So...I got a bit carried away...I'll ask it again. If the staged fights (Neil vs. Orr) were removed but the spontaneous fights between "non-fighters" (Iginla, Tucker, Richards, etc.) increased....would that be better in your opinion?
Clearly yes, I agree. And as for the "spur of the moment" fights, I truly don't believe that they can be eliminated nor should there be a concerted effort to do so. Such an effort would necessarily diminish the intensity of the game. I just don't see an ejection from the game, as long as it doesn't involve fines or suspensions, as being a severe enough punishment to put a halt to fighting altogether, but ejecting fighters from the game truly shows the viewing public that fighting isn't condoned, even though it still does take place.
In fact, I said earlier in the thread that 3 ejections should mean a one game suspension and perhaps a fine, but forget the idea of the fine (it was stupid).
I would toss the "Instigator" rule as it currently exists and simply apply the penalty that I'm suggesting above only in situations where the combatants have actually engaged in a gloves off fight, nothing more. And the penalty would apply to both fighters. Any rough stuff, or "roughing" that might potentially lead up to a fight but in which a "gloves off" fight didn't actually occur would only be assessed a 2-minute minor, including in that any single punches that might have been thrown without taking off the gloves but then the players decided not to take it further. The whole point here is not taking a situation to the all out fighting stage.