245:. 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. In the next game between the two teams, on December 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."
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Purinton came together, and as Cairns began to throw punches, Purinton elbowed Cairns in the face before
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.
241:. In a game on November 8, 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 and
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and then threw a punch at an official who was escorting him to the penalty box. Cairns skated around the rink for about a minute threatening the officials, unable to lose his teammates who were attempting to ensure he did not further escalate the incident. Instead of leaving the ice, Cairns instead
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In another incident on
February 19, 2004, Dale Purinton beat Cairns in a fight and punched him after he was down on the ice. The rest of the game included a number of fights. Cairns called Purinton "gutless." A week later, on February 26, the Islanders and Rangers again faced off. Cairns and
217:, received less playing time in his last year of play as the enforcer role became 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.
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skated to the
Coventry bench where he threw a punch which resulted in a bench-clearing brawl. He was suspended for the remainder of the season and the entire next season in all IIHF tournaments, although the NHL allowed him to return the following year.
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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.
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Cairns is currently the
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defenceman and current director of player development for the
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Hockey Night in Dixie: Minor Pro Hockey in the
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Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
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182:. He began his second year of professional hockey with the
1635:"HOCKEY; Cairns Doesn't Back Down, and Neither Do Isles"
1594:. Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd. p. 148.
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Biographical information and career statistics from
1675:"NHLer Cairns suspended by U.K. league | CBC Sports"
290:. Amazingly, Cairns started with a goal against the
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1653:"Rangers, Isles react to wild Garden tilt"
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150:(born June 27, 1974) is a Canadian former
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1743:Eric Cairns' Player bio @ Forecaster.ca
158:. His last season (2006) was with the
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1704:. Retrieved
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1758:1974 births
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227:Theo Fleury
213:Cairns, an
148:Eric Cairns
27:Eric Cairns
1752:Categories
1736:, or
1732:, or
1728:, or
1620:Daily News
1573:References
263:Wade Belak
152:ice hockey
95:Played for
38:1974-06-27
1684:April 17,
1659:March 21,
1655:. MSG.com
1097:1999–2000
1054:1999–2000
122:NHL draft
1405:2005–06
1010:1998–99
382:1990–91
325:Playoffs
215:enforcer
75:Position
54:, Canada
48:Oakville
1726:NHL.com
1706:May 22,
1492:2006–07
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1142:2000–01
968:1998–99
923:1998–99
878:1997–98
835:1997–98
792:1996–97
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700:1995–96
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563:1994–95
520:1993–94
475:1992–93
428:1991–92
339:League
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79:Defence
52:Ontario
1598:
332:Season
67:Weight
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1551:1182
709:ECHL
336:Team
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1235:NHL
1207:176
1192:NHL
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1149:NHL
1106:AHL
1076:196
1061:NHL
1018:AHL
975:AHL
932:NHL
887:AHL
842:NHL
799:AHL
771:147
679:192
664:AHL
636:134
573:ECHL
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1566:28
1554:16
1548:42
1545:32
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1516:10
1428:87
1416:27
1385:37
1373:23
1355:27
1340:85
1328:22
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1238:60
1222:15
1195:74
1152:45
1121:14
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1048:32
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990:49
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814:96
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694:37
676:14
673:13
667:46
651:28
624:27
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589:49
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545:17
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536:35
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448:11
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438:OHL
404:21
401:16
395:37
365:GP
361:PIM
356:Pts
342:GP
196:AHL
164:NHL
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398:5
371:A
368:G
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351:A
346:G
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