Fighting is Down Says the NY Times

O RLY?

Not an op-ed by any means, just another fighting-is-down article.

As N.H.L. Picks Up Speed, Fighters Are Phased Out

BUFFALO, Dec. 16 — The game had all the ingredients for a classic hockey punch-up, an intense division rivalry, a national television broadcast in Canada and two heavyweight enforcers. But the Ottawa Senators’ 3-1 victory against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night turned out to be relatively tame.

That is the way it has been in the N.H.L. since play resumed after a lockout that wiped out the 2004-5 season. Scoring has increased. Fighting has dropped drastically.

Well, we know that, but I do need to bring you to this part:

There is no consensus why fighting has waned, but a few factors crop up during discussions of the issue: A collective-bargaining agreement between the N.H.L. and the players association that ended the lockout resulted in a salary cap, so some teams cannot afford to pay a player who does little more than throw punches. The N.H.L. has also emphasized enforcing the rules to stress speed and skill. Slow-footed fighters have become a liability and must improve their skating or find another career.

I do need to point out something I think Matt Higgins of the Times missed that gets brought up during the schedule debate: rivalries.  The lockout killed them.  A year off and all the roster movement just drained all the bad blood that was there.  Fighting rising this season, even if only slightly, was to be expected.  So don’t write off that unbalanced schedule just yet.

Listening to feedback from players I doubt you’ll see many current enforcers get a chance to play a regular shift, no matter how much they improve their skating and other skills.  It will phase out most considered a one-dimensional goon, but it won’t stop the young multi-dimensional “tough guy” from getting his chance out of juniors or after a couple of years in the minors.

The numbers aren’t going to get back to 1980s-levels, but those predicting the death of fighting a year ago will be surprised which direction those numbers go in from here.

Sometimes change isn’t immediate, and the real long-term affects of rules changes (or rules implementations) on fighting has yet to be seen.