Quote:
Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz
Does international hockey, Olympics etc, have sticks?
What about European leagues?
What makes the QMJHL think they can manage these problems now that they've banned fighting but allowed players to keep using their sticks?
What makes North American Pro hockey so much different from every other sport, and every other version of hockey that makes fighting so essential?
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International/best-on-best hockey is about representing your country. They’re short tournaments with relatively low stakes (outside the Olympics) and nobody’s getting paid. There’s no salary cap, and there are 7 other teams instead of 31.
Euro league hockey is unwatchable. The ice is too big, the guys aren’t fast enough and you can retreat endlessly.
NHL hockey is played on smaller ice, with bigger, faster players, and there are tens of millions of dollars on the line. There’s no retreating.
The Q and junior leagues can get away with it because the players are slower, smaller, and not being paid. The players as a group don’t have any power, and I have no idea how many of them would even be opposed to this anyway - one less thing for them to worry about.
The NHL players don’t want fighting removed.
The owners don’t want fighting removed.
So it won’t be.
I’m not one of those people who think a game is a waste if there’s not a fight.
But sometimes, some people need to get punched in the mouth.
That’s true in hockey, and it’s true in life.