If you take fighting out of the game there is no deterrent to the leagues gutless agitators that hide behind half shields will run around without consequences taking liberties with the leagues star players. If Mr Brooks doesn't like fighting in hockey he should cover a different sport.
Two seasons ago, in the aftermath of the fight in which Orr broke Todd Fedoruk's face with a devastating punch, NHL VP Colin Campbell suggested the time had come for the league to at least investigate the possibility of eliminating fighting from the game.
Campbell was ahead of his time. For the time has come today for the NHL not only to investigate the possibility, the time has come for the NHL to abolish fighting. It's simply too dangerous.
Watching heavyweight fights such as the one in Tampa on Wednesday between the RangersNew York Rangers ' Orr and Lightning's David Koci has become the equivalent to viewing the aftermath of automobile accidents on the Interstate. They're impossible to look at without becoming queasy.
It's funny this was brought up. There is a radio show here in STL, that former Blues D/Enforcer Reed Low co-hosts with Blues Beat Writer Jeremy Rutherford called the Low-Down. Mainly they attempt to talk about the Blues, but every show Reed goes off on a tangent about how hockey fights are the best thing, and win hockey games, blah blah blah.. We love to call in, and give him facts about the Blues this year, and fights, and he just gets all worked up about it, its quite hilarious.. I think the stats are now:
ReplyDeleteWhen the Blues don't get into a fight they are 7-2, and when they do get a fighting major they are 3-8.
We also comment in how the "New" NHL is making the "enforcer" more and more outdated. Look at the Playoffs, those teams winning, don't have room or need to have a thug waste pine space, and only play 2-5 minutes a game. And with the way the rules and instigator penalties are. The NHL will be without Heavywieghts unless they can skate, score, and play up to 15 minutes a game without hurting the team.
I'm even on the issue myself. Fights are great to watch, but some of the best are the middle to light weights going at it. They throw fast, and fast, and keep it going. The big guys lumber around a few and then clinch, and hug.. lol
Stats like "When the Blues don't get into a fight they are 7-2, and when they do get a fighting major they are 3-8" mean nothing because they also mean "When the Blues OPPONENTS don't get into a fight they are 3-8, and when they do get a fighting major they are 7-2", right?
ReplyDeleteFighting is here to stay. Only the weak complain about it. True hockey players are meant to be tough as well as score goals. Lets keep the wimps out of hockey!
Fighting is a necessary evil in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI don't like it, but I agree that it pretty much has to be there.
ReplyDeleteFighting is more than just the "Entertainment" if provides the casual fan. It can protect its top players and keep the cheap shots to a minimum. It is also a momentum changer that a team can rally around. Fighting is here to stay.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I love a good scrap, I just finished watching the Wild and Nashville, I think that fighting keeps thugs like Tutoo.
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