[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

1. Players who should be playing in the NHL are those who are skilled enough to play in the NHL. 2. The League, the players, and the coaches should be the ones making this determination.

Your argument doesn't hold water.

The league condones fighting, yes? The teams offer contracts to these players, yes? The coaches have the choice to put them on the roster, yes? The coach has the choice of when to send them out, yes? Is this not a systematic acceptance of these players being skilled enough to play in the NHL? There are some skills that certain players have that others do not. Throwing and taking a punch is a skill and one valued around the NHL. These guys are NHL players based on this specific skill alone. Truth be told, most of these guys would out play the vast majority of this board, and I recognize there are a couple of ex-players who frequent this board.

Why not just crack down hard on unwanted intentional acts to injure?

You mean like Kessel swinging his stick in a totally reckless manner? This was a clear intent to injure, especially when Scott was engaged with several other Leafs.

I call BS. The proof behind such a statement would require extensive study, and cannot be drawn anecdotally from casual observation. I know that this is the well-worn belief, but I suspect it is little more than a myth in reality. In short, I am highly sceptical that the presence of a goon on the ice has little impact at all on the behaviour and conduct of opposing team members. Remove them from the game, and I expect that the impact on the "game of chess" would be completely negligible.

You mean likes decades of play and success by teams who employ these types of players?

I have been pretty clear in each of my posts: If he can't play hockey at an NHL level, then he has no business on the ice in a NHL game.

The NHL and its member teams clearly say that these guys are good enough to play in the NHL. These guys are specialists, just like the designated hitter in baseball. They may not be complete players, but they fill a specific role and excel in that one skill.

No, they are here to stay so long as the League insists on promoting and sustaining the culture that provides for their presence. As soon as there is a will to get rid of enforcers, they will be gone.

When are they going to do this? It's been talked about for decades. When is this going to happen? I'll wager not in my lifetime or in yours. We may feel that these guys are a waste of a roster spot, but all you have to do is watch how many people get out of their seats when the mitts hit the ice. Owners see this and know it sells. The league will not outlaw this behavior anytime soon as there is a risk it will hurt the bottom line.