Disturbing and Romanesque as it may be, fighting helps put fans in the stands and money in the team's bank account. Announcers are quick to point out how several guys will drop the gloves in order to fire up their team. One guy who is famous for fighting to light a fire under his team is Jarome Iginla. If he feels like his team needs a spark, he'll find somebody to go with.
Fighting has a real impact on the game and is a lot more than just two guys tossing bombs at each other because they didn't like the other guy's face.
Momentum shifts can be attributed to fights, teams will credit their fighter with wins because he went out and set the tone for a game. This ability has been limited over the years with the introduction of the fight instigator penalty, but the concept still holds true.
Players know that if they level some kind of hit on a player, especially a star player, they had better be ready to step up and accept a challenge for what they did. This especially holds true for dirty plays. If somebody takes a shot at one of your guys and it appears to be even the slightest bit dirty, count on that team swarming the offending player to exact some type of revenge.
It sounds like something you see on the playground, but in a game where serious injuries can and do occur from dirty plays, the players who make those kind of plays need to have something to think about. Players can handle suspensions and fines, but if they know that another player is going to knock their teeth out for something, then they might think twice. The fighting allows for this to happen and allows teams to come together if one guys sticks up for somebody on their team.
Fighting doesn't carry the same standard. There were no rules in place to suspend Emery beyond a game misconduct and 29 penalty minutes, even if the league doesn't support a player landing a dozen punches to an opponent's head. But the NHL has taken steps to reduce fighting without banning it. The instigator rule was instituted in to punish players who clearly initiate fights, leaving the bench to join an altercation carries an automatic game suspension and so-called "staged" fights are becoming less popular.
That seems to be the consensus around the league. Current players would have to support rule changes that increase the punishment for fighting, and despite the recent public outcry most are in favour of keeping it.
Sabres captain Steve Ott fears that it would lead to so-called "rat" players taking over the game, while Chris Neil of the Ottawa Senators figures there will be more illegal stick work. Of course there would be fewer injuries from fights, like the concussion Flyers winger Steve Downie suffered in a bout against the Capitals' Aaron Volpatti. One of the common defences for fighting is that it's always been part of the game. But whether players and fans like it or not, it's not nearly as prevalent as it was decades ago, which partially has to do with the salary cap and teams prioritizing speed and skill of pugilism.
Through Tuesday, just 82 of games played this season have included at least one fight, according to HockeyFights. There were a total of 30 in 86 playoff games last spring, and seven of those came in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarter-finals between the Canadiens and Senators. It's just about basically gone," Kelly said. It's just hard skating, and nobody fights in playoffs anyways. You get the odd one here or there. To me, it's pretty well gone as far as anything substantial out there.
NBC Sports broadcaster Mike Emrick has charted fighting statistics for plus years and estimated that the Flyers had 85 fights in 86 playoff games from to Emrick noted the grandfathering of helmets in caused the number of fights to decline dramatically in the late '80s and early '90s, and the implementation of visors could have the same effect. Beginning this season, all incoming players and those with 25 or fewer games of NHL experience were forced to wear visors.
Previously a player with a visor could be given an extra penalty for initiating a fight, but now it's a two-minute minor if fighters remove their helmets before a fight. Commissioner Gary Bettman called it "purely a safety issue because we don't want players getting hurt needlessly. Fighting in hockey can also potentially cause long-term health problems, like having to heavily rely on pain medication, for example.
Many people also believe that fighting in hockey also sets a bad example for young hockey players. While fighting is banned in youth hockey, younger players are easily impressionable and could potentially imitate the tactics used at the professional level.
Potential injuries caused by these actions could be even more detrimental to players at this age since their brains are not yet fully developed. Youth players are constantly watching their favorite NHL players play, so many believe it is up to the NHL players and league to portray the safest game possible for them. Furthermore, youth players could see fighting as a way to resolve conflict, which, at that level, is not ideal.
Going hand in hand with argument two is the argument that fighting in hockey helps create a culture that glorifies violence. Believes say that this is not ideal for all levels of hockey, but especially youth players who are still learning the game, that it teaches kids that the way to resolve conflicts on ice is with fighting.
Furthermore, some believe that this could lead to participation in other forms of violence. A fight shall be deemed to have occurred when at least one player punches or attempts to punch an opponent repeatedly, or when two players wrestle in such a manner as to make it difficult for the Linesmen to intervene and separate the combatants.
The Referees are provided very wide latitude in the penalties with which they may impose under this rule. This is done intentionally to enable them to differentiate between the obvious degrees of responsibility of the participants either for starting the fighting or persisting in continuing the fighting. The discretion provided should be exercised realistically. Additionally, players are not allowed to remove their helmets before the fight starts. Once it is apparent that there will be a fight, the referee will stop play and let the two fight it out.
The fight effectively ends once one, or both, of the players hit the ice. Following the fight, it is to the referees discretion to determine who was the Aggressor and who was the Instigator. Aggressor: The aggressor is the player who is the winner of the fight, determined by the referee. Instigator: The instigator is the player that initiates the fight between himself and another player, whether that be by charging an opposing player and throwing the first punch, or using verbal language to entice an opposing player.
As alluded to earlier, we saw a huge spike of fighting in hockey in the s through the mids.
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