Fighting in the NHL is making a comeback

[Philly06Cup]

When I watch hockey, there is way less hitting on international ice or when it is 4-on-4. Skill players also shine in these scenarios.

[wwkayaker]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Football leads in concussions versus any other sport....by miles.

if you are taking a stand on hits to the head then body checking needs to end as well. Putting your shoulder into a guys chest straight on and he has any momentum, that brain is bouncing back and forth inside the skull.

All contact sports have these risks, fighting is no more dangerous than any of it, even if it does add to the overall totals.

I would be curious if their is a data set that shows how many players diagnosed with concussions were from bodychecking compared to fighting.

You missed my main point. Hockey players fight to protect their top players. Tom Brady is a top player who gets hit all of the time without it resulting in fights. Aside from combat sports, fighting is embraced in hockey alone.

Checking is a means to separate the puck from player. I recognize that a hard hit may cause some trauma to the brain but nothing like a shoulder or fist to the head. You are making quite the stretch here.

Fighting is far more dangerous than checking. Look at the mma fighter from Edmonton who died after a knockout punch. When did a hockey player die from a check?

[Zevo]

Originally Posted by wwkayaker

You missed my main point. Hockey players fight to protect their top players. Tom Brady is a top player who gets hit all of the time without it resulting in fights. Aside from combat sports, fighting is embraced in hockey alone.

Checking is a means to separate the puck from player. I recognize that a hard hit may cause some trauma to the brain but nothing like a shoulder or fist to the head. You are making quite the stretch here.

Fighting is far more dangerous than checking. Look at the mma fighter from Edmonton who died after a knockout punch. When did a hockey player die from a check?

I'm not sure about died but several have become quadriplegics. That ain't great either.

[undercoverbrother]

I have been thinking about this.


Hockey is using fighting the wrong way. If you really want to intimidate the other team, go out and pick a fight with their top player. Everytime these score a goal or make a nice play punch them in the face.

I think this is the best use of fighting in the league and really would set a tone.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Kariya and Lafontaine for sure.

I've said this before but it's an unpopular opinion. Hockey is currently too fast which causes hits at high speed. It actually needs the two-line pass and clutching and grabbing rules back.

And remove the trapezoid and instigator and we have ourselves hockey the way God meant for it to be played!

Stretch passes are awesome.

[JerryUnderscore]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

I have been thinking about this.


Hockey is using fighting the wrong way. If you really want to intimidate the other team, go out and pick a fight with their top player. Everytime these score a goal or make a nice play punch them in the face.

I think this is the best use of fighting in the league and really would set a tone.

You would get an instigator penalty and possibly even a game misconduct.

Hockey needs to do more to allow skilled players to showcase their skill not less. Some diehards might come to watch the fights but if hockey wants to grow in new markets it will be on the back of skilled plays not face punching.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by JerryUnderscore

You would get an instigator penalty and possibly even a game misconduct.

Hockey needs to do more to allow skilled players to showcase their skill not less. Some diehards might come to watch the fights but if hockey wants to grow in new markets it will be on the back of skilled plays not face punching.

I’m not so sure about that. Every time I ask someone who rarely watches hockey, if they tell me they’ve gone to a game (in a CHL/AHL/NHL) they always get excited to tell me that they saw a fight occur. Our of the 4 major sports in America, hockey is the only one where fighting is allowed without getting ejected. I agree that skill could be emphasized a little more, but fighting should too.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by JerryUnderscore

You would get an instigator penalty and possibly even a game misconduct.

Hockey needs to do more to allow skilled players to showcase their skill not less. Some diehards might come to watch the fights but if hockey wants to grow in new markets it will be on the back of skilled plays not face punching.

But, fighting is part of hockey.....This really is just a better use of fighting.

[JerryUnderscore]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

But, fighting is part of hockey.....This really is just a better use of fighting.

I don't think punching someone in the face because they scored a goal is a better use of fighting.

Is that supposed to make them think twice about scoring that goal?

[REDVAN]

The game against LA the other night was VERY fun to watch. It wasn't all fighting per se, but the pace of the game, the back-and-forth you knew was coming, and 2 evenly matched teams. Great game.

There was fighting in the game. IN THE GAME, due to a hit, or a slash or what-not. But it was not pre-arranged at a whistle, which is the type of fighting the game needs to get rid of.

[GranteedEV]

Flames are 0-1-0 when Tanner Glass fights
Flames are 3-0-0 when Tanner Glass doesn't fight.
Flames are 0-1-0 when Micheal Ferland trying to be Tanner Glass fights.

[GreenLantern2814]

Here's what I don't get about the fighting arguments. Burke and his ilk will contend that without fighting, the rats will run rampant. The stick work will be out of control.

How much stick work has the threat of fighting prevented in the last 18 years. I would argue, not a single slash. Yet someone gets blown up with a clean hit and all of a sudden, we've got a full on donnybrook.

What I would say about fighting is simply this: in the course of a hockey game, there are going to be times and places where certain players need to get punched in the head. That's just the game.

Now, can you just beat people up who aren't willing combatants? No. Should you have players whose sole job is to punch faces? No. Should you be able to dance with somebody who loves you? #### yes.

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

Here's what I don't get about the fighting arguments. Burke and his ilk will contend that without fighting, the rats will run rampant. The stick work will be out of control.

How much stick work has the threat of fighting prevented in the last 18 years. I would argue, not a single slash. Yet someone gets blown up with a clean hit and all of a sudden, we've got a full on donnybrook.

So last year, when our star player had over 20 slashes to his hand/wrist area in a single game and was out for multiple weeks, you don't think a real intimidating threat on the ice might have prevented that?

If Eric Staal gets an elbow to the chops the first time he slashes Gaudreau, I promise you he thinks twice before doing it again. It isn't the fighter that is the biggest deterrent, it is the guy who others think might cross the line.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

So last year, when our star player had over 20 slashes to his hand/wrist area in a single game and was out for multiple weeks, you don't think a real intimidating threat on the ice might have prevented that?

If Eric Staal gets an elbow to the chops the first time he slashes Gaudreau, I promise you he thinks twice before doing it again. It isn't the fighter that is the biggest deterrent, it is the guy who others think might cross the line.

I'm saying I've been watching hockey for 20+ years and the next slash that brings about a fight will be the first.

Our star player took 20 hacks to the hands and nobody on the team did #### for him.

Look, I like fighting. I think it serves a purpose - I know there's no way to quantify this, but the Calgary Flames lost in 2005 to the Ducks as soon as Beauchimen dropped Iggy. They were never the same after that. Never mind the series, the Flames under Iginla were not the same after the fight.

Fighting in hockey is part of the romance of the sport. You can't make logical arguments about romance. But this photo doesn't happen in a game without fighting. I love this photo. It epitomises everything I love about the game.



Don't ever ban it.

[Vulcan]

European hockey was known for it's slashing and it's non fighting game. When the NHL brought in the instigator rule, and more Euros were brought in, slashing as predicted increased.

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

European hockey was known for it's slashing and it's non fighting game. When the NHL brought in the instigator rule, and more Euros were brought in, slashing as predicted increased.

Did it really? Or is this just something that people say?

I don't recall any Canadian players having their ankle broken with a slash during the Summit Series.

Of all the famous stick swinging incidents I can think of, all of them were Canadian culprits. Simon, McSorely, Clarke, Brown, Messier had one too?

The list of dirtiest players all time is pretty much all Canadian.

I like fighting. I want fighting to stay in the game. But the only good arguement for keeping fighting is that we like it.

I haven't ever seen a convincing "Fighting prevents X" arguement.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

Did it really? Or is this just something that people say?

I don't recall any Canadian players having their ankle broken with a slash during the Summit Series.

Of all the famous stick swinging incidents I can think of, all of them were Canadian culprits. Simon, McSorely, Clarke, Brown, Messier had one too?

The list of dirtiest players all time is pretty much all Canadian.

I like fighting. I want fighting to stay in the game. But the only good arguement for keeping fighting is that we like it.

I haven't ever seen a convincing "Fighting prevents X" arguement.

I'd argue they were out of frustration after being hacked and whacked continually.

Here's this,

During the interview McSorley makes it very clear, purely from a nuts-and-bolts point of view, that the instigator rule did make it impossible for him to do his job by dealing with transgressors directly. He also acknowledges that this led to more gladiator-style fighting.


However, McSorely also says that, while the inability to deal with the game's weasels was frustrating, the gladiator stuff never really bothered him.

http://pacificgazette.blogspot.ca/20...ator-rule.html