By Josh Finn
The debate on fighting in hockey reached new heights last month when the New York Rangers’ Colton Orr knocked out the Philadelphia Flyers’ Todd Fedoruk during a fight. Fedoruk left the ice on a stretcher.
The next day, Colin Campbell, the NHL’s director of hockey operations, shocked the hockey world when he told the Canadian Press it’s time the league re-examined fighting in the game.
“I think because of the size of our players, where we’re at in sports and in life, I think we have to look at it,” Campbell told the media.
While league commissioner Gary Bettman has since stated there are no plans to ban fighting, the questions Campbell raised are warranted.
Even though Campbell was no stranger to fights during his time in the NHL, he realizes it is time to look seriously into cracking down on a silly, unnecessary and unfortunate part of today’s NHL.
Fighting proponents argue hockey is a physical sport and fighting is just a part of the game. But is it really the physical nature of the sport that is expressed when players agree to fight simply for the sake of entertainment?
These ridiculous spectacles break up the flow of the game and deflect attention from the talent and flair that make hockey such an exciting sport to watch.
But what about the fans, the critics ask? Won’t there be a mass exodus of fans from NHL arenas if they don’t get the chance to see two men duking it out on the ice?
Not necessarily. True fans will stick with the league even with fighting removed.
Eliminating fighting could also attract new fans to the game: families and others turned off by unnecessary violence.
Unfortunately, an image of the NHL for many people is one of fans giving a standing ovation to cheer on two goons fighting in the middle in the rink.
With fighting out of the game, parents would not have to explain to their children why it is considered appropriate for professional athletes to punch an opposing team’s player in the face to solve a dispute.
Such behaviour after all, is considered inappropriate in every other facet of life, including the playing fields of major league baseball, the NFL and NBA.
While eliminating fighting in one fell swoop may be too drastic for hockey purists, surely the league can start by introducing serious penalties instead of a five minute slap on the wrist, while play continues five-on-five as usual.
Hockey and fighting are not necessarily intertwined.
International hockey, including the World Cup and the Olympics, offer entertaining match-ups. Canadians tune-in in droves even though they’re aware that the chance of seeing a fight breaking out is less than the chance they have to see the Toronto Maple Leafs win a Stanley Cup.
The difference is international teams are generally made up exclusively of talented players chosen for their athletic ability. There are no spots on the roster reserved for goons, and the same should be true in the NHL.
The president of the International Ice Hockey Federation, Rene Fasel, recently told the media he doesn’t know of any fan has ever complained about not seeing a fight in an Olympic game, and that hockey need not tolerate “Neanderthal behaviour.”
Luckily, we are entering the playoffs, a time when fighting tends to decline and the focus shifts to skill, finesse and talent. It’s time the league decided we need more games year-round with the same focus.