Game misconduct for fighting will improve NHL hockey, reduce injuries

The 2013 NHL season kicked off Tuesday night in fine fashion with a classic tilt here in Canada between the Toronto Maple Leafs and their long time rivals the Montreal Canadiens.

It was a fast-paced, hard fought game, reminiscent of mid-season play rather than the beginning of the season. But, despite the intense action, the game was marred by an unusual injury to the Canadiens’ George Parros in the third period, during his second fight of the game with Colton Orr of the Maple Leafs.

The video replay (see below) shows Parros fell awkwardly, over top of Orr, as Orr pulled Parros down with him to the ice. Parros was unable to get his hands free and ended up stopping the ice with his face. He was knocked out cold and carried off on a stretcher. Another ugly hockey incident resulting in serious injury and more bad PR for the NHL.  

The debate about whether or not fighting should be permitted in hockey has been going on for years. And, while I know its hard for non-hockey players to understand this, fighting is something that is, in my opinion, a needed element in the game. Its needed because it helps keep the game clean. Since Gretzky’s time, its been obvious that fighting and the fear of getting beat up in public, helps prevent average players from taking liberties with star players.

It also helps reduce stick work. When you are allowed to carry a weapon in your hand, its difficult to avoid using it to gain advantage. I experienced this first hand in Switzerland when I played semi-pro in Neuchatel. Fighting wasn’t allowed, let alone fighting with your gloves off—God forbid! But, the stick work was outrageous. A couple of Canadian teammates of mine lost their composure one night and jumped the opponents goalie in the final game after a long, frustrating season full of slashes, hooks and spears.

In competitive hockey, fighting has always been the thing that keeps people honest. Yes, there are rules and referees to administer them. Somehow though, they never seem to keep the peace. The more penalties there are in a game, the more chippy it gets. Only fighting has provided the necessary counter to those players who cross the line—the hockey honour line.

But, we can’t continue to have players being knocked out on the ice, blood everywhere, carried off on stretchers. Its not good for the sport, the fans and especially not the kids watching. The staged fighting we see today is not really how fighting in hockey originated nor how it fits best into the game. A TSN broadcaster (I forget which one) suggested the other day that from a liability perspective, the NHL will soon need to look at banning fighting altogether.

Instead of turning the NHL into a Hurling league (Irish national sport) with no recourse allowed for flagrant violations that go undetected, I would like to propose that a fighting major become a game misconduct penalty, resulting in the guilty parties being kicked out of the game. 1 fight = 1 game.

Doing so will not only get the NHL off the hook from a legal perspective (because they will no longer be condoning fighting), but, it will also allow fighting that develops naturally out of ‘intense play’ to take place, as it has occurred since the game was invented.

A stiffer penalty will discourage players from fighting while still providing teams the ability to protect their star players and to keep their opponents honest if they venture too far across the line.