Paul Mulvey

The Mulvey Incident:

Mulvey became the center of a major NHL controversy during the 1981-82 season when he refused to leave the Los Angeles bench to start a second-period brawl on Jan. 24, 1982, in Vancouver. Don Perry, who had recently been named head coach of the Kings, ordered Mulvey to lead a his teammates into what would become a bench-clearing brawl. Mulvey refused, despite Perry's repeating the order three more times. Mulvey remained on the bench until Los Angeles' Rick Chartraw and Mark Hardy took the initiative and led the entire team out onto the ice. Even though Mulvey did join the brawl, Perry was livid that he had refused to initiate it, and accused Mulvey of failing to stand up for teammates. Mulvey was benched for the rest of the game and held out of practices and games until the Kings placed him on waivers on Jan. 29, 1982. Perry said he didn't want Mulvey on the team any longer, but Mulvey, who was coming off a one-game suspension, argued that Perry had been forcing him to perform a goon's role that would have led to more suspensions. Mulvey said Perry told him to "go out there and don't just dance." Mulvey, who had only been with the team for 25 days, was so stunned by the command that he hesitated, thereby setting off the famous confrontation with Perry. Mulvey cleared waivers and was sent to the Kings' AHL affiliate in New Haven. When details of the incident came out in the press, the NHL fined Perry $5,000 and suspended him for 15 days (six games). Mulvey, on the other hand, became overnight media darling for his stand, although he would never play another NHL game