Fighting In Hockey

Clearly this is the topic of the day in the NHL world. It's not a new topic, it seems to come up every time a serious injury takes place. Last night that injury occurred during the Leafs/Canadians game when Colton Orr and George Parros got into their second fight of the night.

A concussion was the result of this fight. Clearly (in my opinion) Orr did not do this on purpose. It was a mistake, a "fight gone wrong". Now Parros (who thankfully was released from hospital this morning) is not sure when/if he can come back to play. Parros is a Princeton educated man, this is a potential waste of what is (dare is even say possibly "was") clearly an above average mind.

I've had a strong opinion on this topic for some time now. Fighting in hockey is, in my opinion, no longer necessary. The notion that each team carries a player or two who plays minimal minutes and does not have the same abilities or skills as the other players on the ice is insane. Of course these players are going to get hurt. Besides the fact that they punch at each other for a living, they also can't skate at the same pace and as a result end up hurting themselves and other players when trying to land a proper body check.

Now don't get me wrong. I understand that hockey is a physical sport and I do not suggest that we take body contact out of hockey. Hitting a player properly in order to remove them from the puck is just as much a part of the game as a proper tackle is in football. I also understand that hockey is a face paced game that involved quick thinking and as a result there are a lot of "gut reactions". So sometimes when you play a sport and you want to win you will feel more emotional. Sometimes that emotion is anger and you'll want to fight. I accept that.

So where does that leave the fighting issue? Well, first of all, because of the emotions, you can't stop it all together. Just like you can't stop people from doing crimes. So just like that guy who steals a candy bar (my point being it's not the end of the world if it happens once in a while but it is still a crime) you develop rules to minimize the potential of fights happening. Much like the person who steals a candy bar knows that if they are caught there is a potential to go to jail, the people who choose to fight need to know they are going to have to "do their time".

It's simple use an escalating scale. 1 fight is 10 minute major and an ejection from the game. Fight number 2 is another 10 minute major and an ejection plus an additional game. From there you get 2 additional games, then 4, then 8 and so on. Essentially, if you really want to fight, that's fine but you better make it worth it because your team will suffer.

This should eliminate all these "fake" fights that the 2 enforcers get into in an attempt to "change the momentum of the game". That's my opinion on what should be done.

Don't get the point of this post confused though. This is not a prediction. I realize that the NHL sees fights as part of the entertainment value and they will probably not change a thing. Personally, I've been to plenty of hockey games in my time and I've seen how the crowd gets when there is a fight. I don't participate. I stay sitting and don't clap. I don't find it entertaining. It's not boxing, it's not UFC, it's not wrestling. There's no "sweet science", it's 2 guys clutching at jerseys and landing the odd punch. That's it.

It's 2013 not 1913. Goalies wear masks, players wear helmets. We've evolved from a large, heavy chunk of wood as a stick to a lightweight material. Jerseys are no longer big wool sweaters, they are microfiber, repel sweat and, weigh less. Players now have to wear visors. Why is fighting still tolerated?