Fighting in Hockey: Why NHL GMs Have It All Wrong

The average die-hard hockey fan knows that fighting is just a part of the game. Hockey is naturally the most physical team sport in the world, and fights are bound to come about.

There is no argument that American football is more physical, because for every "jacked-up" hit that the NFL promotes in their highlights, there are at least 10 hits of the same severity in a hockey game.

With that being said, the scuffles in hockey are much more prevalent and intense than any other sport, even American football; therefore, fighting in hockey is practically unavoidable in certain circumstances.

When a player of the caliber of NHL poster boys Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin get roughed up, slashed, boarded, etc., their teammates are going to go after the opposing player who committed such an action against their top player. That is simply how hockey works.

Players make it known to the other team that it is not OK to take liberties with certain teammates, and if they do, there will be a response.

For example, last year, in the opening round of the playoffs, San Jose Sharks captain Patrick Marleau was pummeled into the boards on a questionable hit by Flames defenseman Cory Sarich. No penalty was called on the play, but one could make the argument for a boarding or elbowing call to have been made.

Now, immediately after the hit, Sharks defenseman Matt Carle (not known for his physicality, and especially not his fighting) took a few punches at Sarich for running his captain. That is simply the correct and natural response of a hockey player.

Another example was earlier this season when LA Kings defenseman Denis Gauthier was suspended two games for his hit on Sharks captain Patrick Marleau. But after the ensuing whistle, when the puck was covered by the Kings netminder, a scuffle between multiple players started due to the ill feelings about the hit on Marleau.

But perhaps the best, most simple example of scrums and fights in the NHL is when a puck is covered by the goalie and opposing players take extra whacks at the puck after the whistle. The defenders then start taking swings at the players who were whacking their goalie. Now more often than not, no actual fight occurs between two individual players, but it can and does happen.

With all that said, the NHL and their GMs want to make changes to what extent fighting is tolerated. Fights that are started in response to a hit will result in an instigator penalty to the player defending his teammate by starting a fight.

This is just the stupidest thing the NHL could do in an attempt to alter the current way fights come about in the league.

It is understandable to want to minimize the amount of fights in the NHL. Even though many fans love fighting, with some casual fans watching just for the fights, there are a significant amount of fans turned away because of this inherent violence.

Therefore, it makes total sense to try and diminish the amount of fighting, but keep it around at the same time.

However, adding instigator penalties is not the way to go about it.

If the NHL wants to decrease fighting in its game, then it needs to get rid of the use for "goons," such as Jody Shelley of the Sharks, who has only three points on the year, averages less than six minutes of ice time per game—yet has 93 penalty minutes in 55 games.

Derek Boogaard of the Minnesota Wild has just three assists in 48 games for the Wild, but has amassed 85 penalty minutes.

Both these players are shown in the article photo doing their little pre-fight circles, like they're boxers on ice.

Another goon type of a player is the Anaheim Ducks' George Parros, who actually has nine points on the year, but with 103 penalty minutes, is used primarily as a "enforcer."

Now the overwhelming majority of fights that these players take part in start right after a face-off, and they almost always begin with each participant doing circles around one another in order to see who is going to make the first move.

If the NHL wants to diminish fighting in their league, there are other ways.  

They should enforce game misconducts for fights randomly ensued within 20 seconds of a face-off between two players who have no obvious reason to fight, other than the fact that they are both goons. 

I would include fights that are initiated mid-shift between two players that are hacking and slashing each other away from the play. 

These types of fights slow the game down and contribute nothing. A fight between Jody Shelley and George Parros in a Sharks-Ducks game doesn't get those die-hard Sharks and Ducks fans excited. What would get the fans of those teams excited is a fight between Joe Thornton and Chris Pronger.

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