I'm on the pro fighting side and I would probably watch significantly less games if fighting were eliminated, but recently I've thought more on my own stance on the issue.
Two guys want to beat the crap out of each other, or are paid to do it - that's fine. We are all adults and aware of the risks. Boxing and UFC have guys beat each other up for entertainment and those of us who watch it enjoy such pugilistic skill every once in awhile.
However, with ice hockey, the surface these guys fight on has no protective matting and gives very little in terms of shock absorption if someone were to faceplant onto the surface. The risk of someone hitting their head on ice and dying, seems significantly higher than if the same thing were to happen in a boxing or MMA match just due to those other sports having a softer surface where the athletes can fall. The NHL moved in the right direction with stopping fights as soon as one guy's lid gets taken off but is it enough? If the UFC or boxing suddenly decided to allow their fighters to fight on a concrete surface, we'd be horrified, yet that is really what we are allowing NHL players to do every time there's a scrap. I don't know what the solution to this is, but I think it's going to be a significant issue going forward - especially if someone dies due to a fight and them hitting their noggin on the ice.
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