This is the ballad of an ice hockey player named Buddy (his last name is never given) who realizes his dream of playing in the National Hockey League, but not quite in the way he'd envisioned. Instead of being a star playmaker, Buddy is relegated to the much less glamorous role of enforcer. Over the course of his career he becomes feared by players and loved by fans as "The king of the goons," but secretly continues to harbor a dream of scoring a goal. He finally gets his wish in the closing seconds of the last game of his career, but never gets the opportunity to savor the moment, as he is knocked out cold by an opposing player just after he shoots the puck.