Post by Bomber24 on Oct 27, 2008 16:47:01 GMT -5
www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2008/10/27/brophy_fighting/
Fighting on the rise
Monday, October 27, 2008
Mike Brophy Archive
You wanna go? These days that phrase is being spoken nearly as often as, "He shoots, he scores!"
Through the first 119 games played this season, an average of 1.47 fighting majors have been called per game. That’s up from just over one fighting major per game at the same point last season.
So is the NHL concerned? Nope.
"We haven’t really discussed fighting internally for quite some time," said NHL vice-president Mike Murphy. "When we do talk about it we generally talk about the magnitude of today’s fighters; the size of them and how much power they have. We don’t really worry about the knockout punch; more about the fact a player could hit his head on the ice if he gets punched hard."
The fact is, fighting has steadily been on the increase the past three years.
In 2005-06 an average of .75 fighting majors were called each game. That increased to .80 in 2006-07 and 1.07 last season. And if you thought the days of a team carrying a designated fighter would end just because the league cracked down on obstruction in an effort to generate more goals and scoring chances coming out of the lockout, forget about it.
Ottawa’s Brian McGrattan led the NHL in fighting majors with 19 in 2005-06 while Anaheim’s George Parros led the way with 18 in 2006-07. Last season Jared Boll of the Columbus Blue Jackets took things to a new level, dropping the gloves 27 times, three more than Riley Cote of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Parros and Zack Stortini were almost as busy fighting 23 times each.
This year things have been really nasty. There were four fights in a game between the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings Oct. 24.
The Kings and Blues?
What could they possibly have against one another?
"I have noticed games have been very intense this season," said Flyers coach John Stevens, "Especially games between divisional rivals. We played two games against New Jersey on the weekend and they both had the feel of playoff games. And it’s only a couple of weeks into the season.
"I think one of the reasons why the games are so intense is because of the parity in the league. With the salary cap, expectations are much higher so even games early in the season are considered very important."
The Flyers won both of those games – their first two wins of the season – and they were both very physical games. There were two fights in Friday night’s game and three more in Saturday’s game, including two on one stoppage of play.
The Flyers lead the NHL with 12 fighting majors while Vancouver is second with 11 and Anaheim third with 10. At the other end of the spectrum, the Minnesota Wild had just one fighting major while Boston, Florida, Ottawa and Tampa Bay have just two apiece.
It was assumed, after the Anaheim Ducks fought their way to the Stanley Cup championship two years ago, everybody else would fall into place and stock their lineups with pugilists. That didn’t happen. In fact, the Detroit Red Wings won the Cup last season and had the fewest fights of any team in the league with 21.
The Calgary Flames, by comparison, led the NHL with 70.
Asked if he had any theories about why fighting is on the rise, Flames captain Jarome Iginla suggested it might be just one of those years.
"I really don't have any idea why, other than it is still a part of the game," Iginla said. "It is still a way for teams to get momentum and you don't want to be intimidated."
So why is fighting up? Well, a few years ago The Hockey News had a cover story entitled: Death of The Goon. It was based purely on numbers. The first few months following the lockout year there was significantly less fighting.
Apparently goons can read.
Those that make their living fighting soon realized if they didn’t get busy, they might lose their jobs. Soon after the story was published, fighting numbers started to rise drastically.
Some have suggested NHL now stands for No Hit League. It seems like every time a player is hit hard – regardless of whether it was a clean check or not – a fight ensues.
Stevens doesn’t believe that to be the case.
"I think when a player delivers a hard hit while trying to knock an opponent off the puck, there is no issue," he said. "It’s when a player tries to knock the other player’s block off that teammates step in. The last thing a team wants to see is one of its best players or one of its kids being abused by anybody. If the hitter is going after the puck, it’s OK."
One thing is certain, while the NHL has come a long way in taking brawling out of the game, one-on-one fights are alive and well and there is no sign of that ever changing.
Fighting on the rise
Monday, October 27, 2008
Mike Brophy Archive
You wanna go? These days that phrase is being spoken nearly as often as, "He shoots, he scores!"
Through the first 119 games played this season, an average of 1.47 fighting majors have been called per game. That’s up from just over one fighting major per game at the same point last season.
So is the NHL concerned? Nope.
"We haven’t really discussed fighting internally for quite some time," said NHL vice-president Mike Murphy. "When we do talk about it we generally talk about the magnitude of today’s fighters; the size of them and how much power they have. We don’t really worry about the knockout punch; more about the fact a player could hit his head on the ice if he gets punched hard."
The fact is, fighting has steadily been on the increase the past three years.
In 2005-06 an average of .75 fighting majors were called each game. That increased to .80 in 2006-07 and 1.07 last season. And if you thought the days of a team carrying a designated fighter would end just because the league cracked down on obstruction in an effort to generate more goals and scoring chances coming out of the lockout, forget about it.
Ottawa’s Brian McGrattan led the NHL in fighting majors with 19 in 2005-06 while Anaheim’s George Parros led the way with 18 in 2006-07. Last season Jared Boll of the Columbus Blue Jackets took things to a new level, dropping the gloves 27 times, three more than Riley Cote of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Parros and Zack Stortini were almost as busy fighting 23 times each.
This year things have been really nasty. There were four fights in a game between the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings Oct. 24.
The Kings and Blues?
What could they possibly have against one another?
"I have noticed games have been very intense this season," said Flyers coach John Stevens, "Especially games between divisional rivals. We played two games against New Jersey on the weekend and they both had the feel of playoff games. And it’s only a couple of weeks into the season.
"I think one of the reasons why the games are so intense is because of the parity in the league. With the salary cap, expectations are much higher so even games early in the season are considered very important."
The Flyers won both of those games – their first two wins of the season – and they were both very physical games. There were two fights in Friday night’s game and three more in Saturday’s game, including two on one stoppage of play.
The Flyers lead the NHL with 12 fighting majors while Vancouver is second with 11 and Anaheim third with 10. At the other end of the spectrum, the Minnesota Wild had just one fighting major while Boston, Florida, Ottawa and Tampa Bay have just two apiece.
It was assumed, after the Anaheim Ducks fought their way to the Stanley Cup championship two years ago, everybody else would fall into place and stock their lineups with pugilists. That didn’t happen. In fact, the Detroit Red Wings won the Cup last season and had the fewest fights of any team in the league with 21.
The Calgary Flames, by comparison, led the NHL with 70.
Asked if he had any theories about why fighting is on the rise, Flames captain Jarome Iginla suggested it might be just one of those years.
"I really don't have any idea why, other than it is still a part of the game," Iginla said. "It is still a way for teams to get momentum and you don't want to be intimidated."
So why is fighting up? Well, a few years ago The Hockey News had a cover story entitled: Death of The Goon. It was based purely on numbers. The first few months following the lockout year there was significantly less fighting.
Apparently goons can read.
Those that make their living fighting soon realized if they didn’t get busy, they might lose their jobs. Soon after the story was published, fighting numbers started to rise drastically.
Some have suggested NHL now stands for No Hit League. It seems like every time a player is hit hard – regardless of whether it was a clean check or not – a fight ensues.
Stevens doesn’t believe that to be the case.
"I think when a player delivers a hard hit while trying to knock an opponent off the puck, there is no issue," he said. "It’s when a player tries to knock the other player’s block off that teammates step in. The last thing a team wants to see is one of its best players or one of its kids being abused by anybody. If the hitter is going after the puck, it’s OK."
One thing is certain, while the NHL has come a long way in taking brawling out of the game, one-on-one fights are alive and well and there is no sign of that ever changing.