As one half of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Colt Knorr has been an old-school favourite – and go-to guy for Carlyle – in Toronto for awhile. But facepunchers are a dying breed, and Orr doesn’t offer a heck of a lot beyond facepunching. Oh and guess what? He barely even facepunches anymore, and when he does, he’s bad at it.

Okay, so say you still value fighting in hockey and think that guys like Orr are still vital to team success – that’s totally okay and cool. But, if that’s Orr’s main contribution, is he still even good at it? Last season, Orr fought six times, with his last fight coming on January 10th. And on that January 10th tilt? He got his ass handed to him by John Erskine. 

And the numbers support the eye-test. It wasn’t just his fight against Erskine – Orr has slowed down, and he really took a beating in 2013-14.

So if Orr isn’t even fighting anymore, what exactly are his contributions? Heck, even if his fight totals go up this season, it sure doesn’t seem like he’ll win any. 

The most concerning thing to me is Orr’s long-term health. While I don’t care for him as a player, I care for him as a human. He seems like a genuinely nice guy and getting your face caved in to make a few bucks seems like a crappy way to make a living. We all know about Orr’s history with concussions, and after the Parros incident last year I just plainly don’t think it is responsible for the Leafs to put Orr out on the ice anymore.

And if you don’t care about his health, it isn’t responsible to continue to waste a roster spot on guys like Orr and McLaren anymore. 

It should be the end of an era. And that’s the best decision for Orr and the Leafs. 

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