Fighting has to go

[txpd]

So to be exact Tom Wilson as a person has very little do with this, but what he did and how players want to prevent it was my point.
If someone is acting the way Wilson was, the guys on the team want to be able to deal with it themselves.

And about this they want it in the game part. You're right about the part that majority want it in the game as long as they dont have to do it themselves.
But that doesn't mean a guy like Auston Matthews doesn't like having Wayne Simmonds as his teammate and willing to drop the gloves if someone tries for example the shenanigans Wilson did.

Ultimately about the players want it in the game, not sure how you can argue it if you go thru the polls they took in years 11-12-17. Haven't yet found a more recent one.

What Tom Wilson was doing.....Lets reverse the polarity. Do you think Ian Cole is deterred from his style of play because of this? I really doubt it Do you honestly think the Simmonds being there would keep Wilson from tossing Matthews off his back? Please.

 

[Neil Racki]

Having lived in Europe and having European family members- I agree.

My hypothesis is that the incredible carnage of two world wars so close together purged from the bloodline much of the aggressive male DNA that never returned home to mate and pass it on. This, coupled with the mass emotional trauma suffered by the rest of the population that was bombed into submission, combined to create a relatively pacifistic zeitgeist.

We did not suffer this in America, with low casualties, and the implied assumption that our aggression and militancy was a net-positive for humanity. It is what it is.

From your "Q"uestionable post on genetics ... one would believe that Russians, Europeans and Canadians dont fight in the NHL because the "violence" gene wasnt passed down after 3 generations.

 

[WarriorofTime]

i dont understand why people cant be honest anymore......if the argument is that fighting causes brain damage and should be banned, wait until you find out about hitting..... just SAY you dont like fighting and give the reason you dont like it, stop pretending you care about players well-being and look the other way on the thing that puts all players at risk.... its everything thats wrong right now, instead of saying that people know the risk and decide to still play, we want to change things for some "reason" while not even fixing said "reason's"....i dont really care one way or the other although i still think it is needed in the game and i would say taking it out could lead to more brain injury issues.....so again, follow your own logic through instead of saying " i care about players well-being".

I wish people on the other side of the spectrum would just be honest and say they like ice boxing instead of the lizard brained "letting players arbitrarily enforce some arbitrary code by jumping each other on ice actually makes the game safer!" than things like fines and suspensions for dirty play.

 

[Kezaster]

What Tom Wilson was doing.....Lets reverse the polarity. Do you think Ian Cole is deterred from his style of play because of this? I really doubt it Do you honestly think the Simmonds being there would keep Wilson from tossing Matthews off his back? Please.

Ok so you're steering the conversation to; does player x work as deterrent against Wilson. Even if Wilson is more reckless than others and doesn't get intimitated easily.
If you're tryint to get the angle that If Tom Wilson doesn't give a f*** and that it proves fighting isn't a deterrent. You're picking 1/800 who is with quite a bit of evidence, way more reckless than the average guy

And not only do I think Wilson would have thought about it, he would have not been able to literally do that if Simmonds was on the ice during the scrum. And you're nuts if you think otherwise.


Since I actually love what Wilson brings to the table, well not everything. But ill turn the table a bit, do you not think Wilson being a top6 guy is an deterrent himself? Being able and willing to defend his teammates? on the top line?.
I would bet my ass that his linemates are pretty happy having a guy like that around

 

[frog]

Hockey is fighting, take away fighting and hockey will turn into tennis

 

[txpd]

But ill turn the table a bit, do you not think Wilson being a top6 guy is an deterrent himself? Being able and willing to defend his teammates? on the top line?.
I would bet my ass that his linemates are pretty happy having a guy like that around

I think that some teams might change their tactics because Wilson is there. So far this season, its been more gooning up than being deterred. Wilson is a very rare weapon. A hockey player as good as he is at the entire game and as scary. My point is that I doubt Ian Cole's game has been not changed at all after the above cheap shot on Kuznetsov and the fight and injuries he suffered. That is his job in hockey and is still in the league.

In short, fighting to protect a teammate will remain in hockey just as it remains in other sports. They can penalize it heavier if they wish but most of today's fights will remain.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

I am one of few hockey fans that can live without it, but doubt it's going to go. For those who watched Crime and Penalties might understand why it won't be going anytime soon. But I remember when it was in discussion in 2009 after Don Sanderson died, I remember the OHL enforcing a rule after that moment.

I find the best hockey movies always typically involve fighting such as Goon and Slapshot, Slapshot basically being about how Americans used to view hockey.

But I do think it's interesting Bettman lets it happen as people in the south love to watch fighting which is partially what made Nashville a hockey town, but it also intrigues me considering no Canadian team has won a cup in forever, but if it all comes to light it's going to be shining right on Gary Bettman if all the hitting and fighting in the game comes to an end considering he could've done it sooner.

That's my take on it, anyway.

 

[PuckThumper11]

Fighting is bad and it does make the game of hockey worse than it should be. Best hockey at the Olympics has zero fighting and it is beautiful.

Beautiful? Doesn't sound too manly, though, bud.

 

[PuckThumper11]

The actual act of fighting in hockey rarely leads to brain injuries. Hockey fights are very sloppy, most fights last less than 30 seconds and because they're grabbing each other's shoulders, more often than not, not a single punch lands cleanly. Slipping and falling, pushing each other to ice, contact with the ground usually is what causes brain injuries. Even in the given example. So if the idea is to combat brain injury, taking fighting away doesn't work to that end basically at all.

I'd venture that the majority of concussions in hockey aren't from fighting or even checking but incidental collisions and/or trip and falls. I'm a big MMA/wrestling fan. I've long been very critical of boxing for the reason that I think it's a practically useless sport that promotes brain injury. Hockey fights are not "bare-knuckle boxing", they are two guys clinching until one of them is able to drag the other down. There is some inherent risk in taking someone down on ice but incidents like the aforementioned are freak accidents. And hockey is, inevitably, full of those.

Great points. After all, Crosby's concussions did not come from fighting at all. He collided with a guy and didn't see it coming at all. Blind-sided. Now that will cause injuries. Just like in boxing when you get hit to the head by a punch you don't see coming. Those are the worst. When Pacquiao got KO'd by Marquez in '12, it was from a punch he didn't see coming. Marquez never got close to knocking him out besides that one punch. Collisions like that work the same.

 

[Oddbob]

Question is, if fighting goes, where does it go?

 

[Embryo]

No.

 

[Embryo]

If they want to fight, let them fight. You're not the one getting punched. And nobody is forcing you to watch it.

 

[CrazyMonkey1208]

Question is, if fighting goes, where does it go?

Football. Better yet they should put moose antlers on football player's helmets. The more they weigh the bigger the rack of antlers they get

 

[MrazeksVengeance]

Having lived in Europe and having European family members- I agree.

My hypothesis is that the incredible carnage of two world wars so close together purged from the bloodline much of the aggressive male DNA that never returned home to mate and pass it on. This, coupled with the mass emotional trauma suffered by the rest of the population that was bombed into submission, combined to create a relatively pacifistic zeitgeist.

We did not suffer this in America, with low casualties, and the implied assumption that our aggression and militancy was a net-positive for humanity. It is what it is.

Yeah, one could say we had enough and now we are generally wary of starting shit.

One thing I noticed is that, while they are often less graphically violent our stories have more death and mental trauma (also sex-related stuff is much less taboo, but that is unrelated.).

 

[DonM]

Question is, if fighting goes, where does it go?

I'm hoping the answer is the NHL front offices. Soft as marshmellow GMs have had it too easy for too long. Can't sign bad contracts if it means your accounting department wailing on you repeatedly afterwards.

 

[Kezaster]

I think that some teams might change their tactics because Wilson is there. So far this season, its been more gooning up than being deterred. Wilson is a very rare weapon. A hockey player as good as he is at the entire game and as scary. My point is that I doubt Ian Cole's game has been not changed at all after the above cheap shot on Kuznetsov and the fight and injuries he suffered. That is his job in hockey and is still in the league.

In short, fighting to protect a teammate will remain in hockey just as it remains in other sports. They can penalize it heavier if they wish but most of today's fights will remain.

I think I might have explained my takes badly as it seems we're pretty much in sync about fighting in the league now days.

 

[hawksrule]

Fighting has always made the sport look silly.

 

[radkison]

Why is this thread still alive?

 

[txpd]

Why is this thread still alive?

Because people have an opinion about fighting.

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

Fighting has always made the sport look silly.

To whom?

 

[HighNote]

It should be up to the players, which it already is. You don’t have to fight if you don’t want to. If you’re agreeing to fight, you’re agreeing to the possible consequences (that are within the rules).

 

[Pockets16]

Nah you can stop watching if you want. There's also other leagues with no fighting.. enjoy.

 

[JasonRoseEh]

No, the sport just isn't for you.

 

[ever2020]

I dont like the Fights in the NHL because they act so ridiculous.
It looks like a joke.
90% of the so called fights look like hugging or so. Okay I do it this way with my kids at home, they love it but with one rule: No one gets hurt.
I like the sports of boxing, its very technical, and the footwork is very important. Thats why every boxer is a skilled rope skipper. But with skates on the feet footwork is not possible, the stand is very bad and for that the staged hockey fights look so comical.

 

[hangman005]

Did you join just bump a year old thread?