Fighting in ice hockey

This article is about condoned fighting in ice hockey. For disallowed violent acts, see Violence in ice hockey.

A fight during a junior league ice hockey game between Frölunda HC and VIK Västerås HK

Fighting is an established aspect of ice hockey in North America, with a long history involving many levels of amateur and professional play and including some notable individual fights. Although a definite source of criticism, it is a considerable draw for the sport, and some fans attend games primarily to see fights. Fighting is usually performed by one or more enforcers on a given hockey team and is governed by a complex system of unwritten rules that players, coaches, officials, and the media refer to as "the code". Some fights are spontaneous, while others are premeditated by the participants. While officials tolerate fighting during hockey games, they impose a variety of penalties on players who engage in fights. Unique to North American professional team sport, the National Hockey League (NHL) and most minor professional leagues in North America do not eject players outright for fighting but major European and collegiate hockey leagues do. Therefore, the vast majority of fights occur in the NHL and other North American professional leagues.

Physical play in hockey, consisting of allowed techniques such as checking and disallowed techniques such as elbowing, high sticking, and cross-checking, is inextricably linked to fighting. Broadly speaking, fighting exists in organized ice hockey to help deter overly rough play, to allow teams to protect their star players, and to create a sense of solidarity among teammates. It is possible for players to become notable solely for their fighting ability. These players are known as "enforcers". The debate over allowing fighting in ice hockey games is ongoing, with most players, administrators, and fans favoring condoned fisticuffs. Despite its potentially negative consequences, such as heavier enforcers (or "heavyweights") knocking each other out, administrators are not considering eliminating fighting from the game, since most players consider it essential. Additionally, the majority of fans oppose eliminating fights from professional hockey games. However, considerable opposition to fighting exists and efforts to eliminate it continue.

History

Hockey fights per NHL season
Season	# of fights
2006–07	497
2005–06	466
2003–04	789
Source: Hockeyfights.com 2007

Fighting has been a part of ice hockey since the sport's rise in popularity in 19th century Canada. There are a number of theories behind the integration of fighting into the game, the most common of which being that the relative lack of rules in the early history of hockey encouraged physical intimidation and control. The implementation of some features, such as the blue lines in 1918, actually encouraged fighting due to the increased level of physical play. Creation of the blue lines allowed forward passing, but only in the neutral zone. Therefore, puck handlers played at close quarters and were subject to a great deal of physical play. The emergence of enforcers, who protected the puck handlers and fought when necessary, followed shortly thereafter.

In 1922, the NHL introduced Rule 56 which formally regulated fighting, or "fisticuffs" as it was called in the official NHL rulebook. Rather than ejecting players from the game, as was the practice in amateur and collegiate hockey, players would be given a five-minute major penalty. Rule 56 and its language also filtered down to the minor professional and junior leagues in North America. Promoters such as Tex Rickard of Madison Square Garden, who also promoted boxing events, saw financial opportunities in hockey fights and devised marketing campaigns around the rivalries between various team enforcers.

In the current NHL rulebook, the archaic reference to 'fisticuffs' has been removed; fighting is now governed under Rule 47 in the NHL rulebook. Referees are given considerable latitude in determining what exactly constitutes a fight and what penalties are applicable to the participants. Significant modifications from the original rule involve penalties which can be assessed to a fight participant deemed to have instigated the fight and additional penalties resulting from instigating a fight while wearing a face-shield.

Most fights per NHL season
Season	Player	# of fights
2006–07	George Parros	18
2005–06	Brian McGrattan	19
2003–04	Krzysztof Oliwa	31
2002–03	Jody Shelley	27
2001–02	Peter Worrell	33
Source: Hockeyfights.com 2007

Though fighting was rarer from the 1920s through the early 1960s, it was more brutal than it is today. Star players were also known to fight for themselves since fewer professional teams existed and competition was fierce for roster spots. Therefore, enforcers did not typically make professional teams. However, with the NHL expansion in the late 1960s and the emergence of skilled players like Wayne Gretzky, enforcers became more common. The average number of fights per game rose above 1.0 during the 1980s. Many teams signed enforcers such as Dave Semenko, Marty McSorley, and Stu Grimson to protect and fight for smaller offensive players such as Gretzky, Paul Kariya, and Teemu Selänne.

Since the 1970s, three rules have curtailed the number and scope of fights in the NHL. In 1977, the league created the "Third Man In" rule which attempts to eliminate the bench-clearing brawl by providing for the ejection of the first player that joins a fight already in progress. Another rule automatically suspends the first player from each team that leaves the bench to join a fight when it is not their shift. As of the 2006–07 season, the "Instigator" rule, which adds an additional two-minute minor penalty to the player who starts a fight, has contributed to the decline of fighting in the NHL. As of the 2006–07 season, the average is just over .61 fights per game.

Rules and penalties

Fighting is illegal in the NHL, the North American junior leagues, and other North American professional minor leagues, where a five-minute major penalty is given. What separates these leagues from other hockey leagues and nearly all other sports is that they do not eject players simply for participating in a fight. However, fighting is punishable by ejection in the Peewee, College and European leagues, Olympic competition, and in women's hockey at any level.

The rulebooks of the NHL and other professional leagues contain specific rules for fighting. These rules state that at the initiation of a fight, both players must drop their sticks so as not to use them as a weapon. Players must also "drop" or shake off their protective gloves in order to fight bare-knuckled (essentially, "throwing down the gauntlet"), as the hard leather and plastic of hockey gloves would increase the effect of landed blows. Players must also heed a referee warning to end a fight once the opponents have been separated. Failure to adhere to any of these rules results in an immediate game misconduct penalty and the possibility of fines and suspension from future games.

In many leagues, referees will permit a fight between two players to run its course until one or both players end up on the ice. Referees will actively try to break up fights involving more than two participants or multiple fights.

North American professional leagues

In the NHL, American Hockey League, ECHL, CHL, International Hockey League, and other notable minor leagues, officials punish combatants with five-minute major penalties for fighting (hence the phrase "five for fighting"). A player is automatically ejected and suspended if the player tries to leave the bench to join a fight, and is also automatically ejected for using weapons of any kind (such as using a skate to kick an opponent, using a stick to hit an opponent, or wrapping tape around one's hands), as they can cause serious injury. A player who receives two instigator penalties or participates in three fights in a single game is also ejected automatically. Furthermore, his coach can be suspended up to ten games for allowing players to leave the bench to join a fight.

A player who commits three major penalties, including fighting, during a game is automatically ejected, suspended, and fined. A player ejected for three major penalties in a game, or for use of weapons, cannot be replaced for five minutes.

In 2003, the ECHL added an ejection, fine, and suspension of an additional game for any player charged as an instigator of a fight during the final five minutes of the third period or any overtime. The NHL and AHL adopted the rule in 2005–06, and the NHL includes a fine against the ejected player's head coach.

European, Collegiate, and Olympic

In Division I & III NCAA hockey, the fighters are given a Game Disqualification, which is an ejection from the game and a suspension for as many games as the player has accrued Game Disqualifications during the course of a season. For example, if a player engages in a fight having already received a Game Disqualification earlier in the season, he is ejected from the game and then suspended for his team's next two games. This automatic suspension has made fighting in college hockey relatively rare.

Fighting is prohibited in Olympic ice hockey and in European professional hockey leagues. The international rules (by IIHF) specify in the rule 528 – Fisticuffs or Roughing the following penalties (among others):

• Match penalty (the player is ejected from the game and another player serves 5 minutes on the penalty bench) for a player who starts fisticuffs.
• Minor penalty (2 minutes) for a player who retaliates with a blow or attempted blow.
• Game misconduct penalty (ejection from the game) in addition to any other penalties for any player who is the first to intervene in a fight which is already in progress.
• Double minor penalty (4 minutes), major penalty + game misconduct penalty (5 minutes and ejection from the game), or match penalty (at the discretion of the referee) for a player who continues the fighting after being told by the referee or a linesman to stop.
• Misconduct penalty (cannot play for 10 minutes; the second misconduct penalty in one game means automatic ejection) for a player who intentionally takes off his gloves in a fight.

Enforcers

Main article: Enforcer (hockey)

The role of "enforcer" on a hockey team is unofficial but crucial to the game. Enforcers occasionally play regular shifts like other players, but their primary role is deterring opposing players from rough play. Coaches often send enforcers out when opposing enforcers are on the ice or any time when it is necessary to check excessively physical play by the opposing team. Historical players who have made a name for themselves within the sport by frequently engaging in fights include Red Horner, Lou Fontinato, John Ferguson, Dave Schultz, and Tiger Williams; modern-day players include Tony Twist, Marty McSorley, Rob Ray, Tie Domi, Kelly Chase, Georges Laraque, Ken Baumgartner, Donald Brashear, Joe Kocur and Bob Probert. Enforcers, particularly those with questionable playing skills, can be colloquially referred to as goons.

Causes

There are many reasons for fights during a hockey game. Some reasons are related to game play, such as retaliation, momentum-building, intimidation, deterrence, attempting to draw "reaction penalties", and protecting star players. There are also some personal reasons such as retribution for past incidents, bad blood between players, and simple job security for enforcers.

Game-related reasons

A large fight in an OHL hockey game between the Sudbury Wolves and Ottawa 67s

Of the many reasons for fighting, the foremost is for retaliation. When players engage in play that members of the opposing team consider unscrupulous, a fight can ensue. On rare occasions, the fight may be between the assailant and the victim or between the assailant and an enforcer from the victim's team, but most of the time the fight is between any two opposing enforcers. Fights that occur for retaliation purposes can be in immediate response to an on-ice incident, to incidents from earlier in the game, or to actions from past games. Enforcers who intend to start a fight have to consider their timing due to the Instigator rule. For example, putting the opposing team on a power play due to penalties incurred from fighting is less advisable when the game is close.

Enforcers sometimes start fights to build game momentum and provide a psychological advantage over the opposing team. These fights usually involve two enforcers, but may involve any player who is agitating the opposition. This type of fight raises morale on the team of the player who wins, and often gets the home crowd into the game as well. For that reason, it can also be a gamble to start a fight for momentum; if an enforcer loses the fight, the momentum can swing the wrong way.

Intimidation is an important element of a hockey game and some enforcers start fights just to intimidate opposing players in hopes that they will refrain from agitating skilled players. For example, in the late 1950s, Gordie Howe helped establish himself as an enforcer by defeating Lou Fontinato, a notable tough guy who tallied over 1,200 penalty minutes in his career.. Fontinato suffered a broken nose from the fight. After that incident, Howe got a lot more space on the ice and was able to score many goals over the span of his career because he intimidated other players. Conversely, games in European professional leagues are known to be less violent than North American games because fighting is discouraged in Europe by ejection and heavy fines. Since the penalties for fighting are so severe, the enforcers are less able to intimidate opposing players with fighting and said players take more liberties on the ice.

For teams that face each other frequently, players may fight just to send the message to the opposing players that they will be the target of agitation or aggression in future games. Teams that are losing by a considerable margin often start these fights near the end of the game when they have nothing to lose. Enforcers may start fights with more skilled players to draw what is called a "reaction penalty", an undisciplined reaction to aggressive play on the part of the enforcer. This practice is also known to be difficult due to the Instigator rule.

Another reason is the protection of star players. Over the history of hockey, many enforcers have been signed simply to protect players like Gretzky, who was protected by Semenko, McSorley and others, and Brett Hull, who was protected by Chase and others. The NHL averaged twice as many fights during Gretzky's prime with the Edmonton Oilers than it did during the 1970s; some sources credit Gretzky with being a major cause in the statistical rise.

Personal reasons

Many young enforcers need to establish their role early in their career to avoid losing their jobs. Due to the farm systems that most professional hockey leagues use, enforcers who get a chance to play at the level above their current one (for example, an American Hockey League player getting a chance to play in an NHL game) need to show other players, coaches, and fans that they are worthy of the enforcer role on the team.

There are also times when players and even entire teams carry on personal rivalries that have little to do with individual games; fights frequently occur for no other reason. An infamous rivalry that produced many fights was between the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche during the 1990s.

Efforts to ban fighting

Criticism of fighting in ice hockey typically arises after acts of violence committed during fights are singled out in the media. For example, on March 21, 2007, Colton Orr of the New York Rangers fought with Todd Fedoruk of the Philadelphia Flyers and ended up knocking him unconscious.

Physician perspective
“Fighting does cause injuries, which range from fractures of the hands and face to lacerations and eye injuries. At present, it is an endemic and ritualized blot on the reputation of the North American game.”
Source: Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine, Position Statement, 1988

Fedoruk already had titanium plates in his face from a fight earlier in the season. The resulting media coverage of the incident renewed calls for a fighting ban. Some players acknowledge that there is no harm in discussing the issue; however, most players and administrators continue to insist that fighting stay as a permanent element of organized ice hockey. Some league administrators, such as NHL senior vice-president and director of hockey operations Colin Campbell, have been circulating and considering the idea of banning fighting in response to incidents such as the Fedoruk-Orr fight.

NHL perspective
“Fighting has always had a role in the game…from a player safety standpoint, what happens in fighting is something we need to look at just as we need to look at hits to the head. But we're not looking to have a debate on whether fighting is good or bad or should be part of the game.”
Source: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman at 2007 press conference, CBC Sports

Some sports journalists have been articulating the idea with increasing frequency during the 2006–07 NHL season that fighting adds nothing to the sport and should be banned. Among the reasons they cite are that it is unsportsmanlike, is a "knee-jerk" reaction that detracts from the skillful aspects of the game, and that it is simply a waste of time. Opponents of fighting cite that international and college hockey, which both harshly penalize fighting with suspensions, lack the incidents or "stick work" violence proponents claim to fear, and question what it is about North American professional ice hockey players — unique to major professional team sport — that renders them incapable of controlling themselves on the ice without fighting.

Community members often become involved in the debate over banning fighting. In December 2006, a school board trustee in London, Ontario attended a London Knights game and was shocked by the fighting and by the crowd's positive reaction to it. This experience led him to organize an ongoing effort to ban fighting in the Ontario Hockey League, where the Knights compete, by attempting to gain the support of other school boards and by writing letters to OHL administrators. On the advice of its Medical Health Officer, the Middlesex-London Health board has supported recommendations to ban fighting across amateur hockey and to increase disciplinary measures to ensure deterrence.

Etiquette

There are several informal rules governing fighting in ice hockey that players rarely discuss but take quite seriously. The most important aspect of this etiquette is that opposing enforcers must agree to a fight, usually via a verbal or physical exchange on the ice. This agreement helps both players avoid being given an instigator penalty, and helps keep unwilling participants out of fights.

Enforcers typically only fight each other, with only the occasional spontaneous fight breaking out between one or two opponents who do not usually fight. Enforcers spend time researching the techniques and weaknesses of other enforcers, and many carry on long-standing rivalries. There is a high degree of respect among enforcers as well; they will respect a rival who declines a fight because he is playing with injuries, a frequent occurrence, because enforcers consider winning a fight with an injured opponent to be an empty victory. This is also known as granting a "free pass".

Long-standing rivalries result in numerous rematches, especially if one of the enforcers has to decline an invitation to fight during a given game. This is one of the reasons that enforcers may fight at the beginning of a game, when nothing obvious has happened to agitate the opponents. On the other hand, it is bad etiquette to try to initiate a fight with an enforcer who is near the end of his shift, since the more rested player will have an obvious advantage.

Another important aspect of etiquette is simply fighting fairly and cleanly. Fairness is maintained by not wearing equipment that could injure the opposing fighter, such as face shields, gloves, or masks, not pulling the opposing fighter's jersey over his head, and not assaulting referees or linesmen. Finally, whatever the outcome of the fight, etiquette dictates that players who choose to fight win and lose those fights gracefully. Otherwise, they risk losing the respect of their teammates and fans.

Tactics

Fighting tactics are governed by several actual rules, and enforcers also adopt informal tactics particular to their style and personality.

One tactic adopted by players is known as "going for it", in which the player puts his head down and just throws as many punches as he can, as fast as he can. In the process, that player takes as many punches as he delivers, although some of them are to the hard forehead. Fighters usually must keep one hand on their opponent's jersey since the ice surface makes maintaining balance very difficult. For this reason, the majority of a hockey fight consists of the players holding on with one hand and punching with the other. Enforcers such as Darren McCarty advocate letting the opposing enforcer get a few punches in before putting in maximum effort, and assert that fighting is as much about knowing how to take a punch as it is about delivering punches.

Other examples include Gordie Howe's tactic of holding the sweater of his opponent right around the armpit of his preferred punching arm so as to impede his movement. Bob Probert, of the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks, was known to allow his opponents to punch until they showed signs of tiring, at which time he would take over and usually dominate the fight. Some consider long-time enforcer Rob Ray to be the reason that hockey jerseys are now equipped with tie-down straps that prevent their removal; he would always remove his jersey during fights so his opponents would have nothing to grab on to. This is commonly referred to as the "Rob Ray Rule".

Notable fights and brawls

Some fights have attracted significant media attention due to injuries sustained by one or both participants and other factors.

• Maurice "Rocket" Richard knocked out enforcer Bob Dill twice in one game. Dill had been hired by the New York Rangers specifically to rough up Richard.
• World Hockey Association Birmingham Bulls enforcer Dave Hanson, known for his 11-year professional career and role in the movie Slap Shot, fought hall of famer Bobby Hull of the Winnipeg Jets and in the process got Hull's wig caught in his knuckles. The incident landed Hanson in the news, and irate Winnipeg fans attempted to assault him on his way out of the arena.
• April 20, 1984 - A second-round playoffs matchup between the Quebec Nordiques and the Montreal Canadiens became a team melee at the end of the second period, after many smaller scaled battles had occurred throughout the game. The teams erupted into battle again before the third period began, provoked by the announcement of penalties and misconducts. A total of 250 penalty minutes and 10 game misconducts were handed out. This game prompted referee Bruce Hood to retire from the NHL once the playoffs ended.
• January 4, 1987 - A World Junior Ice Hockey Championships game between Canada and the Soviet Union was the scene of a bench-clearing brawl that lasted 20 minutes and prompted officials to turn off the arena lights in an attempt to stop it. The fighting was particularly dangerous as fighting was a surprise and a custom unknown to the Soviet players, some of whom escalated the fighting beyond what was considered acceptable in North America. The incident caused both teams to be ejected from the tournament, costing Canada an assured medal, and both teams were also barred from the end-of-tournament dinner. A book by Gare Joyce was written regarding the event.
• March 26, 1997, Bloody Wednesday - The Avalanche and the Red Wings engaged in nine fights, including bouts between Darren McCarty and Claude Lemieux and goalies Patrick Roy and Mike Vernon. Lemieux, once ranked by ESPN as the NHL's most hated player, did not drop his gloves and instead bent down to his knees, and covered his head with his gloves to protect himself — a maneuver known as "turtling".
• February 9, 2001 - A UK Nottingham Panthers v Sheffield Steelers game (the pernultimate in the season) saw "one of the worst scenes of violence seen at a British ice hockey rink." when Sheffield enforcer, Dennis Vial, crosschecked Nottingham forward Greg Hadden. Eight players were thrown out after the ensuing fracas, along with coaches Mike Blaisdell and Peter Woods. Referee Moray Hanson was forced to delay the game for 45 minutes while tempers cooled. The incident set a new league record for the number of penalty minutes in a single period - 404. * BBC ReportPhotographs Video Reported fines (CBC)
• March 5, 2004 - A Philadelphia Flyers – Ottawa Senators game resulted in five consecutive brawls in the closing minutes of the game, including fights between many players who are not known as enforcers and a fight between Flyers goalie Robert Esche and Senators goalie Patrick Lalime. The game ended with an NHL record 419 penalty minutes.
• February 22, 2007 - Every player on the ice in a Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators game, including goalies Martin Biron and Ray Emery fought following an unpenalized hit and injury to Sabres captain Chris Drury. More than 100 penalty minutes were distributed Sabres coach Lindy Ruff was fined $10,000 by the NHL. He admitted to sending out a line of enforcers against Ottawa's skilled players and instructing them to "Go out and run 'em." Ruff also went over the glass and admonished Sens coach Bryan Murray, where (former enforcer) Rob Ray's MSG Network microphone picked up the Buffalo coach yelling to his counterpart, "Don't go after my fucking captain!"

Notable promoters

• Fighting is a popular component of Don Cherry's Rock 'em Sock 'em Hockey video-highlight series. Cherry made 17 editions of the series which has sold more than a million videos.
• The Battle of the Hockey Enforcers involved Link Gaetz and featured just fights on ice but with no actual hockey played. The City of Prince George, British Columbia tried but failed to cancel the 2005 sporting event at the city-owned arena.
• In 2007, Derek Boogaard of the Minnesota Wild started hockey fighting camps for children, complete with T-shirts splattered with pretend blood. Boogaard argued that the focus was on teaching players how to protect themselves while critics argued that it contradicted efforts to renew youth interest in joining leagues.

See also

• Gordie Howe hat trick
• Pest (hockey)
• Violence in ice hockey

References

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Further reading

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External links

• Hockey Fight Video Clips
• Hockeyenforcers.com
• Hockeyfights.com
• Rough House Hockey
• DropYourGloves.com
• PRGOONS.net