Marty McSorley Talks Hockey During Dinner Keynote

“I think fighting has a place,” said McSorley. “I think that fighting kept a lot of the little possible injuries out of the game. It really kept guys honest. When they knew they had to answer to people on the ice, they had to keep respect for guys on the ice. And tough guys didn’t go out after the top players. We basically kept the game honest and kept the game going.”

If fighting is ever penalized with an automatic game misconduct, then McSorley believes that there will be an increase in the number of injuries. He noted that injuries increased when additional penalties were implemented for the instigator in 1992.

“I don’t know if I could do that job today,” said McSorley. “With the rules, the instigator, the way that they’re calling it, I don’t know if I could do it anymore.”