Fighting in the NHL

[gwog]

The NHL allows it, so they fight. The Olympics don't allow it, so they don't fight. Same players, just different rules.

Interesting.

[The Nutty Professor]

Not interesting - it's stupid - fighting... I never understood how things came to be that way. I think it just ruined the game. The difference between this international brand of hockey and the NHL is like the difference between NCAA basketball and the NBA. The former is FAR better than the latter.

[gwog]

Not interesting - it's stupid - fighting... I never understood how things came to be that way. I think it just ruined the game. The difference between this international brand of hockey and the NHL is like the difference between NCAA basketball and the NBA. The former is FAR better than the latter.

[LowPost42]

I think fighting gives guys a chance to retaliate against a guy like Orpik - who's just chippy and cheap; always holding and grabbing away from the ref, always slipping in a little cross check after the whistle.

In international hockey, you just have to accept the fact he's gonna do it and there's not going to be a whistle.

[MetsFan]

You can get away without fighting in a tournament like the Olympics because the teams will only play each other once or twice. No way can you sustain that over an 82-game schedule like the NHL. Many times, the fights you see in one game are related to events in a prior game.

Personally, I think if you took fighting out of the NHL, the game would get a lot more violent and you'd see more injuries to the best players in the league.

[sp]

The Olympics is a competition among All-Star teams. In the NHL, the skill level of each team is considerably lower, with the talent pool split among 30 teams. Many of the players in the so-called "2nd Tier" don't have skating or shooting skills that are anywhere near what you see in the Olympics, but, roster spots have to be filled. The byproduct of the talent shortage is the need to provide SOME kind of entertainment to the paying customers, and fighting fills the bill. You will never hear an NHL crowd boo a fight.
If the NHL could put out the kind of product we have just seen, they would draw 50,000 fans every night, but you're talking about a league with perhaps only a dozen teams. That means a lot of hockey players out of a job, and a lot of "needy" team owners with nowhere to put their $200-300 million slush funds.
I find the fighting boring, and I'd like to see it gone as much as anyone, but it's not going to happen.

[gwog]

I find the fighting boring, and I'd like to see it gone as much as anyone, but it's not going to happen.

True. If the NHL wanted it gone, they would have done so a long time ago.

[mickeygoo]

The biggest reason why I haven't warmed up to ice hockey until the Olympics...

[MetsFan]

The USHL is a junior league here in the midwest. Teams are made up of 18-21 year old kids who are trying to get college scholarships. They have a rule that states any fighting in the last 5 minutes of the game automatically earns a 1-game suspension. While this has eliminated some of the last-minute brawls that can result in a blow out, what it has really done is push the fight to the first period of the next time the two team meant.

Hockey players have long memories. I wouldn't be surprised to hear of retributions for acts that occured in the Olympics during the remainder of the NHL season.

[testwigs]

All the junior leagues at least in the states have that rule. It has stopped the mindless line brawls at the end of a game where a team is getting bounced.

[Rumboy]

The biggest reason why I haven't warmed up to ice hockey until the Olympics...

It is as big a part of the game as crashes are in NASCAR
ie.it makes the highlites every night but is a very small part of the game.
Olympic hockey does not compare to NHL playoff hockey. It is not a war of attrition.

Remember this:
You had 2 North American teams playing NHL style hockey last night, on an NHL sized rink, but with more finesse players.Nobody took runs at anyone, for the most part.
It is not the norm. On the bigger ice, it would be interesting to see how things would have worked out and how many roster changes there would have been.
That style of hockey is now copied to a smaller extent by other countries due to the NHL roster.
You can bet any cheap shots given out during this tourny will be evened up when the NHL starts again.
I did not see much of it this time around though, to their credit.

In the Olympics of old, there was plenty of European "stickwork" that went on.
When challenged, the old "turtle" or "dive" would show up.Euros knew how to work it.
They also knew they would not be seeing the Canadian or American players anytime soon (in general.
Having no fear of a face pounding allowed this to go on.
Canadians are taught to drop the gloves and settle it like men.
You would be chastised for retaliating with your stick by your own team and coach.
It's just not acceptable.

sorry for the ramble
lol

[Supp]

It is as big a part of the game as crashes are in NASCAR
ie.it makes the highlites every night but is a very small part of the game.

True fact. It's part of hockey culture. Or should I say NHL culture.