Rob Ray vs Matt Barnaby

[Andrew Amerk]

Ray vs Barnaby. Who you got?

https://www.thehockeybeast.com/nhl/when-rob-ray-didnt-want-to-watch-mtv-and-ended-up-knocking-matthew-barnabys-teeth-out/
 

 

[Zamboni]

As in a fight?

 

Prime Ray would destroy prime Barnjob

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Ray for sure.

[Pimlach]

Ray was the better pugilist.  Barbary was a pest, a Shiite disturber and he could actually play at times. 

[KC Scouts]

Ray without a question. Barnaby gets credit for often taking on a better or bigger customer and performing admirably. 

[Taro T]

5 minutes ago, KC Scouts said:

Ray without a question. Barnaby gets credit for often taking on a better or bigger customer and performing admirably. 

Barnaby has issues.  It takes having a screw or 2 loose to smile while repeatedly getting hit in the face.

[Weave]

Pretty sure Ray and the rat fought at least once after Barnaby was traded.  My recollection was it was a nothing fight with no damage done.

[JoeSchmoe]

I didn't have access to all the games back then like I do now, but Barnaby lost almost every time I saw him fight.

The only time he did okay was when he could sucker a guy into fighting that didn't normally drop the gloves.

[inkman]

The better question is May vs Ray.  Brad was a much larger scarier man.  Ray, as much as we love him, was always willing, rarely winning.  
 

May was a bad dude.  Fists the size of tree stumps and quite an athletic guy.  Ray had to come up with the jersey schtick to survive in a game with much larger men.  Domi, noted psychopath, was the only comparable to Ray size wise.  It’s why they were always an intriguing matchup. 

[KC Scouts]

3 minutes ago, inkman said:

The better question is May vs Ray.  Brad was a much larger scarier man.  Ray, as much as we love him, was always willing, rarely winning.  
 

May was a bad dude.  Fists the size of tree stumps and quite an athletic guy.  Ray had to come up with the jersey schtick to survive in a game with much larger men.  Domi, noted psychopath, was the only comparable to Ray size wise.  It’s why they were always an intriguing matchup. 

Yes, shook his hand once.....big mitts

[Taro T]

20 minutes ago, inkman said:

The better question is May vs Ray.  Brad was a much larger scarier man.  Ray, as much as we love him, was always willing, rarely winning.  
 

May was a bad dude.  Fists the size of tree stumps and quite an athletic guy.  Ray had to come up with the jersey schtick to survive in a game with much larger men.  Domi, noted psychopath, was the only comparable to Ray size wise.  It’s why they were always an intriguing matchup. 

 

To the bolded, yes, he was.

He was a physical beast and had no compunction about fighting dirty.  Lost count of how many times he wrestled a guy to the ice and THEN started throwing them.

Anybody remember how he broke his hand?  Throwing a sucker punch at Ulfie.

Anybody remember who goaded Bertuzzi into nearly killing Moore?  Yep, that was him too.

Loved him early in his career and May Day will always hold a special place.  But, he was, far too often, a thug.

[Weave]

56 minutes ago, inkman said:

The better question is May vs Ray.  Brad was a much larger scarier man.  Ray, as much as we love him, was always willing, rarely winning.  
 

May was a bad dude.  Fists the size of tree stumps and quite an athletic guy.  Ray had to come up with the jersey schtick to survive in a game with much larger men.  Domi, noted psychopath, was the only comparable to Ray size wise.  It’s why they were always an intriguing matchup. 

I don't think you give Ray enough credit.  He adapted to the jersey tie down rule and was still a good fighter.  He spanned an era that introduced the super heavies.  He was badly overmatched by them, but he held his own ond frequently beat more normal sized men,

I think May would have done very well vs. Ray.  He had knockout power and was very quick.  And after he abandonded the idea of being a power forward and concentrated on that part of his game he became an excellent tactical fighter as well.  I don't think it is coincidence that Ray never fought May.  I think Ray knew he'd more than have his hands full.

55 minutes ago, KC Scouts said:

Yes, shook his hand once.....big mitts

Larry Playfair..... same thing.  Huge hands.

[Weave]

35 minutes ago, Taro T said:

 

To the bolded, yes, he was.

He was a physical beast and had no compunction about fighting dirty.  Lost count of how many times he wrestled a guy to the ice and THEN started throwing them.

Anybody remember how he broke his hand?  Throwing a sucker punch at Ulfie.

Anybody remember who goaded Bertuzzi into nearly killing Moore?  Yep, that was him too.

Loved him early in his career and May Day will always hold a special place.  But, he was, far too often, a thug.

I really disliked May  turning big time thug.  Maybe it is bias generated by watching him when I was young, but I felt like he didn't become that until May, Ray, Barnaby.  I assumed it was all a result of the steroid era in hockey.  He always seemed to enjoy the fight, but the unnecessary agresssion seemed to follow after he bulked up and grew a chin 3x in size.

[Taro T]

40 minutes ago, Weave said:

I really disliked May  turning big time thug.  Maybe it is bias generated by watching him when I was young, but I felt like he didn't become that until May, Ray, Barnaby.  I assumed it was all a result of the steroid era in hockey.  He always seemed to enjoy the fight, but the unnecessary agresssion seemed to follow after he bulked up and grew a chin 3x in size.

That was the time frame that he turned into a thug.  Corresponded pretty much with Nolan's arrival.

[Digger]

1 hour ago, inkman said:

The better question is May vs Ray.  Brad was a much larger scarier man.  Ray, as much as we love him, was always willing, rarely winning.  
 

May was a bad dude.  Fists the size of tree stumps and quite an athletic guy.  Ray had to come up with the jersey schtick to survive in a game with much larger men.  Domi, noted psychopath, was the only comparable to Ray size wise.  It’s why they were always an intriguing matchup. 

When Ray and May were on the Sabres I think Ray would have won a head to head.  May really developed as a fighter as his career moved on and I agree he was really underrated by some of his opponents.  Later on I think May would do okay against Ray.  I don't recall any actual Ray vs May fights but maybe there was.

Barnaby was a lightweight that was always yapping and getting under players skin.  But he also had the most hockey talent (skating and scoring) of the three.  I always wished he would have found a better balance for agitating, fighting, and thinking about offence.  His mothers day hat-trick was an example of his skill.  I'm not saying he would have been a high scorer but I am suggesting he could have had maybe a better career if he had more of a balance.  He really did not have the body to be a true enforcer and he went through some really scary stuff with head injuries and concussion effects getting beat by bigger enforcers. 

Domi had to have had the hardest head in the NHL.  Hits to the head did not seem to hurt him at all.  He was much more arrogant on and off the ice than Ray.

[Pimlach]

6 hours ago, inkman said:

The better question is May vs Ray.  Brad was a much larger scarier man.  Ray, as much as we love him, was always willing, rarely winning.  
 

May was a bad dude.  Fists the size of tree stumps and quite an athletic guy.  Ray had to come up with the jersey schtick to survive in a game with much larger men.  Domi, noted psychopath, was the only comparable to Ray size wise.  It’s why they were always an intriguing matchup. 

Ray won a lot of fights.  I saw him get destroyed by Tony Twist, who was destroying everyone at the time.  
 

Ray was a middle weight that could more than hold his own.  

[drnkirishone]

May was a knockout puncher. I think Ray could have held his own. But if he connected on that haymaker it was over.

[SabFan]

I would bet on Jerry Korab,,,,

He was plain mean, One fight Terry O’Reily made the mistake of picking fight with him. Jerry hit him and he dropped to his knees. It was great.

[FogBat]

On 9/11/2021 at 10:31 AM, Taro T said:

 

Anybody remember how he broke his hand?  Throwing a sucker punch at Ulfie.

Are you talking about Oaf Samuelsson?

23 hours ago, drnkirishone said:

May was a knockout puncher. I think Ray could have held his own. But if he connected on that haymaker it was over.

Just ask Dennis Vial.

[Eleven]

DIdn't they room together?  And didn't Ray routinely beat the snot out of Barnaby?

[Claude Balls]

On 9/12/2021 at 8:14 PM, Eleven said:

DIdn't they room together?  And didn't Ray routinely beat the snot out of Barnaby?

A friend of mine roomed with Barney in juniors. Said he was a ***** nut job. Would always destroy the rooms for no reason. 

[North Buffalo]

And then there was Schoenfeld... could 1 punch a guy... think he did it to Dave Schultz or the epic zamboni doors with Wayne Cashman or the OReilly fights.

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, North Buffalo said:

And then there was Schoenfeld... could 1 punch a guy... think he did it to Dave Schultz or the epic zamboni doors with Wayne Cashman or the OReilly fights.

Don't recall Schoeny doing that to Schultz.  But the Hammer 1 punching Van Boxmeer cold his rookie year was a big part of why he never really got a chance to break into Moe-ray-all's D and was let go for essentially nothing and led to his eventually becoming a Sabre.

[FogBat]

On 9/15/2021 at 1:01 PM, Claude Balls said:

A friend of mine roomed with Barney in juniors. Said he was a ***** nut job. Would always destroy the rooms for no reason. 

As I said in another thread, he had some really horrible home issues when he was growing up - and it appears that he's never gotten over them.