Is NHL Fighting Going the Way of the Dodo?

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Two months ago, the NHL competition committee recommended that fighting be nearly outlawed starting next fall. They seek to eradicate staged fights and fights where a player has to defend themselves after making a clean hit. 

Having to defend yourself after a clean play is clearly an act that won't be missed. It's a symptom of how little physicality is left in the league when even clean hitting is seen as crossing the line and requires dropping the gloves.

Years ago, players used to get hit (and hit hard) often. Now it's seen as an act that needs to be punished.

The players who usually make these hard legal and/or borderline illegal hits or who participate in staged fights are called "goons" as an indication of their status in the skill hierarchy.

Take away their ability to earn a paycheck with their gloves off and you might as well just staple their hockeypants to the bench.

Who needs to keep a player like Eric Godard, Georges Laraque, Riley Cote, David Clarkson, etc. on their payroll if their sole purpose has been nearly banished from the sport? 

The effect is already starting to be felt by guys like Chris Simon, Dale Purinton, Grant Marshall and David Liffiton...all marginal players who have been pushed out of the league and spent last season outside of GMs' offices begging for jobs, or loose change. 

As a positive, the level of skill will get higher and the games will move faster without these prehistoric anchors dragging their legs around the rink. It is also these type of players who give the sport many of its black eyes...both literally and figuratively.

Some of the most well-known and dirty plays to take place in the sport recently have been made by these players.

Even the casual or non-fan knows about the incident where Ryan Hollweg was hit in the chin with a baseball swing by Chris Simon, the brutal blindside hit that caused Steve Moore to fracture his neck and Marty McSorley's hitting Donald Brashear in the side of the head with his stick.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?