The Necessity of Confrontation in The NHL

Kaelyn Spencer
Nov 1, 2017
16 min read

The argument of whether or not fighting should stay in hockey is a long fought argument between supporters and people who don’t agree with it. This subject needs to be cleared up in order for new rules to be put into place throughout the game. I do believe that there shouldn’t be children fighting within a hockey game but in the NHL, players are mature enough to make the decision on if they truly want to fight or not. These professional players know what the consequences for fighting are, whether they are getting a five-minute major, a two minute ruffing, or even getting injured in some way. Fans that are for fighting have more than one reason for it to stay in the league and there are also many reasons that people hold strong to about why fighting should be completely exterminated from the entire sport. Fighting should stay in the National Hockey League due to the history through which fighting has formed the sport into what it is today, the entertainment value that it holds with hockey fans, and also as a defensive mechanism for players but fighting does need to be done in a safer manner because of the possibility of impact that it has on players and due to this fans need to be educated about why and how fighting should stay in the game and players need to be educated about the proper way to fight.

History That Fighting Has Within the Sport

The sport of playing hockey professionally started on November 26, 1917. Within the sport at that time, fighting was seen as a normal event. Several famous fighters in NHL history include Gordie Howe, Matthew Barnaby, Rob Ray, Dave “Tiger” Williams, and Derek Boogaard. These men helped shape NHL fighting into what it is today. Due to the historical context of fighting, it should stay in the professional league. One of the first games of indoor hockey ever played had to be stopped due to fighting. From then on, fighting became the norm and players and people have incorporated it into the sport.

“Arguably the best fight between the two happened all the way back in 1978, in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals. It featured Pierre Bouchard and Stan Johnathan. In the words of a user on DropYourGloves.com, “Both fighters, by the way, should be lauded for standing up like men and trading fire in a mano-a-mano, let’s-settle-this-thing manner; no post-’eighties hug-and-duck tactics here!” It’s pretty intense, that’s for sure.”

Many fights that have happened in history are looked upon with this same viewpoint and that is what sometimes is necessary within the sport of professional hockey.

Entertainment Value

Another reason for fighting in the NHL is pure entertainment value for the viewers of the sport. This has quite a large impact on the sport and although it seems wrong to have people fight for someone else’s entertainment, it happens all the time. Why are people criticizing the NHL for including fighting in the sport when there are sports directly dedicated to fighting? People should understand that fighting is a vital part of the sport of hockey and some fans are entertained by the fact that it includes fighting. One of my favourite quotes made on the reason entertainment value helps keep fighting in the league is mode in the article about the School of Fight written by Jake Bogoch.

“Fighting will never return to the levels set during the nightly bench-clearing shitstorms of the 1970s. Still, it will never go away, and for a number of reasons. For starters, hockey fights win hockey games. Unlike fights in football (silly, considering the helmets stay on) or baseball (born of errant pitches) or basketball (rare, but fight-to-injure situations), hockey fights are strategic. Success hinges on a team's will and the liveliness of the crowd. If the home team is down by two goals in its own rink, the fans have essentially paid for a $200 nap. At this point, a coach will assign his designated pugilist to fight, or the fighter will take his own initiative. In theory, the fight should shake the crowd from its slumber and get things loud. The home team will then convert this fan energy into momentum and, ideally, score.”

This is a great example of why fighting in hockey for entertainment value is an important factor in the sport. The crowd is able to help get a team going. The crowd helps rev a team up and the more a crown cheers, the more revved up a team can get. When a fight occurs, fans are most likely going to cheer for their team’s player that is involved in the fight and this will encourage that player to try to win the fight and in return the team that wins the fight is also more likely to score a goal later on. Entertainment value in sports is very important and it’s what helps gather new fans. If someone likes hockey for the fighting, I see nothing wrong with that. Fighting is a natural occurrence and if it helps keep the entertainment value up, it will also help keep money coming in. Money is, of course, not the most important thing and a player’s health should come before money at all times but it is helpful in keeping the league up and running. Entertainment value helps keep things going and it is one of the reasons that fighting should stay in the National Hockey League.

“We dismiss the hysterical nanny-state politics because we recognize excitement when we see it. And more important, we understand that hockey is a momentum game. You have it, you win. And short of scoring a goal, fighting is the surest way to gain momentum. We know that it wins games and Cups. So we tolerate fighting. Love it, even. It's a big part of why many of us go to the rink.”

Hockey fans understand the things that can come from hockey fighting but we accept it for what it is. Entertainment is key in many things and hockey is one of those things.

Although there is a misconception that fighting is only done for the entertainment value. This is not true. Many players that are considered enforcers don’t always want the fans cheering and being excited over hockey just for a fight. The entertainment value of a fight is only held for as long as the fight lasts, which in many cases is not that long of a time period. What people and hockey fans don’t always realize is that fighting isn’t just something done for entertainment. It is something that is done as either backlash or defense of themselves of another player on their team. As Jarome Iginla, a well-known NHL player who is currently playing in the league, speaks to Eric Tosi he discusses this exact subject.

“One misconception about fighting is that it is for entertainment, a spectacle for the fans. But most hockey players do not see themselves as boxers or fighters. We would all rather be scoring a goal -- or preventing one! While I agree that fighting has entertainment value and is enjoyed by many fans, there is a lot more to it than that. There is a purpose behind almost every fight. I have fought -- and my teammates have, too -- to stick up for myself or to stand up for a teammate who had been the victim of dirty play. And I do acknowledge that fighting can provide an emotional lift for a team. A player who drops his gloves and puts himself in harm's way on behalf of his teammates is selfless and courageous. And those are qualities that all hockey players respect.”

The Use Of Fighting As Defense

Much of the fighting that occurs in the National Hockey League is done out of defense and it is used to help protect others that are also playing the game. Enforcers are an important aspect of the game of hockey at the professional level and people need to understand that if fighting was not included in the game, there would be more injuries most likely than there currently are. Most of the time, the reason that people think that fighting causes all or most of the injuries that happen in the sport is because fighting causes injuries that are made into a big story. Although these stories tend to not say why the fight occurred which is what should be explained.

Out of defense, players will naturally fight if they feel threatened or if they feel a teammate is being threatened. There are many instances where an enforcer in in charge of protecting certain players. One example of this is made notable in an article that appeared on The Sportster, which talks about many players who played this “protector” role as one might call it.

“Dave Semenko was entrusted with protecting Jari Kurri, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, and, most importantly, Wayne Gretzky during his time with the Edmonton Oilers. Semenko joined the Oilers before they joined the NHL and went on to serve as the enforcer on one of the most memorable teams in league history.”

Many players that are indicated as enforcers on teams have this role because people don’t want the star players and the main goal scorers being injured in any way since they are the ones who help the teams rack up the points. Enforcers are placed into a role to protect these players because they deter players on the other teams from going after the goal scoring stars of the game. Another player in this position was Marty McSorley who also was assigned to protect Wayne Gretzky.

Impact That Fighting Has on Players and the Prevention of Injuries

Fighting in hockey does pose a threat to players but it doesn’t have to if done so in a safer manner. The National Hockey League does need to reform some aspects of fighting in order to keep them safer than they are currently. Players that are involved in fights need to know what could happen to them if they are involved in a fight but the league shouldn’t do away with it completely just because of the threat of injuries on players. Hockey players have a higher risk of being injured due to a check to the boards than they would be if they were involved in a fight on the ice. In severe cases, players have been known to suffer consequences due to fighting but most players are not affected in a serious manner. Also, another reason for the fights in professional hockey is due to the players. The players themselves want to fight or they want to instigate a fight to happen. These players are known as enforcers and they have always played an important role in the sport. It is the player’s choice to fight and they know of the possible consequences that can come from fighting.

In hockey, there are several “codes” that players will follow. One of these deals with fighting. Don Cherry describes this code within an article that appeared in The Harvard Crimson.

“Don Cherry—a popular hockey commentator in Canada and a former head coach of the Boston Bruins—has explained that there is a code among hockey players that is entrenched in the culture of the NHL. According to the code, it is respectable to use honorable violence (the hockey fight) to deter dishonorable hockey violence (cheap shots and dirty plays). The belief is that the fear of getting “beat-up” by the opposing team’s enforcer deters players from taking cheap shots and engaging in “dirty” plays.”

Due to this code, many fights have occurred and through these fights many injuries have also occurred. One such injury occurred to Steve Moore and was mentioned in the article from The Harvard Crimson also.

“On March 8, 2004, Harvard alumnus Steve Moore ’01 suffered a broken neck and a career ending concussion in what was later deemed a criminal assault during an NHL hockey game. On that fateful day in March everything changed for him. With the game close to completion, Vancouver Canucks player Todd Bertuzzi attempted to pick a fight with Moore, then a rookie with the Colorado Avalanche. After Moore turned down the invitation and skated away, Bertuzzi skated up behind Moore, punched him in the head and then drove his face into the ice. Moore never played another game in the NHL. To this day, he suffers from post-concussion syndrome.”

This should never have happened and this is where rules and regulations need to come into play.

If the NHL keeps fighting within the sport, then people and players need to be educated on how to fight and the proper conduct for fighting. Players who are in the NHL or who are going to be drafted into the NHL need to be taught at a proper time how to fight. There will need to be rules put into place for NHL that the players who are involved in fights need to follow. The proper time to do this should be after a player is drafted and while they are playing on an AHL team. Each player that is drafted ends up starting for the certain NHL team’s AHL team. This would be the perfect time to teach the players how to fight because then when they move up to the professional teams, they will know how to properly fight and know how to be safer going about fighting. A conflict within the topic of fighting in hockey is at what age should a child learn how to fight and this can be a tough topic to discuss. Children should not have to fight in hockey and most American leagues don’t allow it other than in juniors and professional hockey. Canadian leagues differ on this topic because a lot of young leagues allow or even teach the children to fight. This should be changed because children should not be physically fighting with each other in a sport. Professional hockey is on a completely different spectrum than children’s and school leagues and fighting is one of the things that should be left to the professionals. People need to be educated on how to fight properly. An example of something that should not be happening is educating a player too young. A quote about this is located in the Deadspin article titled School of Fight.

“I was supposed to hit him, though my coaches never provided any further instructions. This was confusing for a second grader: If this was my job, and it was so important, why didn't they teach me how to do it?”

People can’t expect a child to fight and they shouldn’t have to. Second grade is much too young and as long as a child is in a league they should not have to worry about fighting. The NHL should start educating their players and also future players how to properly fight but we should not be teaching kids who aren’t going to need to learn. Education is key and this is a topic that does need to be educated on. The article School of Fight really offers a look into the topic of fighting and lessons on fighting.

“Most coaches stop short of fighting lessons because they don't know how or can't bring themselves to do it. Instead, fight lessons are whispered from a deviant uncle, a friend's dad, a neighbor. It's a sort of Talmudic tradition, passed down orally through generations of goons.”

People need to quit being afraid to talk about fighting in this sport and they need to accept that in a professional league it is acceptable. The league needs to teach kids that fighting in the NHL and AHL is all right if taught properly but that the NHL and AHL is the only place these fights should be occurring. Derek Boogaard gives a great explanation about why hockey players should learn how to properly fight.

“"The people who say this is a bad thing - because it's going to happen - just tell them to cool it, relax, sit back and watch (what he's teaching)," said Derek Boogaard. "It's not a bad example. A bad example is letting a kid go out there and fight and get himself hurt. This is to protect the kids, bottom line."”

Rules and Regulations to Help

In order to prevent injuries, the NHL needs rules and regulations set in place during fights. One example of some rules that were put in place to some players in Canada were as told by Tom Bloomberg.

“1. Never fight with your visor on.

2. Don't antagonize only to back down.

3. Star players have immunity.

4. Enforcers only battle other enforcers.

5. No trash talk if you can avoid it.”

The second rule, about not antagonizing if you’re going to back down, is quite important. If a player is antagonized to fight, they are most likely going to fight and the person who antagonized it will most likely be involved in that fight. If the person antagonizing backs down, they are most likely going to annoy the player that was antagonized and that is where some injury could occur. The antagonized could become angry and cause more damage to the other player than what may have happened if the other player actually wanted to fight and had fought back.

Current rules that are in place for the NHL don’t really hold much power over players who choose to fight. The referees are the people who make the final decision and calls on what happens to the players that are involved and depending on how different referees are, there will always be different rulings on fights. As currently stated in the NHL 2015-2016 Rulebook under section 6, rule 46,

46.1 Fighting – A fight shall be deemed to have occurred when at least one player punches or attempts to punch an opponent repeatedly or when two players wrestle in such a manner as to make it difficult for the Linesmen to intervene and separate the combatants. The Referees are provided very wide latitude in the penalties with which they may impose under this rule. This is done intentionally to enable them to differentiate between the obvious degrees of responsibility of the participants either for starting the fighting or persisting in continuing the fighting. The discretion provided should be exercised realistically.”

Because referees are allowed to make their own rulings, some players end up getting no penalties at all or just a short penalty and will back playing on the ice in no time. Due to this, there needs to be different rulings for players who are involved in any type of fight.

For fights that are easily separated or fights that end quickly with no harm done to players, there should be a short penalty. A two-minute ruffing should be assigned to these players involved. In fights where referees are required to separate the players but no major outbreak occurs, a five-minute penalty would be best put in place. In the occurrence of a fight that either results in the referees having to tear the players off of each other, injury to players, or injury to a referee there should be a ten minute penalty given or the players involved should be removed from the ice and not be able to play the rest of the game. In extreme cases, players would be suspended for a certain number of games where and when it is deemed appropriate.

In order for rules to be followed, they much be enforced. As of right now, the National Hockey League is not being a strong enough enforcer on the rules for fighting and this needs to be changed. In order for the game to stay safer while also still keeping the legacy of fighting strong within the sport, there needs to be referees who will equally enforce rules that are put into place within the game of hockey.

Hockey is a wonderful and beautiful game and part of the sport is the on ice fighting. This is just one part of the exciting sport that many fans fall in love with. In order for players to stay safer and still be able to do what they want to do on the ice, such as fighting, there needs to be more education on this topic. There also needs to be more rules and regulations put into place for the fighting to stay in the game so that it’s not occurring overly excessively and causing unsafe play in game. In order to be able to keep this part of the game intact, players and fans alike also need to know the impact of fighting on players and on the game. Sometimes players will get hurt and other times they won’t and this is a risk that these players are willing to take. Letting grown men make their own decisions on whether or not to take part in something that has been part of the game of hockey since the beginning of it is just another part of the game. Because of fighting, it is entertaining to some fans and this is another reason to keep it in the game. Another clear reason to keep this tradition going on throughout the National Hockey League is the use of fighting as a defensive mechanism in order to protect certain players.

“The game of hockey is special. Its blend of physical play, intensity and emotion is what makes players such as myself love it. But I think it is important to realize that fighting plays a role in -- and enhances -- all of those aspects. Would hockey still be a good game without fighting? Yes, I think so. But it is great game with it!”

Whether or not fighting is in the game, it will always be amazing to watch but fighting on ice is something that really raises the level of the game for viewers and players alike.

Bibliography:

Bogoch, Jake. "School Of Fight: Learning To Brawl With The Hockey Goons Of Tomorrow." Deadspin. June 2, 2010. http://deadspin.com/5546689/school-of-fight-learning-to-brawl-with-the-hockey-goons-of-tomorrow.

Canwest News Service. "Boogaard Brothers Offer Fighting Tips to Young Hockey Players." Boogaard Brothers Offer Fighting Tips to Young Hockey Players. June 8, 2007. http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/hockey/story.html?id=efb8d139-ee13-419c-8cb5-f8a26ee43651.

Cazeneuve, Brian. "Ex-enforcer Stu Grimson's Case for Keeping Fights in Hockey." Sports Illustrated. November 15, 2013. http://www.si.com/nhl/2013/11/15/hockey-fighting-stu-grimson.

Georgetownsportsanalysis. "The True Impact of a Hockey Fight." Georgetown Sports Analysis Business and Research Group. October 13, 2013. https://georgetownsportsanalysis.wordpress.com/2013/10/13/the-true-impact-of-a-hockey-fight/.

Gray, Garry C. "Concussions, Fighting, and the Hockey Code | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson." The Harvard Crimson. September 10, 2014. http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/9/10/concussions-fighting-hockey-code/.

"History of Hockey Fights." About Sports. December 4, 2014. http://proicehockey.about.com/od/rules/a/History-Of-Hockey-Fights.htm.

Kennedy, Ryan. "Fighting in the NHL: Should It Stay or Go?" The Hockey News. January 18, 2015. http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/fighting-in-the-nhl-should-it-stay-or-go/.

The National Hockey League. National Hockey League Official Rules 2015-2016. Newmarket,Ontario: Raster Graphics, 2015.

Reevy, Matt. "4 of the Biggest Fights and Brawls in NHL Playoffs History." The Cheat Sheet. February 12, 2016. http://www.cheatsheet.com/sports/melee-on-ice-top-4-brawls-in-nhl-playoffs-history.html/?a=viewall.

Schaffer, Alex. "Top 20 Greatest Fighters in NHL History." TheSportster. March 15, 2015. http://www.thesportster.com/hockey/top-20-greatest-fighters-in-nhl-history/?view=all.

Tosi, Eric. "Jarome Iginla: Hockey Is Better, Safer with Fighting in It." Sports Illustrated. November 15, 2013. http://www.si.com/nhl/2013/11/15/jarome-iginla-hockey-fights.

McCluer, Mackenzie. "Western Conference Semifinals: Games 6 and 7 vs. Detroit." NHL - Chicago Blackhawks. May 30, 2013. http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/blogpost.htm?id=18020.

Tosi, Eric. "Jarome Iginla: Hockey Is Better, Safer with Fighting in It." Sports Illustrated. November 15, 2013. http://www.si.com/nhl/2013/11/15/jarome-iginla-hockey-fights.

Schaffer, Alex. "Top 20 Greatest Fighters in NHL History." TheSportster. March 15, 2015. http://www.thesportster.com/hockey/top-20-greatest-fighters-in-nhl-history/?view=all.

Andresen, Glen. "Minnesota Wild To Honor Derek Boogaard On Nov. 27." NHL - Minnesota Wild. November 8, 2011. http://wild.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=599409.

Spellman, Mike. "As Enforcers Go, Many Sides to Hawks' Scott." Daily Herald. March 31, 2011. http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110330/sports/703309966/.

The National Hockey League. National Hockey League Official Rules 2015-2016. Newmarket,Ontario: Raster Graphics, 2015.

Tosi, Eric. "Jarome Iginla: Hockey Is Better, Safer with Fighting in It." Sports Illustrated. November 15, 2013. http://www.si.com/nhl/2013/11/15/jarome-iginla-hockey-fights.

#hockey #NHL #confrontation #sports

Comments