hmmm, fighting.
fighting is the dirtly little secret of the NHL. they would never promote it and quite wisely. but are they ever going to
want to shut it down?
not likely since it is an audience grabber. i can't really speak for the position(i have always live with hockey) but i imagine that that component of the game is a bit of a curiousity for non hockey fans.
for the near future the curiousity of the non fan will outweigh the cries for humanity and civility of those who want to see the game 'cleaned up'.
is it neccessary?
of course not. off the top of my head i would say football and basketball are just as emotionally charged for the players on the field/court but is it accepted that they fight? not really, it generally results in quite a bit of publicity. it is a novelty and generally unaccepted. it could be the same in the nhl but it is not for several reasons.
first, the players. the nhl is made up of several different player types, and majority of players do fit into at least one of these categories. 2 of these include fighting. there is the popular 'enforcer': this is the guy that protects the teams stars. it is accepted that if curtis joseph gets tripped up tie domi will soon be goading whoever it was that befell cujo. that is his job however, even this day in age, guys like domi, brashear(who has excelled the most in this area), mccarthy and the like are expected to occasionally contribute offensively/defensively, in other words to actual game play.
then there are is a set of tough skilled players. guys that can score a beautiful goal or play a one on two rush brilliantly so your goalie has an easy stop or no stop at all. this would be your keith tkachuk or scott stevens. skilled players who have no problem throwing the body around and getting into the occassional scuffle.
of course you also have your pure skill players and goalies(who are a whole other set
).
the point is the guys who fall into the first two categories accept fighting and can as an equalizing part of the game. tie domi uses fighting as a way to get the maple leafs going if he feels the team is lacklustre. these guys know the risks but they pursue the fights anyway and that is their game.
i am unaware of the case which you speak of but my personal opinion is fighting should be left in the nhl for some time more. eventually it will become obsolete but that is a long way off. other leagues should ban it. not allowed.
now the obvious question is why do the big guys get to do it but not everyone else?
i dont know.
imo
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pssst: gravity pushes.
