Evolution of instigator penalty altered game

[4thLineGoon]

Ask a player, executive, fan or pundit about the NHL's instigator penalty and you're likely to receive a passionate opinion.

A form of the rule has existed as far back as 1937 -- "A Major penalty shall be imposed on any player who starts fisticuffs," the League's rule book read that year -- but it was before the start of the 1992-93 season that the instigator began changing and shaping the NHL that exists today.

"A player deemed to be the instigator of fisticuffs shall be assessed a Game Misconduct," became the official wording of the rule in 1992. It was most recently adjusted in 1996 to levy a two-minute minor, a five-minute major and a 10-minute misconduct to the guilty party. The rule was designed to curb fighting, which statistics show has steadily decreased during the past 20 years.

The instigator rule draws the ire of some players, the praise of others. It receives simultaneous credit for cleaning up the game and criticism for failing to allow players to police themselves.

But how can a rule that existed before Gordie Howe played his first NHL game get so much credit for both helping and hurting the game during the past 20 years?

To heap all the blame or praise on some new language on a nearly 60-year-old rule doesn't paint the entire picture of that time.

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Interesting read, Gregson is an idiot and Bobby Clarke might be the biggest turncoat in the league. "Brawling was out of control?" You're not one to talk.

[bruiser11]

Always hate when it goes down like this: If a player throws a dirty hit at an opposing player then someone else comes over and drops their gloves and issues a pounding they get 17 minutes? Should be just 5.

[shaud19]

Originally Posted by bruiser11

Always hate when it goes down like this: If a player throws a dirty hit at an opposing player then someone else comes over and drops their gloves and issues a pounding they get 17 minutes? Should be just 5.

Right on. Defending a teammates after a questionable hit should not result in that many penalty minutes.

What a pansy! Throw a hit, back it up.

"Of course, there were all the immediate naysayers, which is pretty common in hockey," Gregson told NHL.com. "They don't have patience and they always try to find the fault instead of the good. It was a rule we had to bring in because there was a concern that fighting was becoming a pretty big issue in the game, and they didn't want to take the physicality out of the game, but they wanted to get rid of some of that retribution element where I throw a body check on you and another teammate comes over and starts punching away at me. They wanted to address that.

[FurnaceFace]

I guess it is ok to lay out any player with a head shot , leave my feet, use my elbow, check from behind, slewfoot, catch someone when they are in a vulnerable position. According to buddy if he lays a body on someone. If someone starts pounding on you, usually 9 times outta 10 if someone is coming to pound on you, there is good reason. I just listed 6 .