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Originally Posted by gargamel
You can take out fighting without fundamentally changing the game, but you can't do that with big hits. It all comes down to risk/reward, and the reward for allowing fighting just doesn't seem to be worth it any more.
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Women's hockey disagrees with you. Taking out big hits does alter the game but fundamentally it remains the same. You can still have scrums along the boards, pinning players, rubbing them out, cutting them off and otherwise using your body to impede the other players without trying to turn it into a massive body check that attempts to send the other player flying through the air.
I personally would rather the NHL focuses on one thing at a time. First, clean up headshots via body checks. Second, clean up headshots via fighting. Third, ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
My way of approaching this issue is to question the value and purpose of fighting in hockey. Can anyone actually make a convincing case for fighting as a useful deterrent to sickwork and other in-game intended acts of violence? I have yet to see one.
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Outside of entertaining fans the only thing I can think of is the origin of fighting in hockey. I imagine it largely resulted from players coming to their teammate's defense, honor, etc. If a guy gets hit in a dirty way or some dirty plays take place (or someone runs a goalie) then it would result in a fight that could literally consume both teams.
The problem is that fighting in the NHL evolved to the point of having dedicated players for it and a formula for when fights take place. Fighting became a tool instead of a display of passion. There are still examples of that passion that fuels fighting, like Iginla in the 04 playoffs.
Is fighting actually a deterrent to anything anymore? Even when it is a display of passion instead of the scripted goon fight, it doesn't really deter guys from doing what they do. If you have a guy who is a pest, he is getting paid big dollars to keep doing what he is doing. That's his job. Taking the beating that comes with doing what he is doing would also be a part of that job and if he stops doing it then he potentially loses his job.
The money prevents the fighting from being a real deterrent because after the fight is over the guy will come back and continue to try to earn his own paycheque.