Player's Own Voice

Player's Own Voice podcast: A date with the Grim Reaper

The Player's Own Voice podcast connects with Stu Grimson- NHL fighter, commentator, lawyer, and recent autobiographer.

Stu Grimson, NHL enforcer turned lawyer, reminisces about the hard knocks years

A linesman gets in the middle of a fight between Nashville Predators' Stu Grimson, left, and Edmonton Oilers' Georges Laraque, right, during a game in 2001. Grimson was one of the NHL's most intimidating enforcers in the 1990s. (Mark Humphrey/The Associated Press)

Stu Grimson's new autobiography is aptly called The Grim Reaper, but the book's subtitle — The life and career of a reluctant warrior — rounds out the picture of the infamous NHL enforcer.

Grimson was a handful, a heavyweight who knew exactly how to flatten a foe in as few punches as necessary. But he's now  conflicted about that role — and much more proud of his leadership in the locker room and on the bench.

The fact that Grimson liked using his brain more than his knuckles became obvious once he received his law degree and started negotiating in NHL labour disputes.

Anastasia Bucsis, host of CBC Sports' Player's Own Voice podcast, gets the NHL veteran talking about the main preoccupations of a heavyweight during the height of the enforcer years.

Like the CBC Sports' Player's Own Voice essay series, POV podcast lets athletes speak to Canadians about issues from a personal perspective. To listen to The entire second season, subscribe for free on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Tune In or wherever you get your other podcasts.