Post playing career . Cairns is now a professional scout for the Islanders .