"I'd quit watching hockey if they took out fighting."

[dare2be]

Fighting does have its place in the NHL. It's the perfect time to get up out of my seat and use the restroom while it isn't crowded and gives me enough time to not miss any hockey.

 

[elocomotive]

The nhl much larger league than the Olympics with a much larger schedule and established rivalries .If you analyze the injuries in the game the amount that occur from fighting are minuscule.People want to see harder hitting and when emotions run high incidents will always occur.Hell even ovechkin plays with an edge .Hockey is a violent sport by nature.I find it hard to believe watering down the sport would be progressive.Personally if I wanted to see players penalized for contact or not being able to fight I would watch nba or women's hockey.

I think you can have a violent contact sport without fighting. The NFL seems to have no problem doing it. Guys destroy each other and get up and smack the guy on the helmet to say 'good hit.' In the NHL, I have increasingly seen fights after good, clean hits just b/c it was a big hit. That is complete bullshit and not what fighting is supposed to be about, if you find it is useful at all.

I agree with you most fights do not end with injury (just like most hits do not), but injuries in some fights can be very severe and many of the fights nowadays are completely unnecessary.

A big reason for me also is the example you set for kids. You are teaching kids to resolve conflicts with violence. That's not generally a good lesson.

 

[TheRobotDevil]

Don't get me wrong I watch football but I'll take the pace and emotion involved in a hockey game any day of the week.And having played both sports its a completely different kind of contact.Fighting has its place in hockey when approached the proper way.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

I think you can have a violent contact sport without fighting. The NFL seems to have no problem doing it. Guys destroy each other and get up and smack the guy on the helmet to say 'good hit.'

they then take those pent up frustrations and make it rain at the "scrip" club

 

[TheRobotDevil]

As far as kids go I grew up in a far more violent period in hockey and my parents took responsibility in teaching me what you should and shouldn't do.And to be honest there is a lot more honor in a hockey fight than the majority of other outlets of violence kids are exposed to.It's not like its glorified like in the WWE or cartoons.Just because a kid watches boxing does not give them a green light to go out and fight.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

Nobody has answered this: why is hockey the only sport where refs need help enforcing the rules? Also quit saying fighting is part of hockey. It isn't. It is part of the NHL and to a lesser degree, its feeder systems.

 

[Jared]

Would I stop watching? No.

Would I enjoy hockey as much? No.

Nobody has answered this: why is hockey the only sport where refs need help enforcing the rules? Also quit saying fighting is part of hockey. It isn't. It is part of the NHL and to a lesser degree, its feeder systems.

So if fighting is admittedly part of the NHL, ban it everywhere else. I like the game as is.

 

[elocomotive]

Nobody has answered this: why is hockey the only sport where refs need help enforcing the rules? Also quit saying fighting is part of hockey. It isn't. It is part of the NHL and to a lesser degree, its feeder systems.

That's an excellent point - most international, collegiate, scholastic, and recreational/amateur hockey is devoid of fights since they are often outlawed by rule.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

That's an excellent point - most international, collegiate, scholastic, and recreational/amateur hockey is devoid of fights since they are often outlawed by rule.

you tidily left out THE main feeder system for the NHL ... CHL and lower tier junior leagues in Canada

if anyone wants to make inroads with an anti fighting crusade ... go politic there

Darren Kramer of the Spokane Chiefs has 42 fighting majors this year (lol) The NHl leader has 23

As Slimpickins said "BLAME CANADA"

Myself and all other kids in Canada have been exposed to such on-ice violence growing up and look at the horrendously violent war mongering nation we are

 

[IPostedWhat]

Fighting protects players. One would be hard pressed to find a hockey player who thinks fighting needs be removed from the sport. The Whitby Dunlops who would have the biggest reason not to continue fighting, received fighting majors in 5 of their 8 games following their teammate's death.

The majority of the people who are going to get on their respective soap boxes and call for fighting's removal from the sport most likely have never played any serious hockey in their day. Fighting keeps players in line and polices the game in a way referees cannot. What's more likely to keep a player cheap-shotting his opponent with a dangerous hit from behind or a stick to the face, a penalty or the guarantee that the other team's big guy is going to drop the gloves with him as a result?

Why Fighting Needs To Stay in Hockey | Bleacher Report

 

[Eddie_Shack]

For the most part, an NFL, NBA, or MLB player who lacks respect for his fellow players isn't going to end too many careers. Aside from a pitcher throwing too close to a guy's head, a baseball player probably isn't going to be able to take out another baseball player for months at a time, or end their career, simply based on carelessness and a lack of respect. Same with basketball. Football there is that possibility, of course, but it's mostly limited to helmet-on-helmet hits. Correct me if I'm wrong there, I honestly don't watch a lot of football. But I've played all four sports and I've found that the emotional highs and lows and the intensity levels in hockey far exceed the other three sports. I don't ever remember getting real fired up or crazy in a baseball game, hell, I think it's Joe Rogan who has a hilarious bit about baseball players looking like cops hanging around a crime scene. Basketball you can get some mean elbows and stuff, but usually nothing that's going to change the way a guy plays for the rest of his life. It lacks the danger. Football has a similar amount of danger to hockey, but it's MUCH MUCH slower. You have time to calm down after a big play, and almost everyone on the field is in danger of those big bone crunching collisions, the danger seems more evenly spread.

Hockey is much faster, it's much harder to stop, you've got the danger of a 100 MPH fastball, coupled with razor sharp skates and every player with a dangerous weapon. Fighting provides a relief valve for blowing off steam, and it provides a measured punishment for things the ref either didn't see, or things that need more personalized discipline. If you watch a guy on the other team run your teammate and friend into the boards from behind, you watch his head snap back, and you know damn well he could have just ended up on a stretcher and possibly killed, are you going to be satisfied with a four minute double minor and maybe a one game suspension following? If you let too much of this anger build up on both sides, eventually it's going to explode in a stick swinging free for all. Let two willing combatants duke it out, and usually both sides feel "vindicated" and are able to let bygones be bygones, or at least not have a massive amount of simmering rage boiling in their blood.

Classic example: C. Lemieux does some unwanted dental work on Kris Draper's face, gets a slap on the wrist. The rage on Detroit's bench and in the state of Michigan was ridiculous. The average guy on the street would pass up a chance at shooting Hitler to get his hands on Lemieux. The team was furious, it was insane. So, McCarty jumps Lemieux in a bit of a cheap shot of his own, and you could almost see the veil of anger being lifted from the Detroit bench. The next season, both players went at it straight on, and today they are shaking hands on OTR together. If you take fighting out of the equation, I'm willing to bet that instead of brawls and fights when those teams met, it would be tit for tat borderline street thug violence; you crush in Draper's face? Ok, we're going to spear Aaron Miller's kidney until it bleeds. And so on and so on.

I suppose you could argue that we need to increase the suspensions and penalties, but at some point you're going to be handing out so many game misconducts and 10-20 game suspensions for stuff that might be extremely dangerous, but close to inadvertent that the guys get gun shy and the game play suffers.

I hope this wasn't too rambling and nonsensical, I just kind of shot from the hip on this rant and banged it out without proof reading it, but my fingers are tired and I want to go crank my shaft.

 

[elocomotive]

if anyone wants to make inroads with an anti fighting crusade ... go politic there

Myself and all other kids in Canada have been exposed to such on-ice violence growing up and look at the horrendously violent war mongering nation we are

So we can't debate it hear? My god, I thought that was largely the point of a message board.

I'm not saying seeing violence MAKES you violent. Ridiculous argument, but it certainly doesn't help. And sports are supposed to be a positive influence for kids. You disagree, man up and make a decent argument instead of insulting generalizations about countries.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

So we can't debate it hear? My god, I thought that was largely the point of a message board.

I'm not saying seeing violence MAKES you violent. Ridiculous argument, but it certainly doesn't help. And sports are supposed to be a positive influence for kids. You disagree, man up and make a decent argument instead of insulting generalizations about countries.

wow

biggest wtf of the day for me?

where did i say dont debate it here ???

and where did i insult your country ... if you want to take that leap ... well you did so ... whatever

maybe i wasnt clear ... I said if anyone wants to truly take a stab at getting fighting eliminated ... the chl and the other junior leagues across canada ... thats the place to go

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

I have played both football and hockey at a pretty high level and the nasty dirty, unclled stuff happens much more often (at least in my experience) in the 7 yards in front of and behind the line of scrimmage in football.

Is it potentially career ending. It could be, but maybe not as much so. The horse collars and head shots are though.

Why can't we just suspend a player 20 games for a real dirty hit. I am pretty sure the loss of almost a quarter of a players annual salary will be more detrimental than getting best up, sort of, over the course of 30 seconds.

Fighting doe snot seem to deter much, just look at recent history...

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

wow

biggest wtf of the day for me?

where did i say dont debate it here ???

and where did i insult your country ... if you want to take that leap ... well you did so ... whatever

maybe i wasnt clear ... I said if anyone wants to truly take a stab at getting fighting eliminated ... the chl and the other junior leagues across canada ... thats the place to go

When someone dies as a result of a fight on the ice, people will take notice. Or, when someone goes Chris Benoit and murders his family because of a pugilistic career, someone will take notice. Unfortunately, I think that it is a matter of when and not if on both of these scenarios.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

I have played both football and hockey at a pretty high level and the nasty dirty, unclled stuff happens much more often (at least in my experience) in the 7 yards in front of and behind the line of scrimmage in football.

Is it potentially career ending. It could be, but maybe not as much so. The horse collars and head shots are though.

Why can't we just suspend a player 20 games for a real dirty hit. I am pretty sure the loss of almost a quarter of a players annual salary will be more detrimental than getting best up, sort of, over the course of 30 seconds.

Fighting doe snot seem to deter much, just look at recent history...

"recent history" as in the era of hockey with an instigator rule?

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

"recent history" as in the era of hockey with an instigator rule?

So, are we really debating the merit of, "Hey that guy broke the rules, jump him kick his ass!!!!!"

I mean, seriously?

Have we not evolved a bit from that.....

Penalize people, suspend people, punish teams....but "let's git em!!!!!" is fucking ridiculous if you step back and think about it.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

So, are we really debating the merit of, "Hey that guy broke the rules, jump him kick his ass!!!!!"

I mean, seriously?

Have we not evolved a bit from that.....

Penalize people, suspend people, punish teams....but "let's git em!!!!!" is fucking ridiculous if you step back and think about it.

no Im talking about "hey that guy is running around hitting our star player, lets make HIM stop"

Its how Gretzky became Gretzky

and what we have now is how Crosby will become Lindros

 

[Darkstone42]

I would still watch.

And that's all I have to say about that.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

no Im talking about "hey that guy is running around hitting our star player, lets make HIM stop"

Its how Gretzky became Gretzky

and what we have now is how Crosby will become Lindros

So some players should be allowed to be hit while others should not? That is pretty illogical as well. I don't see Ovechkin, or Tkachuk, or Roenick, or others shying away from physicality.