When Nick Foligno arrived in Ottawa as a rookie for the 2007-08 season, he had just missed the fun of the Sens’ Stanley Cup Finals a few months earlier. What he also missed was the chance to be a teammate of defenseman Zdeno Chara, who left the Senators in free agency the year before the Sens’ Cup run.
It is believed that Chara lost his enthusiasm for the senatorial position when his girlfriend, teammate and fellow American Marion Hossa was mistreated by the organization. Hossa signed a long-term contract in good faith and was then traded almost immediately to the dismal Atlanta Thrashers.
In a parallel universe, it wouldn’t have taken much for Foligno and Chara to become long-term teammates and fast friends in Ottawa. But in this universe, for some misleading reason, Foligno says he’s always wanted to fight Chara.
Story of the tape of two former senators
Chara: 6-foot-1, 250 pounds, the tallest player in NHL history.
Foligno: 1.83 meters tall and weighs 95 kilos.
Difference: 23 cm and 18 kilos, and we haven’t even mentioned the huge difference in range.
Make no mistake, Foligno is a tough guy. He can handle himself in a fight. But when he finally got his chance for his long-awaited fight with Chara, the common sense gene apparently kicked in.
“I always wanted to fight Z,” Foligno said this week on the Dropping the Gloves Podcast with John Scott. “To the point where we were cross-checking each other in front of the net and cursing at each other. And he gave me the ‘let’s go.’
“I don’t shy away from anything, but a little voice in my head was like, ‘Go to the bench, go to the bench.’ And I turned around and skated away. I was like, ‘That was your moment, idiot!’ I couldn’t do it. And I think that’s why I’m still playing today. That’s why I’m alive.
“I always said to myself, ‘I want to fight that guy someday.’ Because I’ve seen a few guys fight him and I’m like, ‘I just want to see how strong he is.’ I’m good. I know how strong he is. I’m good. I’m good.
“That’s the only time I’ve ever been a coward in a fight.”
Foligno played five seasons with the Senators until being traded in 2012 for Columbus defenseman Marc Methot. Since the trade, Foligno has played 12 seasons in the league and recently signed for two more seasons in Chicago to continue mentoring the Hawks’ young stars.
Perhaps none of this would have happened to Nick Foligno if he had made a different (and terrible) decision against the great man that fateful night.
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