Nhl why is fighting allowed

The fight between the two teams usually settles things as it shows that it will happen if a team tries it again. It's no secret that people love to watch hockey fights. Many people might even go to hockey games solely just for the fights and big hits. This adds a layer of entertainment value to the game that no other major sports league has!

For almost years, Rule 56 states that fighting is allowed in the game, with consequences, however. So, many fans believe that changing, or eliminating, a rule that has been intertwined in the game for years would drastically change the game on many levels.

Fighting in Hockey does have an unwritten code among players, however. It is said that the code essentially dictates who can fight and for what reason. There is no rule that specifically says players have to fight less during these games. If not adhered to, players usually pay the price for it via a fight s. To conclude, fighting in hockey gives the game some edge, grit and personality to the game. It gives certain matchups that rivalry feeling that fans and analysts love to buy into.

With that comes three main arguments as to why fighting in hockey should be better regulated or eliminated altogether. They are:. Many believe that fighting in hockey is the cause of serious brain trauma, resulting in concussions, mental health problems, and death in some cases. Log out. US Markets Loading H M S In the news.

Graham Flanagan. Disturbing and Romanesque as it may be, fighting helps put fans in the stands and money in the team's bank account. Announcers are quick to point out how several guys will drop the gloves in order to fire up their team. One guy who is famous for fighting to light a fire under his team is Jarome Iginla.

If he feels like his team needs a spark, he'll find somebody to go with. Fighting has a real impact on the game and is a lot more than just two guys tossing bombs at each other because they didn't like the other guy's face.

Momentum shifts can be attributed to fights, teams will credit their fighter with wins because he went out and set the tone for a game. This ability has been limited over the years with the introduction of the fight instigator penalty, but the concept still holds true.

Players know that if they level some kind of hit on a player, especially a star player, they had better be ready to step up and accept a challenge for what they did. This especially holds true for dirty plays. If somebody takes a shot at one of your guys and it appears to be even the slightest bit dirty, count on that team swarming the offending player to exact some type of revenge. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist. When the Capitals played St. Louis in January for the first time since that hit, Wilson dropped the gloves with Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo in a fight that felt a lot more motivated by the Sundqvist hit than anything that was happening during the game.

Wilson was engaged with another Blues player when Bortuzzo injected himself into the conversation and sparked a fight. While most fights may start with players standing up for teammates, hockey has not completely lost the old enforcer mentality.

It has simply evolved. The typical fourth line enforces of the past are gone as everyone is expected to produce in the current era of the sport, but teams also cannot be without someone willing to drop the gloves to defend his teammates.

So when something happens, you go into Ottawa, you look at their lineup, it's a guy like [Mark Borowiecki], he's probably the guy that would fight if something happened. There's that understanding. I'm not going to go grab someone else on their team like the young [Brady Tkachuk] kid. There's just that understanding. Because of his growing role, Wilson cannot simply drop the gloves against anyone just because they ask. If you get a five-minute major, you could be in the box for 10 minutes because you have to wait for a whistle.

It can be a huge chunk of time so you've got to be really smart about it. In , the NHL adjusted its rule on instigating a fight to make the punishment a game misconduct. In , the league further changed the rule giving an instigator a two-minute minor, five-minute major and a minute misconduct penalty.