Thug Life

Thug Life
By Michael Dell, editor-in-chief

He's the most despised player in the NHL. And his name's not Claude Lemieux, Dale Hunter, or Ulf Samuelsson. The Buffalo Sabres' Matthew Barnaby has surpassed all those infamous men to quickly become public enemy number one in his young career. How did he achieve such a dubious distinction? Thug life, baby, thug life...
Standing just six feet tall and tipping the scales at a mere 170 pounds, the 24-year-old Barnaby isn't exactly built like a typical goon. Yet that's how most fans around the league would describe him. During his rookie season in 1995-96, Barnaby played just 73 games and still led the NHL in penalty minutes with 335. He missed the last few weeks of this season with a knee injury, but that didn't stop him from piling up another 249 minutes in 68 games. And most of those minutes come the old fashioned way, with the gloves on the ice. But it's Barnaby's work with his mouth, and not his fists, that drives the opposition and its fans crazy.

Matthew Barnaby

Barnaby was selected by the Sabres in the fourth round (83rd overall) of the 1992 Entry Draft. The Buffalo scouts were undoubtedly impressed by the scrappy youngster's hefty penalty minute totals and surprising offensive production in his first two seasons with the Beauport Harfangs of the QMJHL. In a league that isn't exactly known for its physical play, Barnaby punched his way to 262 minutes in just 52 games during his rookie season in 1990-91. The following year he led the league with a staggering total of 476 minutes in 63 contests, while adding a new dimension to his game by chipping in 29 goals and 66 points. NHL clubs were scared away by his size, but it's tough to ignore those numbers, so the Sabres were willing to roll the bones at the Draft. They've been reaping the benefits ever since.
The year after he was drafted, Barnaby, now skating with the Victoriaville Tigres, once again led the QMJHL in penalty minutes with 448. The amazing thing is that despite sitting out the equivalent of nearly eight games in the box, Barnaby still managed to score 44 goals and 111 points. That's just nutty. It was also enough to earn him a callup with the big club at the end of the season. He appeared in the final two games of the 1992-93 campaign for the Sabres, bagging a goal and 10 penalty minutes. He also dressed for one playoff game, earning an assist and four more minutes.
Barnaby would split the next two seasons between Buffalo and its AHL affiliate, Rochester, earning accolades in both cities. 1993-94 saw him start the year in Buffalo, appearing in 35 games and scoring two goals and six points to go along with 106 penalty minutes. However, the Sabres felt he needed a little more seasoning and assigned him to Rochester. After being sent down, Barnaby notched 10 goals and 42 points in 42 games. The point-per-game average was nice, but he didn't neglect his studies in the art of brutality, claiming an additional 153 minutes in the clink. His efforts weren't lost on the Rochester fans, as he was voted the team's most popular player.
Rochester was home for the first 56 games of 1994-95, with Barnaby posting 21 goals, 50 points, and 274 minutes. He was then recalled by the Sabres for the final 23 games and rang up 116 minutes in penalties, that's 6,960 seconds to you math whizzes out there. The performance cemented his spot on the roster for the following season. A season that would witness his breakthrough into the ranks of the hated.
Yes, Barnaby went buckwild in 1995-96, leading the league in penalty minutes during his official rookie season. Boasting the confidence of having Ray and May there to watch his back, Barnaby quickly made a name for himself by taking on all challengers. It didn't matter how much he was overmatched, Barnaby wasn't scared to throw. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it. So much so that he could be seen talking to his opponents during fights and flashing a devilish grin while the scuffles were being broken up.
Since he is so small, Barnaby depends on his quickness to survive. He gets the gloves off in a hurry and just swings like a mad man. His punches may not have as much behind them as the heavyweights of the league, but Barnaby gets rid of 'em faster than anyone else and they all have bad intentions. That doesn't mean he hasn't taken his share of beatings, because he has. But that's part of the territory when leading a thug life.
If he was just a fighter, Barnaby would probably be a fan favorite around the league and not just at Marine Midland Arena. After all, it's pretty hard not to admire his courage and determination. The thing is though that he's not just a hard- working kid that fights. He's a hard-working kid that yaps... and yaps... and yaps. The dude just won't shut up. He'll do whatever it takes to get under his opponent's skin. If that means taking runs at people, using the stick a bit, or even shooting the puck at them during pre-game warmups, Barnaby will do it... and he'll also be sure to tell you about it. It's not often that someone talks trash and is then willing to back it up. A fighting agitator is a rare breed indeed, but that's precisely what Barnaby is. He's also damn cocky about it.
And that's the rub. Barnaby is so fearless and unafraid of retribution that he often comes across as an arrogant punk. Of course, that perception might have a little something to do with him actually being an arrogant punk, but that's neither here nor there. Barnaby certainly didn't help his reputation any when he recently went to the ol' dentist and got fitted for a gold front tooth with the Sabre logo etched into it. With the new tooth and his boisterous attitude already in place, Barnaby's a top-40 hit away from being an East Coast rap star. Now that is some wild, wild stuff.
Barnaby missed the first four games of Buffalo's opening-round series with Ottawa recovering from his knee injury. He returned for the final three contests and helped the Sabres to their dramatic seven-game series victory, registering a pair of assists and 16 penalty minutes. He came into the second round against Philadelphia as a marked man. And by the looks of the first two games, Barnaby is definitely back to full stride.
Barnaby has just been all over Paul Coffey, roughing up the future Hall-of-Famer on every occasion. His repeated physical and verbal abuse of Coffey in Game One even led an exasperated Don Koharski to ask, "Why him?" Even by his own standards, Barnaby felt he went a little overboard in that first contest, often standing up on the bench and taunting the Flyers. This prompted Barnaby to apologize to his teammates during a meeting before Game Two.
He may have been sorry, but Barnaby didn't exactly let up a whole lot in that second outing. Coffey was still his personal whipping boy. He also had a major mental lapse in the first period, tossing a stick into the crowd and earning a 10-minute misconduct. His temper was again on display in the third period when he provoked Eric Lindros and John LeClair in a scrum after a whistle, getting a spear in the ribs for his troubles.
Lost in all his wacky antics is that Barnaby is actually a good hockey player. The guy's got skills. He's an excellent skater, forechecks hard, drives the net, and is capable of finishing once he gets there. For someone who spends most of his time punching helmets, Barnaby has decent hands. His 19 goals and 43 points this season were no fluke. Those numbers will only continue to climb in the future. Provided no one takes him out, Barnaby should be a consistent 20-goal man for Buffalo over the next few years.
At the moment, things are looking bleak for the Buffalo Sabres. The Flyers have a 2-0 series lead heading to the city of brotherly love for Games Three and Four. That's trouble. One thing is for sure, though. Barnaby and the Sabres won't be going down without a fight. Thug life, baby, thug life...
One last note on Barnaby. Here at LCS, since everything we do has to have some obscure reference to television, we like to refer to the wacky Sabre winger as Barnaby Jones, in homage to the TV character brought to life by Buddy Ebsen in the 1970s. We never really gave the nickname much thought, but upon further review, the two men actually have more in common than first noticed.

Barnaby Jones

Barnaby Jones investigated murders.
Matthew Barnaby has most NHLers wanting to kill him.

Barnaby Jones had silver hair.
Matthew Barnaby has a silver tooth.

Barnaby Jones was a private investigator.
Matthew Barnaby was sticked in his "private investigator" by Glenn Healy earlier this season.

Hmm ha... the similarities are striking.