No Surprises From Leafs – Sabres Brawl

So last night the Buffalo Sabres visited the Toronto Maple Leafs for a meaningless preseason game and anyone who is a hockey fan has read an article or watched the video.  If you missed then you can catch up on the news here at the National Post or at The Toronto Star.   Any long-time hockey watchers wouldn’t be surprised by the action or the results.

A Round Up of Recent News On Hockey Fights and Concussions

At a meeting this past August a group of Canadian doctor’s came down firmly on the NHL’s lack of action on concussions and fighting.  It made a lot of news and got spun into several other opinions and news pieces.   Here’s my thoughts on a sample of what was published.

NHL & NHLPA Earn Fees While EA Sports Promotes Fighting In Hockey

In the past few weeks EA Sports has ramped up their promotion of NHL 14 and is targeting fans of the hockey video game series to drive orders before the official release.  Prominent in their advertising and early reviews is the new feature, the “Enforcer Engine”   The majority of hype about NHL 14 is about fighting, and the NHL and NHLPA collect fees from every copy sold while hockey’s image suffers.

An Open Letter to Donald Fehr and the NHLPA

On Wednesday, May 22nd, an announcement was made on Radio-Canada.ca that Donald Fehr and the NHLPA would seek to curb fighting in the NHL.  According to the report this direction was announced at a meeting on April 25th with a dozen influential agents.  This announcement is only the beginning and we are a long way away from seeing real action on the issue of fighting in hockey.  With that in mind I thought that I would write a letter to Fehr and NHLPA membership and see if I could offer some advice on how to move the discussion forward.

Donald Fehr and NHLPA Seek to Curb Fighting in NHL

It would appear that some leadership on the issue of fighting in the NHL is emerging, and not from the league or the teams.   It was announced today on the French Radio Canada website that Donald Fehr and the NHLPA are working towards the elimination of fighting in the NHL.

Rat PIM Update – Leafs Enforcers Policing the Game

Hockey enforcers are touted as “policemen” in hockey.  According to some they hand out retribution for cheap shots and their targets will think twice before about repeating their sins.  It has even been suggested that their mere presence on the bench will calm things down and their opponents will play differently.   Unfortunately that’s all myth and perception because the facts tell a different story.

Is Fighting Part of NHL’s Marketing, Or Are They Embarrassed By It

“It’s time we took some action because, if something isn’t done soon, it will ruin the game for all of us. I’ve never seen so much stuff like this. I never thought it could be so bad.  It’s becoming a disaster,” he said. “The idiot owners, the incompetent coaches, the inept players are dragging the game into the mud. They’re destroying it with their senseless violence.”   When one of hockey’s top players speaks out you would expect that the league and the NHLPA would listen and perhaps respond.   Except the NHL has never fully articulated its stance on fighting and violence despite ample opportunity to do so.

Am I the Only One Who Believes Fighting is Bad for Hockey?

I’ve spent more than a year publishing 3 or 4 articles per month on why fighting and enforcers are negatively impacting the sport of hockey.  Most are opinion pieces but a significant amount provide data and research that dispels the myths that the hockey establishment (players, coaches, team and league executives) uses to explain why it remains in the game.  But I’m not the only one providing real facts on why fighting hurts the team.

Rat PIM Update – NHL Teams Fighting to Win

So the league is settling down with fewer fights per game over the past few weeks.  Some teams have made dramatic changes, either adding some 4th line grit or downsizing their police force and focusing on hockey.  I wonder if the teams who have significantly increased or decreased their fights per game have improved their win – loss record.   Let’s find out.

NHL Dodges Another Bullet With Martin - Kostopoulos Fight

Last night Matt Martin fought Tom Kostopoulos and quickly dropped him to the ice unconscious.   No word at the time of this writing about Kostopoulos’ condition.   The video was shared a few million times across the web and a like amount of jokes and comments about the knockout dominated social media.   I’m sure that the NHL held their breath for a few hours and then let out another sigh of relief.