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Old 02-23-2012, 09:02 AM   #18
scuffleball
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Join Date: May 2003
Location: USA
Posts: 358
I've been a hockey (and NHL) fan for 25+ years now. Love the game. Used to love it a lot more, back in the 80s and early 90s. But still love it today. The overall skill level from top to bottom on a roster today is amazing.

Fighting is a part of hockey, for sure. I can understand the spontaneous fights and the fights that break out to protect a teammate who isn't a fighter or who was roughed up unnecessarily by the opposition. But the so-called "staged" fights? That's crap, plain and simple. A staged fight has absolutely nothing to do with playing hockey. It's akin to two MMA fighters coming into the ring and before they fight, they play badminton.

I've watched a lot of NHL games, and to be honest, most of the fighting today is border-line staged material. It's just two "tough" guys yapping and then thinking they need to stand up to one another so they personally don't appear weak or scared. Most of it nowadays has nothing to do with standing up for teammates or trying to swing momentum. That still happens, sure, but most fights happen today for fighting's sake.

I'm an advocate for getting rid of fighting. That being said, the NHL does a horrible job on the ice of actually officiating a game. If you brought the hammer down on players for certain cheap shots and stick work, it would go away, and the game would be smoother and cleaner for it. Look at the broken stick rule. Any player will immediately drop his stick the moment it breaks to keep from getting penalized. So it can be done. Players can adapt and learn.

I don't think the NHL will ever seriously enforce the rules and break the culture as it is now, though. They cherish this "tough" image, players with missing teeth, shoving and acting tough after a whistle, all the while waiting for the officials to slowly move you away when you have no real intention of doing anything. That stuff is, frankly, frustrating and takes away from the game.

The NHL should start penalizing players for scrumming around after whistles just so they can look like they're tough and brave in front of 18,000 people. That being said, players should quit acting like children when they take a check and get all pissed off like someone has to get paid back. HITTING IS PART OF THE GAME. Take the hit. Deliver clean hits. That is HOCKEY.

The argument is that skilled players would get destroyed if there was no fighting. Not if the rules were actually enforced. Starting imposing actual fines and penalties for stick work. Players can control their sticks. Fighting exists basically because the league doesn't stand up and protect the players, so they do it themselves. And again, don't see it happening with the culture as it is now in the NHL.

All of that being said - fighting and physicality can't be ignored in a hockey sim. It was -- and is -- part of the game. IMHO, fighting today doesn't have the same affect it did 20-30 years ago, because players who fight act more like MMA fighters and fight for reasons other than the traditional ones.
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