The End Of The Enforcer?

This past week several articles appeared that asked that question and then reported on the number of enforcers who are out of work or were put on waivers and sent to the minors.  There was wailing and gnashing of teeth amongst the fight fans and former enforcers were quoted saying the direction was a mistake.  However, although in my opinion these player moves were positive for hockey, I suspect the NHL fight culture didn’t change overnight.

What Are We Fighting For Again?

Lots of media coverage this week in response to Ralph Nader’s open letter to Gary Bettman (available here).   The comment section attached to any of the online articles on this story was full of fans defending fighting because “it makes players accountable”.  So let’s take 11 recent hockey fights at random and look at them in detail to see if we can understand the crucial role of the enforcer.