by Brian Williams

Created on: March 28, 2009   Last Updated: March 31, 2009

Fighting in the NHL is a tired argument.

Hockey is unlike any other sport, one whose contestants need to learn an entire mode of transportation in order to compete (this doesn't include figure or speed skating; we're talking physical contact here folks). This alone allows the sport to operate under a certain set of rules, of conditions not afforded other competitors, since every popular team based sport other than football, lacrosse, and rugby discourages rough physical play.

Many proponents of the fighting ban are outsiders that don't know the difference between icing and offsides and wonder why the teams just don't employ fat guys to be the goalies. This is the same misguided bunch who think haymakers are eco-friendly and are directly responsible for taking Tom & Jerry cartoons off of television. They get the gist of how hockey is supposed to be played, but have no clue concerning the subliminal game that's being played on the benches and in the trenches. Hockey fans know: when two guys square off on the ice, it has less to do about fighting in anger and more about sending a message to the other team or to that team's respective fans. It has to do with creating a spark, inspiring teammates to work harder in a comeback situation or to avenge a lopsided loss. It's all about the unwritten code that demands respect from its players for its players, and when non-fans get involved that respect gets misinterpreted as knuckleheaded barbarism in our overly PC world.

It was simple in old days. A team had a star, the scorer who lit the lamp and led the team in scoring, the guy who smiled in the interviews and dazzled in the highlight reels. The team also had a bruiser, the acknowledged goon. Stocky and usually toothless, they often possessed little actual hockey skill, as their job was to protect the team's golden boy from the other goon on the opposing team. If such an offense occurred, the two enforcers stood toe to toe and battled it out, sometimes winning, other times not winning. Victory wasn't really the desired outcome, sending the message was of retribution was. And each combatant followed the rules of (mis)conduct: no biting, no skate kicking, no cheap shots. Nothing fancy, just pounding away until the other guy relents or the refs break it up. Often the fighters were on even terms with each other and had a league wide brotherhood that extended through entire careers.

Fighting in the NHL is as much a part of hockey as the slam dunk is to basketball, and some leeway needs to be given for the enjoyment and growth of the sport. Fighting is no more a rule bender than when NBA players travel in route to a dunk, and no call is ever given. It's the accepted part of that sport at that level. Same applies to the NHL. Fighting is part of the game. And while there has been situations that called for legal action outside the rink (and rightfully so), players should be allowed police themselves; when done correctly, uncalled for instances of player violence will decrease, not increase.

Let them play the game the way it was meant to be played.

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