On the ice or in the ring, hockey has been an evolving part of the sport hockey. Fighting is a very controversial topic in hockey, some are for it, and some are against it. Many stereotypes are attached to hockey, lack of teeth, brutal sport, and lack of common respect from player to player. But can you say that these are all true? I believe not. Hockey is a game with classified groups of players. Among these classified groups of players are the snipers, danglers, enforcers, grinders, playmakers, offensive defenseman, Defensive defenseman, and power forwards. The Phoenix coyotes are my favorite hockey team, and have a great amount of skill on D-fence. Oliver Ekman-Larson is a key rookie defenseman, but what happens when a larger player comes in and blindsides him? If Captain Shane Doan, or head coach Dave Tippet find it punishing we can send out an enforcer to protect our star players. Paul Bissonette is one of the team’s enforcers, and his job is to keep star players safe. Enforcers are also known for hitting and keeping fans into the game.
On Monday February 18, 2013 fans of the Phoenix coyotes were rolling into the area and slowly find their way to their seats. The whistle blows and then just 41 seconds into the game the horn sounds and the crowd is ecstatic about the goal scored by the hometown team. The score was a dramatic 1-0 leading into the third period but there was a needed boost to finish the game. Paul Bissonette took charge and dropped the gloves with Tim Jackman of the Calgary Flames leading to a five minute major, which was well worth it for the boost of energy in the team and the crowd. This fight was vital to the crowd’s interest getting them onto their feet and cheering loud for the leading Coyotes team. With 20 minutes to go and a crowd that were boasting their voices they needed to get another into the net. Five minutes later the crowd erupted and the game was 2-0. After the boost in energy from the fight and the latest goal the Phoenix coyotes ended up shutting out the Calgary Flames 4-0.
Fighting has a long history in hockey, and it has been becoming classier in recent years. In the mid 80’s they were averaging one fight per game but more recently it has dropped to an average of .61 which is the lowest since the 1976-1977 season. During the seasons throughout the 50’s to 60’s fighting was not as prevalent, but when a fight did emerge then it was more brutal consisting on stick swinging and also bench clearings. At this time star players had to fight for themselves and the luxury of calling in an enforcer was not yet readily available.
Fighting in hockey should not be seen as an act of hatred from player to player but as a key role in keeping the game the way it always has been, and also a way to keep star players safe. Fighting is essential for many reasons including income to the league, maintaining or gaining an energy level for the crowd and team, as well as sending a message to the other team.
In the recent years the NHLPA (National Hockey League Players Association) have been taking extra precautions to fighting, creating new rules like the third man in rule. This rule states that if a fight is taking place you are not allowed to interfere with the two players, with the acceptation of the ref. The refs are allowed to break up a fight if they think it is to brutal, if the two players are clearly done, or once the fight hits the ground.
Through the years we have seen many punishing fights, but all had their reasons. Weather it was to keep a star player safe, or get the crowd into the game; it seems evident that we need fighting in hockey for a vast amount of reasons. In the upcoming years the NHLPA will be making rules more prevalent, and will hand out suspensions as needed.