5thhorseman wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:13 am
Strangelove wrote: ↑Tue Oct 26, 2021 6:33 pm
5thhorseman wrote: ↑Tue Oct 26, 2021 6:30 pm
Ya I think if you have a 20-game suspension (with pay docked) for fighting you won't see much fighting.
Whether that's a good idea is another question.
How about 20-game suspensions (with pay docked) for Micky's "kneeing, kicking, butt ending, spearing, even spitting"?
Sure, if you want to immediately stamp that out as well, then punish it into oblivion.
Again, I'm not saying it's a good idea.
An interesting discussion, considering I don't spend much time thinking about hockey fighting at all - it's pretty irrelevant to what's going on in the game now.
So fighting is "banned", in that it's a 5 minute penalty. Instigating is banned as an extra 2 min penalty and a misconduct. I don't personally believe it, but people like Don Cherry say the instigator rule ruined the game, because it deters players from seeking on-ice justice/retribution/"keeping the game clean" or whatever.
If an extra 2 min and a misconduct is such a huge deterrent that it's had a massive effect (which I don't believe, because guys take instigators all the time), then do the same to fighting. Fewer staged fights (which we all think are lame), and when a guy is really pissed off he'll still drop the mitts and take the bigger penalty. It would also remove the fired-up goons from the game for longer stretches.
If you want to totally get rid of it, I guess you go the IIHF route? What's that, a 2-game suspension or something like that?
But I think the reality about fighting in the game is the guys don't want to do it. Goons in the 70s/80s were happy to stand and take punches for a paycheque, and guys today that are taking their bodies to the physical limit aren't willing to jeopardize their health for hockey fights.
They don't want to stand and trade per the Code, they want to take the other guy down and not risk a concussion or broken hand. They don't even take off their helmets ffs, what kind of KO punch are you going to see on a helmeted guy?
I'm ambivalent about hockey fighting, I'm happy when it's organic and emotional response, but staged fights don't really get me going.
I'd be happier to not have more Rick Rypiens and Boogards dying way too young, or seeing Donald Brashear working at a Timmy's drive-thru after retiring.