As an Oilers fan, I have particular reason to dislike this particular player. I don't know the guy so it's unreasonable to say I hate him, but I don't like what he stands for. It was with pleasure that I watched the Oilers snap their futility streak on the PP with him in the box after he failed to goad an Oiler into scrapping with him.
From NHL.com:
"Boogaard did not return to Minnesota's 3-2 home victory over Calgary
after a second period fight with Eric Godard. Wild coach Jacques
Lemaire said he had a sore hand and couldn't hold his stick."
Does it really matter if he plays with a stick in his hands or not? Career so far: 126 regular season games, 2 goals and 5 assists. Only JF Jacques and I would likely have worse totals with that many at-bats. He couldn't even score in junior (174gp, 3-18-21), and even Dave Semenko and Georges Laraque had hat-tricks in the NHL.
The way to play this guy is to not let him goon you. If he's not fighting or hitting, he's useless, as the Oilers demonstrated a few weeks ago. Easier said than done, of course, although the fact he can barely skate at the NHL level hurts the latter. Unfortunately, he *is* very good at what he does, given the chance.