The most entertaining part of hockey is none other than the good ole’ fashion brawl. There is no question- take any first timer to a hockey game and they will undoubtedly ask you if there will be a fight. But why does hockey still allow these fights to occur?
Hockey allows fighting because it is an important part of the strategy to win. The reason it appears to be normal hockey rather than other sports is the severity of the consequences is much less in hockey. It must be noted, all fights result in penalties or ejections.
What causes fights? There is a layer to the game known as ‘the code’ that must be followed; a game within the game of sorts. If this code is broken, a fight will ensue. So what is the code?
The Code
There is no doubt a very physical presence to the game of hockey. Everyone on the ice understands the bounds of physical play of the game. Those boundaries spill outside penalties enforced by the referees. These boundaries or unspoken rules are known as ‘the code.’ An example of the code is trying to be more physical with one player or the best players of the opposing team.
Everyone on the team has a role to play; most think either defense or offense. While this is true, there are players known as bruisers or enforcers that are part of the team as an intimidation factor. Their reputation proceeds them. Physically dense, chippy, scrappy, not popular among other teams, are descriptions that tag these players. Yes, these players are good enough at hockey to make it to the top leagues, but they are clearly on the roster to make sure everyone knows that we are not going to get pushed around.
Part of the strategy of controlling the game is being physical with certain players of the other team. While you might give up skill and/or speed with putting the enforcer out on the ice against the top line of the other team, you are sending a message. Players that are used to carving up the ice and scoring do not want to think about getting crushed by an opposing bruiser.
So what is the code? Everyone expects to get hit; it’s part of the game. But if anyone (the bruiser has even a shorter leash) is taking run after run at the most skilled players, the code is broken, and a fight will start brewing. Most likely starting with some chatter, maybe a shin strike or two, and it will eventually blow up to a full on fight. Bottom line: You stick up for your teammates.
What Leagues Allow Fighting?
Do not worry mom (or dad), the only leagues that allow fighting in North America are the NHL and some minor leagues. You have 18 years to watch games worry free. Keep in mind, what is inferred here is the repercussions to fighting in leagues from youth through college are much steeper than pro leagues. We are talking game misconducts and several game suspensions as opposed to 10 minutes in the box with no affects to the number of people on the ice.
European leagues, colleges, and the Olympics prohibit fighting. League officials would not even say fighting is ‘part of the game.’ Teams still have enforcers and play a physical strategy, but the players are coached up to play physically within the rule book. Every once in a blue moon you will see a fight in these leagues, but it is very rare.
Why Not Ban Fighting?
Much of modern sports medicine focuses around keep the athlete safe and preserving their body for post sports life. Many porfessional players suffer from injuries they deal with the rest of their life. Concussions, bad knees, shoulder replacements, etc. plague the major leaguer. When looking at hockey, the first thought in making a game safer is taking out the fighting right?
You would think taking out the ability to box someone on skates, with your bare hands, much less in North America, would be an easy first step to making the game safer. Welcome to the great debate. Yes, objectively looking at the few minutes of punching another player in the face with your bare hand does seem to fix some longevity issues. But let’s zoom out and look at what else the player has as a weapon.
The hockey stick. It’s basically a wooden sword. Slashing is not allowed in any league. Does it happen? Absolutely. Do players get away with it? For sure. Even with pads on, taking a quick jab from a stick hurts. Imagine emotions boiling so high instead of dropping the gloves and fighting someone, a player swung their stick at an opposing player.
It does not matter what part of the body it hits, a full swing of the hockey stick is going to do damage, and permanent damage is not out of the question. Punching a plastic helmet barefisted hurts. No doubt. But taking a stick to the head. It’s over. All that to say, leagues that allow fighting see it as an outlet to the physical play of the game.
Are the Fights in Hockey Real?
When watching a hockey game, some of the fights seem staged. Yes, they grab each other or take their stick and hit the other player in the skate, but it appears they talk about it before fighting. What’s going on here? They circle each other while taking off some gear and tossing it to the side.
Let me be the first to say, hockey fights are very real. Yes, some are planned or talked about during the game and as soon as the puck is dropped, two player start going at it. All fights have a purpose. The players are not boxers; they are talented athletes on skates. But if they need to indulged in a fight, they will.
There are many situations that cause a brawl. You will see a bad boarding hit or a cheap hit to a top player and a fight occurs immediately. Everyone in the building knows what that fight is about. What about the fights that start 1 second into the game? What is all that about?
Woven into every game is a story or narrative. It might be a result of something that happened at the end of the last game when these teams faced off. It could be these 2 teams have been rivals for 50 years and they want to set the mood for the game. Maybe someone was talking smack all warm ups and 2 players agreed to settle it when the puck dropped.
Most fights are obvious what the quarrel is about. You will hear commentators from time to time discuss possible reasons for the fight if even they are unsure of the underlying story of the bout. These fights and arguments add to the draw of the sport. Hockey fans love the narrative woven between rivals and drama that carries over from previous matches.
Does Hockey Need Fighting?
Fighting in hockey has been part of the game since its’ inception in 19th century. Fighting is not an easy black and white issue as: ‘should we allow booth replay for offside?’ Many inside the sport would argue hockey needs fighting to keep the integrity of the game; removing it would destroy the game as we know it.
Others would say for player safety, fighting needs much steeper penalties, thus diminishing it’s popularity. At all cost, we need to protect the players. Having an concussion or a limp the rest of their lives is not worth a fight. Hockey has made major improvements over the years in player safety. It is wild to think players used to not wear helmets or even pads!
This topic will forever be a debate in the sport. Although rules within fighting have been changed to create a ‘safer fight,’ taking the conflict out completely would change the game completely. It will be hard to convince a powerful organization to risk their audience engagement (their revenue).