NHL Hockey: Less than 10 Percent of On-Ice Fights Responsible for Concussions

So anti-fighting cabal, do you got that? That means that the other 90 percent of the concussion in the NHL are coming from dirty on-ice hits, you know the dirty boarding plays, checking from behinds and hits to the head.

Andre’ Picard, The Globe and Mail – The NHL has made some moves to reduce violence, such as creating the Department of Player Safety to mete out stiffer punishments for egregiously violent acts, but critics see erratic results from such efforts in terms of consistent punishments. On fighting, there is considerable support among fans, especially in the United States, where the NHL continues to work to gain interest. Owners are reluctant to make a move that could hurt their business. Internal league research suggests on-ice fighting is responsible for less than 10 per cent of concussions, so league officials have concluded that a popular part of the game is not a huge safety issue.

Hey I admit, I like a good hockey fight and I am happy to see this information come out. It will be interesting to see how the anti-pugilists will spin this, because this doesn’t do much for their case. Actually, it kind of shoots holes in it. This kind of shoots holes in their theories that fighting is causing a lot of concussions.