The NHL is a joke. It is the laughing stock of professional sports. It is said it is the least watched among all American major sports, even behind Major League Soccer. Why is this? It’s not due to its failure to advertise, but its failure to act professionally. Fighting in hockey should be taken out of the game.
Fighting in hockey is inappropriate and childlike as it retracts from the game, rather than bolster its status. Many injuries have occurred from this nonsense, and it does not make sense to have key players fight in big situations of a hockey game and get penalized and taken out.
Inappropriate is an understatement when it comes to something as childish as fighting. People are told from a very young age that fighting does not resolve anything, but people glorify it when it happens on the ice in hockey.
Fighting in hockey does not even give a team an advantage, and it does not correlate with teams winning games and scoring; it is just a waste of time trying to make the game look exciting, but it still fails to get people’s attention.
Many players have been injured from fighting; for example, a major injury for the Pittsburgh Penguins occurred during a game against Boston when Sean Thornton performed a cheap shot (for a lack of a better word) on Penguins top defenseman Brooks Orpik. Many other major injuries have occurred from on ice fracases.
Another example is the Marty McSorley incident. With time running out in a Vancouver victory, Marty McSorley, who was on the losing side, hit Donald Brashear with a high stick from behind, knocking Brashear unconscious on the ice. The results were McSorley getting banned from the game and Brashear having a severe concussion.
Yet another high profile incident was the infamous Todd Bertuzzi, Steve Moore fight. After Bertuzzi failed to instigate Moore into fighting him, Bertuzzi went up from behind Moore, punched him and threw him down head first into the ice. The play was deemed barbaric by the NHL and Bertuzzi was actually tried for a crime in federal court in Vancouver as well as the United States. Moore suffered fractures to three neck vertebrae, facial lacerations, and a concussion, as well as ending Moore’s young career.
With fighting resulting in five minute majors or two minute minors and possibly even ejections, it doesn’t seem to be worth it. You need every person available to win a game, and it’s usually the unknown person that helps you win a game, and if the person is in the penalty box and not on the ice, they are not helping the team’s main goal of winning.
Fighting and hockey should be separated and not unified. You do not see fighting in football and basketball games because they let their play do the talking and not their fists. Therefore, the NHL should take fighting out of hockey.
The Chief • Dec 19, 2013 at 9:19 pm
Golden Bear: if fighting isn’t the reason for poor ratings, what is? I think Luke makes a valid point here. Why exactly did the NHL evolve into a fighting-frenzy sport? In any other sport, fighting is highly frowned upon; it results in penalties within the game and large fines after the game. What makes it OK for NHL players to do it? Culture? Tradition?
Zach Laufer • Dec 18, 2013 at 1:56 pm
I agree with golden bear. Although well-written, Luke, you take examples out of context to get your point across. Fights spark energy for both teams, in my opinion.
Golden Bear • Dec 18, 2013 at 11:34 am
This article makes a weak point that fighting is bad for the NHL, especially considering the three examples referenced have nothing to do with hockey fights. They were all cheap shots that had nothing to do with two players dropping their gloves and squaring off. Most fans of hockey understand that the fight could be used as a way to spark energy into their team, or to ensure that the opposing team doesn’t take cheap shots at your team’s star players. I also doubt that fighting is the REASON for poor TV ratings. If you consider the constantly growing popularity of mixed martial arts, such as UFC, you can assume that fighting isn’t the reason for poor TV ratings.