Has this offseason changed your view about fighting in hockey?

[PuckInTheNards]

I have to admit that it's changed my view. I guess I'd always imagined that heavyweights viewed themselves the way boxers or mixed martial artists did - that fighting was their sport and they were ok with that. Now, Between the deaths and the interviews (Fedoruk's was particularly haunting), I'm coming into the view that a lot of these guys really hate their roles but continue to do it because it's a way for them to make it into the NHL. I don't want fighting out of the NHL but I think more and more that the league should do away with the designated heavyweight and staged fights.

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[Eaglepride*]

No maybe the media should stop trashing these guys like **** and respect them for what they are doing, so they can feel better if they are down?

How about some appreciation for enforcers? They are low paid compared to others but yet selling jerseys like crazy.

Personally I have the highest respect for them, so hockey minus heavyweight tough guys wouldn't be the same.

 

[Fire Sweeney]

No, but it changes my views on all the hypocrites in the media who use these deaths to shove their agenda down our throats.

 

[Gene Parmesan]

No, but it changes my views on all the hypocrites in the media who use these deaths to shove their agenda down our throats.

This. It's pretty sad to see.

 

[tarheelhockey]

It hasn't changed my view on enforcers so much as my view on head trauma. This is a serious problem unfolding before our eyes, not only with the deaths but also with both stars like Crosby and Savard (and formerly Lindros, LaFontaine, Primeau, Stevens, even Mike Richter) looking at career-altering and possibly career-ending concussions. I think we're past the point where we can just shrug it off as part of the game... the best players are supposed to thrive, not be destroyed as a result of being bigger and faster.

Gotta worry about how this all applies to enforcers. Rick Rypien had 96 fights in his career going back to juniors, Boogaard had 182. Bob Probert was in 240, just in the NHL alone... they found he was suffering from CTE when they autopsied his brain.

I'm not any more opposed to fighting than I used to be, but I'm getting morally uncomfortable with the idea of a rich owner paying a farmboy to get in hundreds of fights and suffer permanent brain damage, when he otherwise doesn't contribute to the actual hockey game. It kind of reminds me of something you'd hear about in a Roman arena, people fighting over a handful of coins for the amusement of the masses and the profit of the wealthy.

 

[DerhaertesteChecker]

it takes a crazy person to do that as a career, crazy things happen to crazy people. Fighting is dangerous but that is the risk you take getting paid thousands or millions. It is a functional part of the sport.

 

[txpd]

i think there is a certain reality to understand. most guys that fight regular in the nhl, be they enforcers or grinders that fight once on a frequent basis, wanted to play in the nhl badly enough that they are willing to go that far for a shot at the big time. the vast majority of them wish their hockey skills were enough to get them a job.

just go to the pens caps 24/7 epi #2 and see the interview with matt hendricks. he is concussed and beaten up and telling hbo that he wasnt a guy to fight til he found is only chance to make an nhl roster was by fighting. he does it, but hates it and would quit it in a second if he could.

in ovechkin's first playoff game, the caps first home playoff game of the ovechkin era was scored by donald brashear. i bet that and not punching georges larouque into the ice is the highlight of his career. look at him jumping around.

 

[tarheelhockey]

it takes a crazy person to do that as a career, crazy things happen to crazy people. Fighting is dangerous but that is the risk you take getting paid thousands or millions. It is a functional part of the sport.

I'm just not sure where I stand on paying crazy people to do crazy things, then watching them degenerate into shadows of themselves from brain injuries.

There's a very fuzzy line between "you can do this if you want, but there's a chance something could go wrong and hurt you" versus "you're pretty much guaranteed to get hurt doing this, but here's a fat check to convince you to ignore the danger".

BTW, this isn't an anti-fighting point of view. I like fighting and I think it belongs in the game. But there's a point where you just have to stop and think about what we're really doing with pro sports.

 

[ARCTICCAT24]

Nope. It just makes me made that the media can trash talk these guys like they are nothing. It seems like every other day TSN has an anti-fighting article calling out tough guys and saying how they have no skill or place in the NHL. They are in the NHL for a reason. They have a job just like everyone else and are trying to support a family. Its just that their job is a lot tougher than everyone elses.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Nope. It just makes me made that the media can trash talk these guys like they are nothing. It seems like every other day TSN has an anti-fighting article calling out tough guys and saying how they have no skill or place in the NHL. They are in the NHL for a reason. They have a job just like everyone else and are trying to support a family. Its just that their job is a lot tougher than everyone elses.

What's wrong with TSN having an opinion about fighting? (Other than the fact that their opinion doesn't coincide with yours?)

It's not "trash talk" - it's an opinion.

 

[txpd]

I'm just not sure where I stand on paying crazy people to do crazy things, then watching them degenerate into shadows of themselves from brain injuries.

There's a very fuzzy line between "you can do this if you want, but there's a chance something could go wrong and hurt you" versus "you're pretty much guaranteed to get hurt doing this, but here's a fat check to convince you to ignore the danger".

BTW, this isn't an anti-fighting point of view. I like fighting and I think it belongs in the game. But there's a point where you just have to stop and think about what we're really doing with pro sports.

thats right. there is a difference between watching auto racing and watching gladiators in rome fight to the death.

 

[ARCTICCAT24]

What's wrong with TSN having an opinion about fighting? (Other than the fact that their opinion doesn't coincide with yours?)

It's not "trash talk" - it's an opinion.

It is trash talk because im posting this in a fighting section were we all like fighting. Therefor it is trash talking.

 

[txpd]

Nope. It just makes me made that the media can trash talk these guys like they are nothing. It seems like every other day TSN has an anti-fighting article calling out tough guys and saying how they have no skill or place in the NHL. They are in the NHL for a reason. They have a job just like everyone else and are trying to support a family. Its just that their job is a lot tougher than everyone elses.

a thought to consider. tsn is an sports entertainment network. they do what they do based on very extensive research. they talk to their audience about things that they know from the research that their audience is interested in.

its a virtual certainty that tsn's research has indicated a real push back against fighting in the nhl. i'd guess that its partly because so many young people in canada play hockey. this fighting issue in canada and among its media translates throughout the social fabric of that country. the worse the concussion issue is at the nhl level, the more concern there is about head injuries at the junior hockey level where the players are still kids. that concern flows down strongly into the minor hockey ranks as well.

how can you have real concern about concussions without dealing with fighting which is nothing but blows to the head?

face facts, if the media is talking about it a lot, its because the audience is already focused on the issue.

 

[Badger36]

Nope, I still love fighting. Its part of hockey's tradition and we need to accept it.
Honestly, I wish more sports embraced fighting like hockey does. IMO it would end a lot of the cheap shots and trash talk that other sports have.

 

[Trottier]

No, but it changes my views on all the hypocrites in the media who use these deaths to shove their agenda down our throats.

HF Post of the ****ing Year!

Reading the media, and the "kinder and gentler" breed of fan who wish to further manipulate our great sport, pontificate about the evils of fighting is like listening to the Kardashian sisters rail against the dangers of space travel.

 

[Zen Arcade]

It's one thing for the media to be critical of fighting and in favor of eliminating it, it's another thing for them to completely condescending about it. I remember, I think was Adam Proteau, who had an article in THN about how fighting was down and how fighters may be on their way out. A few months later, fighting was up slightly and he made a remark about how "they might not be able to play, but I guess they can read."

Is stuff like that really necessary?

 

[Sigh]

No, but it changes my views on all the hypocrites in the media who use these deaths to shove their agenda down our throats.

My views of these guys was already as low as it could get, otherwise I agree.

 

[Tavaresmagicalplay*]

HF Post of the ****ing Year!

Reading the media, and the "kinder and gentler" breed of fan who wish to further manipulate our great sport, pontificate about the evils of fighting is like listening to the Kardashian sisters rail against the dangers of space travel.

Mmmmmmm I don't know, if there's evidence that fighting is destroying these guys health and resulting in these early deaths that were seeing you have to do something. Period.

 

[ShooterMikgaven]

Nope. I believe what occured with the 3 deaths this summer were completely freak incidents. Fighting and enforcers have been a part of the game every bit as much as they are today and even more since the beginning and nothing like this has ever occured before. It was just an unfortunate coincidence that 3 fighters went in such a short time.

 

[bigjohnson]

Mmmmmmm I don't know, if there's evidence that fighting is destroying these guys health and resulting in these early deaths that were seeing you have to do something. Period.

Please...

How long has fighting been in hockey? One bad season is irrelevant considering the past 100 haven't had this much drama. However, if the next couple years are similar, you might be right.

 

[Tavaresmagicalplay*]

Please...

How long has fighting been in hockey? One bad season is irrelevant considering the past 100 haven't had this much drama. However, if the next couple years are similar, you might be right.

It's different know. In the 50s, 60s 70s 80s and 90s guys who were 6'6 270 pounds didn't exist. Now pretty much every enforcer is at least 6'4.

 

[BoHorvatFan]

I have always been against fighting in hockey and this summer proved that I am on the right side of the debate. There is no place for it and there is no need for it. The game would be just fine without it, how do I know? because the games without fights are just as good as the games with them. It's a circus, a sideshow, it taints the sport and it causes long-term problems for the guys who do it.

Time to ban it for good.

 

[Steve]

Not at all.

Although there were 3 horrible deaths, there was one accidental OD and 2 suicides due to Depression. Perhaps when they pull boxing and MMA we can have this debate. Media trying to sell papers and haters trying to shove their opinions.

Instead of focusing on one of their similarities, perhaps focus on raising awareness of the dangers of pain killers and depression.

 

[Wheatking]

The funny thing is that these 2-5 minute a night enforcers getting all the attention really don't fight that often. Last season there were 28 players that fought at least 10 times. As far as I can tell only Janssen(4:52) played less than 5 minutes a night. Colton Orr was just over at 5:04.

A guy like Engelland may be a "fighter" but he also plays 13+ minutes a night for the Pens. He's a player. Last season Ryan Clowe had 24 goals, 62 points, was +13...and fought 12 times. Theo Peckham fought 10 times for the Oilers last season. He also played 18:35 a night.

At the same time...
MacIntyre: 7 fights
Gillies: 9 fights
Boogaard: 7 fights
Belak: 2 fights
Lessard: 4 fights
Koci: 8 fights
King: 6 fights
Scott: 8 fights

...but suddenly Iginla and Lecavalier can't square off because a few guys had problems away from the game?

The game is always evolving. If there is no place for goons in the NHL anymore, they will gradually disappear. Banning fighting altogether would be such a knee jerk reaction.

 

[Tavaresmagicalplay*]

Not at all.

Although there were 3 horrible deaths, there was one accidental OD and 2 suicides due to Depression. Perhaps when they pull boxing and MMA we can have this debate. Media trying to sell papers and haters trying to shove their opinions.

Instead of focusing on one of their similarities, perhaps focus on raising awareness of the dangers of pain killers and depression.

Boxing and MMA have strict rules and regulations. Fighting in hockey has almost none.

Also the OD was due to health problems Boogy developed because of fighting. I'm sure you took the time to do the research so you probably already know this but Boogaard has serious PCS.