NHL Fights Shouldn’t Be Banned
By Gregory Katz
Whether or not NHL fights should be banned has been a heavily disputed topic over the past couple years. Some fans believe that fighting has no place in the game anymore, and that banning it would make for safer, higher quality play. Other fans however believe that fighting is a natural part of the game, and that banning fighting from hockey would remove an important aspect from the sport, and in addition make games less exciting. This article will prove that the NHL does not need to ban fighting, as the players and teams in the league are doing it themselves.
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Rough and tough players who are only useful for dropping the gloves are becoming more and more obsolete in the NHL. In fact, the majority of NHL teams don’t even have one “designated fighter” on their roster anymore. In the past, team lineups would have consisted of a couple of fighters, whose sole purpose was to agitate, intimidate and fight. Of course, agitators still plentiful in the NHL, but more often than not, these agitators come with a decent skill set. In other words, these guys can play hockey, and aren’t only on the ice to fight.
Milan Lucic is considered an agitator across the NHL. That said, Lucic can put up decent numbers for his team on a consistent basis. He is an example of an agitator with a skill set to earn him a roster spot. Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The simple fact is, teams in the current NHL are too fast and too skilled to have roster spots for players who won’t be able to contribute anything other than fights. Nowadays, most fourth lines consist of hard-working, defensively responsible players, not fighters. Since this is the case, the NHL is naturally shifting towards having less fighting, and more high-speed, high skill action.
But NHL fights still occur, so why is that? Well, fights happen. It’s even somewhat common that players fight during practice. As hockey is such a competitive sport; energy levels are high. Fights are bound to happen in such circumstances. For example, if two players have been battling back and forth throughout a game, and tempers rise to a boiling point, it is understandable, and in my opinion, acceptable for them to drop the gloves. That said, if a coach sends out an aggressor with the intent to injure or fight an opposing player, that is unacceptable.
The clear problem that arrises is that it is hard to tell which fights are “acceptable” and natural, and which are forced or designed by coaches. It would be extremely difficult for the NHL management to attempt to create a rule that would prohibit these designed fights. In the past couple of years, this would be a big issue. Luckily, though, it’s 2015, and as mentioned earlier, “designated fighters” are slowly fading from the NHL. This fixes the aforementioned problem, as fights in today’s NHL are less planned and designed to injure, they are natural and come from the sheer competitiveness of the game.
Oct 8, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Joel Edmindson (6) takes Edmonton Oilers defenseman Eric Gryba (62) to the ice during the second period at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
For all you skeptics, there is factual proof that the amount of fighting is declining in the NHL. From the 2008-2009 season to the 2010-2011 season, the average amount of fights per year was 698. From the 2011-2012 season until this past season, the average amount of fights per year went down to 438. This shows a clear drop off from recent years, which will make those who don’t support fighting quite happy. If this trend continues, we could see less and less fighting in the NHL as the years go by. (stats recorded from: http://www.hockeyfights.com/stats/)
Finally, another big issue that must be addressed is player protection. Some, including NHL agitators like Brandon Prust, feel that fighting that is intended to injure or send a message is totally acceptable. This opinion states that if fighting is abolished from the NHL, star players would be getting targeted much more than they are today, as the repercussions would be less severe. In this specific case, I wouldn’t agree with Prust. Player protection is something that should be dealt with by the NHL department of player safety and their player safety conditions, not by agitators and fighters. This whole “attempt to injure” phenomenon shouldn’t be present in the NHL, as that is what takes away from the game, and even gives it a bad reputation. (If you would like to check out Prust’s article entitled “Why We Fight”, go to: http://www.theplayerstribune.com/why-we-fight/)
Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
The reality of the situation is that fighting will continue to be heavily disputed around the league. Some will continue to believe that fighting is an essential cornerstone of hockey, while others believe that it isn’t. This article suggests that the best thing to do, both based on personal opinion and on statistical facts, is absolutely nothing.
The amount of fights in recent years has declined significantly from the more distant past. Players are becoming more skilled, and are offering better quality hockey than what can be offered from fighters who can do nothing other than drop the gloves. This natural evolution of the league is forcing teams to dress more skilled, or more dynamic players, rather than fighters. The NHL shouldn’t ban fighting, as the natural forces in the league are doing it themselves.