 Over the next decade, Vukota forged a reputation as a tough scrapper and punishing forechecker who could occasionally pop in a goal.He was suspended several times by the league for on ice behaviors, and this added to his growing tough-guy reputation.He went on to become the Islanders' career penalty minutes leader (1,879), but his one-dimensional style resulted in a demotion to the Utah Grizzlies of the IHL in 1996–97.