Derek Boogaard's brain would had full dementia at 40

[DDRhockey]

https://www.expressen.se/sport/qs/derek-boogaards-jobb-i-nhl-var-att-slass--det-blev-hans-dod/

Story is in swedish. Len boogard says NHL dont want to listen how dangerous fighting and blows to the head are. His son died at 28 because his brain already back then was damaged beyond repair.

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[Esko6]

Why does it seem to be the case that being an enforcer is worse than being a UFC fighter?

 

[Thordic]

Why does it seem to be the case that being an enforcer is worse than being a UFC fighter?

Because if you fall down in MMA you don't slam your head into ice. For the most part it's the falls that do more damage than the punches (not that punches are harmless). Also, fighters are forced to take time to recover between fights. An enforcer can fight one night, get a mild concussion, and then have to fight again the next night. Getting another injury on top of an existing concussion has been shown to be more dangerous than either injury on it's own.

Not to mention that between fights these guys are usually dishing out and taking hits.

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

Because if you fall down in MMA you don't slam your head into ice. For the most part it's the falls that do more damage than the punches (not that punches are harmless). Also, fighters are forced to take time to recover between fights. An enforcer can fight one night, get a mild concussion, and then have to fight again the next night. Getting another injury on top of an existing concussion has been shown to be more dangerous than either injury on it's own.

Not to mention that between fights these guys are usually dishing out and taking hits.

Not to mention gloves vs. bareknuckle.

 

[DearDiary]

There's nothing the NHL can do to stop it. If they ban fighting and dangerous hits, you'll still see players injuring guys with cheap shots. Then because they can't fight the offender, they throw cheap shots as well.

 

[DJJones]

Not to mention gloves vs. bareknuckle.

Gloves are protecting the hand so you can punch harder. If anything it's actually more dangerous.

 

[The Macho King]

There's nothing the NHL can do to stop it. If they ban fighting and dangerous hits, you'll still see players injuring guys with cheap shots. Then because they can't fight the offender, they throw cheap shots as well.

Lol - this is crap. There's no deterrence due to fighting. You bear hug for five seconds and then go to the box for five minutes.

It's time to ban fighting.

 

[BleedBlue14]

Seems like the league is really straying away from fighting as a whole anyways. Hitting also doesn't seem to be all that prominent (hard hitting) anymore either until the playoffs. Probably a good thing for player safety but I'd be willing to bet about 95% of the guys that are/were enforcers in the NHL do not regret it at all. They got to play their favorite sport at the highest level and make a career out of it. Something most of them would absolutely not be able to do if they didn't have a defined role as an enforcer.

 

[StevenF1919]

It's going to take someone dying on the ice for the NHL and NHLPA to address this. By the time that happens it'll be too late.

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

Gloves are protecting the hand so you can punch harder. If anything it's actually more dangerous.

Bare knuckles would do more damage to the person being hit, though.

 

[Thordic]

Bare knuckles would do more damage to the person being hit, though.

I believe although they can do more superficial damage (cuts, etc.) the added weight of gloves (even light 4oz MMA gloves) increases the risk of brain injury. Bare fists are fairly light, and don't have the same momentum as a gloved fist. There was a study a while back about how boxing gloves are more dangerous than MMA gloves due to the weight difference.

I would wager the vast majority of the increased brain injury for hockey enforcers is due to repeat brain injuries in a short timeframe (ie, the same thing that causes CTE in football players).

 

[a tribe cq]

Why does it seem to be the case that being an enforcer is worse than being a UFC fighter?

It's not the bareknuckle vs gloved punching. It's really not the hitting your head on the ice gig either. It's the 99.9% the hitting. Lots of the serious concussions are caused by whiplash and rattling the brain within the skull and a majority of them aren't even linked to direct blows to the head. Sure the punching can cause a concussion, but the difference is in the hitting and hitting alone.

 

[Sol]

Maybe the NHL should make players sign a waiver or something. I don't think you can remove fighting, but I wouldn't feel all too bad if the players know very well what they're getting into.

I don't think you can take fighting out nor should you. It's been part of the game too long, I think it would effect the league in more ways than people can imagine.

 

[The Macho King]

Maybe the NHL should make players sign a waiver or something. I don't think you can remove fighting, but I wouldn't feel all too bad if the players know very well what they're getting into.

I don't think you can take fighting out nor should you. It's been part of the game too long, I think it would effect the league in more ways than people can imagine.

I don't think you can take out the two line pass nor should you. It's been part of the game too long, I think it would effect the league in more ways than people can imagine.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

Fights should be in hockey forever and I think it will.

Useless goons are being naturally phased out. I don't think there's anybody in the league anymore that fits the mold of a Boogard. Next to go will probably be Micheal Haley type guys who definitely aren't true NHL talents that wouldn't be there if not for their fighting but who are less than absolutely horrible 4th liners in a pinch.

 

[Kale Hulls]

There's nothing the NHL can do to stop it. If they ban fighting and dangerous hits, you'll still see players injuring guys with cheap shots. Then because they can't fight the offender, they throw cheap shots as well.

This is why the NHL is in a pickle. They cant condemn fighting because it will hurt their ratings. They cant condone fighting because it will hurt PR relations.

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

There's nothing the NHL can do to stop it. If they ban fighting and dangerous hits, you'll still see players injuring guys with cheap shots. Then because they can't fight the offender, they throw cheap shots as well.

Poor Boogeyman.
Well, the NHL can impose harsh penalties on fighting to really discourage it, then it will fade out.
The cheap shots thing I think is overstated, refs are calling slashing already.

 

[McDonald19]

You really shouldn't allow body checking at all for that matter. Even a great clean hit to the chest/shoulders causes whiplash with the skull rattling in the helmet which probably leads to CTE.

 

[McDonald19]

Poor Boogeyman.
Well, the NHL can impose harsh penalties on fighting to really discourage it, then it will fade out.
The cheap shots thing I think is overstated, refs are calling slashing already.

If you remove body checking and make it a pure skill game there won't be cheap shots. That's really what it will take to remove CTE/concussions from hockey. Fighting is a smaller percentage of the concussion problem than the anti-fighting crowd is willing to admit.

 

[ijuka]

There's nothing the NHL can do to stop it. If they ban fighting and dangerous hits, you'll still see players injuring guys with cheap shots. Then because they can't fight the offender, they throw cheap shots as well.

Nah.

Fighting is what's worst. Repeated blows that aren't quite strong enough to cause concussion would be the biggest culprit.

Concussions themselves don't seem to be as bad for this.

If you remove body checking and make it a pure skill game there won't be cheap shots. That's really what it will take to remove CTE/concussions from hockey. Fighting is a smaller percentage of the concussion problem than the anti-fighting crowd is willing to admit.

Smaller percentage of the concussion problem but this brain withering is caused primarily by blows that aren't concussive.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Because if you fall down in MMA you don't slam your head into ice. For the most part it's the falls that do more damage than the punches (not that punches are harmless). Also, fighters are forced to take time to recover between fights. An enforcer can fight one night, get a mild concussion, and then have to fight again the next night. Getting another injury on top of an existing concussion has been shown to be more dangerous than either injury on it's own.

Not to mention that between fights these guys are usually dishing out and taking hits.

This is a huge part of it. Professional fighters have 2 or 3 fights per year. Hockey enforcers used to fight, get concussed, and go out and fight the next night with a concussion regularly. I read an article about Mike Peluso where he explained that he got concussed fighting Tony Twist - concussed to the point that he didn't remember his teammates names - and went out and fought Ken Baumgartner five days later. I think it was standard practice back then. Nobody knew (or cared) about how bad concussions are.

 

[McDonald19]

This is why the NHL is in a pickle. They cant condemn fighting because it will hurt their ratings. They cant condone fighting because it will hurt PR relations.

I agree.

Either make the players sign iron-clad waivers stating they are playing an extremely physical sport and the league isn't liable for their medical conditions and then embrace and market hitting and fighting.. or:

Remove fighting and possibly body checking and try to market the speed and skill of a non-physical sport and see what happens.

The NHL prefers to try to make everyone happy in the middle somehow.

 

[The Macho King]

This is why the NHL is in a pickle. They cant condemn fighting because it will hurt their ratings. They cant condone fighting because it will hurt PR relations.

Who turns into hockey because of the fights? There are like... barely any nowadays and the vast majority are boring. Every now and then there's a fun tilt, but there are maybe a half-dozen of those in a season?

Hockey is not dependent on fighting for popularity, and people don't watch hockey for fights. Removing it would not change much.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Very sad but not surprising.

 

[McDonald19]

Smaller percentage of the concussion problem but this brain withering is caused primarily by blows that aren't concussive.

Which is also the problem with repetitive body checking.