[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by adc

I don't think fighting reduces dangerous plays in hockey, especially with the instigator rule. I agree with a poster who said suspensions, fines and league crackdown is the way to reduce those.

On this we agree.

Originally Posted by adc

I do believe that fighting can reduce slashing, cross checking and to an extent spearing. I think this is do to 2 main things a. fighting allows guys to release anger and "get back at guys" when this is not there for them some resort to the alternative using their sticks.

As Girly Sports has already pointed out, there is no reason to think that grown men cannot learn how to control their emotions within a controlled context like a hockey game. There are plenty of other team sports in which players manage quite well to handle the intensity of in-game action without resorting to fights.

Originally Posted by adc

b. rats have free rain to be chippy as they want without any recourse. The second part could be true in an NHL with instigator league as well.

But there has always been "chippy" play in hockey. There was chippiness in the original six league. There was chippiness in the first era of expansion, and in the pre-instigator era. There has been chippiness since the instigator was introduced, and I am certain it will continue even with the elimination of fighting, and until stricter measures are introduced in an attempt to eliminate it.

I have often heard this argument in the past, and I find it unconvincing because any level of fighting, and all manner of regulations that pertain to fighting have made no perceivable difference one way or the other. I suspect that this is a red herring, and that there really is no correlation between fighting in hockey and dirty play.

Originally Posted by adc

I would say overall for me the positive benefits of fighting is that I enjoy it. I also don't see much, if any downside, outside of the potential for teams to have goons on their roster which I think makes them weaker, so it could be a positive if everyone other than the Flames take that approach.

This is pretty much what it amounts to: fans enjoy fights. But I would counter that the downside is on the contrary rather steep. Mounting evidence suggests that regular participation in fighting is incredibly dangerous. I am personally embarrassed about the collective appetite for blood sports in our modern culture, and look forward to the day when we might overcome our tribal instincts to relish in the destruction of people's long-term well being.