- Eric Cairns
Infobox Ice Hockey Player
image_size =
former_teams =New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Florida Panthers
league = NHL
position = Defence
shoots = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 6
weight_lb = 243
nickname =
nationality = CAN
birth_date = Birth date and age|1974|6|27|mf=y
birth_place = Oakville, ON, CAN
draft = 72nd overall
draft_year = 1992
draft_team =New York Rangers
career_start = 1996Eric Cairns (born on
June 27 ,1974 in Oakville,Ontario ) is a retiredice hockey defenceman and current pro scout for theNew York Islanders . His last season (2006) was with thePittsburgh 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, theNew York Islanders , claimed Cairns onDecember 22 ,1998 . He played six seasons with the team before they declined to renew his contract. After the2004–05 NHL lockout theFlorida 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 andDale Purinton . In a game onNovember 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 andSteve 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. [ [http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/2001/12/21/2001-12-21_rangers_issue_fightin__words.html Rangers Issue Fightin' Words McCarthy, Fleury Target Isles' Cairns ] ] In the next game between the two teams, onDecember 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." [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B01E0DE1631F931A15751C1A9679C8B63 HOCKEY; Cairns Doesn't Back Down, and Neither Do Isles - New York Times ] ]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. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=240219013 ESPN - NHL - National Hockey League ] ] A week later, onFebruary 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 . OnMarch 23 ,2005 , he was involved in a notorious fight withWade Belak (playing forCoventry 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 strength the Pen's defence and protectSidney Crosby . Amazingly, Cairns started with a goal against theNew York Islanders . Spent 124 minutes in the penalty box and was involved in the team's fight of the season after making short work ofPhiladelphia Flyers wingerDonald Brashear .Post playing career
Cairns is now a professional scout for the Islanders.
References
http://forecaster.ca/thescore/hockey/player.cgi?0418http://www.nhl.com/players/8459008.htmlhttp://www.hockeyfights.com/players/8http://www.msgnetwork.com/content_news.jsp?articleID=v0000msgn20040220T050552677&newsgroup=ap.sportsml.columnist.article&sports=ice-hockey&team=other&league=nhlhttp://www.islesinfo.com/Cairns.htmlhttp://islanders.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NHLPage&id=6898
External links
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