When fighting follows a hard & legal hit, is the league more inclined to punish big hits?

[JimmyH]

Because it seems to me that by "sticking up" for teammates after they find themselves on the receiving end of a big (but legal) hit, the players are complicit in the ongoing shift in the way the game is officiated and sanitized. The players are protesting clean hits by stopping play (ultimately), and the league probably feels inclined to take some proactive stance on this. Moreover, as a strategy to prevent fighting and illegal hits, the NHL levies fines and suspensions for such behavior and we see what, in my opinion, is a softer game being played. I say that because I think the line between a hard hit and an illegal hit has become blurred recently, and is continuing in the direction of simply equating the two when it looks bad to the naked eye.

So, my questions to you guys:
1. Are the tough guys who immediately look for a fight after their teammate absorbs a big hit actually partially responsible for the game going soft?
2. Is it going soft? Am I correct?

If I am correct, it's a case of unfortunate irony for the fans who like a rough-and-tough style of play.

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[JimmyH]

I am interested in your opinions.

Thanks.

 

[Rich Nixon]

I think the line between a hard hit and an illegal hit has become blurred recently

I think, as a central theory to the rest of your post, this is not a very provable statement.

 

[StLHokie]

Hate fights after big hits and always have. Way better to get a guy clean later in the game on a equivalent hit than it is to "make them pay" for it after with a worthless scrap. Honestly they need to enforce the instigator more than they currently do

 

[JimmyH]

I think, as a central theory to the rest of your post, this is not a very provable statement.

Was my claim not evidenced when Malkin got ejected last month? Unfortunately, I don't have all other instances to describe for us right this second, but that doesn't mean these things are't happening. I can be a nerd for a little while and pull up all the questionable game misconducts, but c'mon, you must know it's headed in the direction that I described in the OP.

 

[Spirit of 67]

For whatever reason, players just aren't as mean as they were.

That's why it's gotten softer.

The thing is, people equate softer with not as good. The game has never been better.

That said, I miss the passion. I don't miss the fighting but so many games these days have no real spirit to them.

It an be a hard thing to reconcile.