May 17, 2006
The Hockey Fight Paradox
I don't think I've ever read a better summation of what's best and worst about fighting in the NHL than this paragraph from John Buccigross:
I love fighting in the NHL. It is thrilling, exciting and magnetic. Is it a deterrent? In some cases, perhaps, but I think that is a small factor. Major penalties, significant suspensions and fines would deter the "run around the ice" rat from doing dangerous things as much as fighting. My position is that the NHL should ban fighting. If you fight, you are tossed. The players are getting too big and too strong. We've already seen players have to retire from broken eye bones and multiple concussions. Bare-knuckle fighting can kill. Even Ultimate Fighters wear gloves inside the octagon. My other point on fighting is that we would still see fights like we see fights in the NBA, NFL and MLB. The NHL won't have to explain itself when someone dies on the ice if it bans fighting now.
On the flip side, something tells me that the only way the NHL will ever ban fighting is if someone does die on the ice. Then again, how close did we come to a moment like that when Scott Stevens laid out Paul Kariya in the 2003 Finals? Something tells me we're more likely to see a hit like that cause death or permanent injury than any fisticuffs.
UPDATE: I gotta make sure I finish reading a column before I write another post like this one. Here's Buccigross on a hit Raffi Torres laid on Milan Michalek:
The Torres hit on Michalek was one in that grayest of David Gray areas. Michalek let up in the neutral zone after making a pass, something you never do. And Torres made the hit a second or two late, after Michalek made the pass. It was the same hit Scott Stevens put on Paul Kariya in the 2003 Stanley Cup finals. It's unsportsmanlike, and the only thing that can come of it is an injury. The shoulder pads and elbow pads are lethal these days, and the players too fast and strong. But, never forget how fast the game is and how many split-second decisions are made.
More to think about...
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But there already has been a death that was the result of a check: Bill Masterson.
And "Ace" Bailey's career ended after a check from Eddie Shore.
Posted by:
at May 17, 2006 06:41 AM
The reason UFC fighters -- and boxers -- wear gloves is to protect the bones in their hands. There's such a greater risk of serious injury from open-ice hits, high sticks, pucks to the face, errant skate blades (remember Clint Malarchuk?), and awkward falls into the boards. Making fighting illegal would only increase the incidents of other forms of dangerous play.
Posted by:
at May 17, 2006 09:13 AM
Exactly. Bucci is great, but he has been pushing an anti-fighting agenda for a while now. But when was the last time someone was sidelined due to a concussion from a fight? It is the dirty/border-line/late/whatever you want to call them but they make you madder than hell when someone on your team goes down from one hits that need to be addressed, not the fighting.
Posted by:
at May 17, 2006 10:12 AM
This was actually a response to someone from my website. Glad he took the time, but obviously the response isn't what many wanted to read. Someone else had a great point - wasn't Bucci one of the people leading the crusade for Neely to get into the hall because of his "intangibles"?
We all know where I stand on fighting though... :)
Posted by:
at May 17, 2006 11:40 AM
Not sure where David stands. Heh.
Michalek was looking to his left after a pass to Marleau. Torres came in from the right side, and planted his shoulder on Michalek's head.
What popped into my mind was something Darryl Sutter said after one of his players was floored "he shouldn't have been admiring his own pass". But I think he said that while he was in Calgary.
One note, Michalek suffered two serious knee injuries in 2003-04, it was a hit on Michalek that escalated the whole Parker-Witt incident. If Torres had went low on Michalek, it would have been UFC on ice that game.
In San Jose, there is an intense effort to make the NHL almost exclusively a family entertainment endeavor. GM Doug Wilson was asked about fights in the stands and the rowdy behavior when he was in Chicago, and he said that while it may have been fun then, there is no place for that now in the NHL.
It is not just fighting, it is the whole atmosphere many are trying to change.
Posted by:
at May 18, 2006 01:42 PM
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