Marty McSorley played for the Los Angeles Kings for 6 seasons. He played in 347 games and accumulated 1348 penalty minutes. Thats a shade under a double minor every game.
Now I know what you're thinking. Marty is an enforcer, that's why he racks up the penalty minutes. And an enforcer is not necessarily a dirty player. They have honor, they fight fair, the follow "the code".
Right. "The code". According to George Laroque's version, you don't punch a guy when he's down on the ground.
Would this incident with Marty McSorley be considered breaking the code?
"...that was one of the most gutless plays I've seen in a long time. You've got a guy, flat on his face, not even moving, and you come behind and punch him in the back of the head. For a supposed tough guy, what kind of play is that?"
Gutless is a good word. Dirty would be another.
Another piece of the code is "not jumping guys to get a head start". This seems fair. But what is the accepted method to start a fight? Marty McSorley prefers to tap opponents on the shoulder. Oops, I meant the shoulder. If that doesn't get their attention, a little poke to the belly (video) sometimes works.