Fighting is an interesting one to me. While it's definitely dangerous, the whole sport is.
But I find this approach to be a bit much
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So those of you who are still comfortable watching a player get stretchered off the ice with an oxygen mask over his face, I have one question for you. Y’all know somebody is going to die in a hockey fight someday, right? It might be tonight. It might be this weekend. It might be 10 years from now, but it will happen.
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Are we going to let players hit this hard?
Are we going to let players skate this fast?
Are we going to let players shoot this hard?
Are we going to let players play without cages?
Are we going to let players play without neck-guards?
I couldn't agree more that someday 2 men chucking fists at each other standing on ice could turn into a fatality... but so can multiple factors that go into the game
The point, and we can discuss it without the hysteria of death, is... was it part of the game? In cases like this one, I believe the answer is no.
Fighting being allowed in the game seems necessary sometimes when things boil over. A lot is happening out there and a lot of player safety relies on respect. If a hard hit, the scoreboard, or the refs aren't earning that respect... a good punch in the chops is an effort to take control. But a fight for giggles or to 'turn the momentum' can go in my opinion.
Problem is... how? If you remove fighting, you better make sure you're officiating the game a lot better than you are now or I fear that you'll see a lot more liberties taken on the ice. So those of you who are still comfortable watching a player get stretchered off the ice with an oxygen mask over his face, I have one question for you. Y’all know somebody is going to die from a dirty elbow someday, right?