Are you fisticuff fanatics paying attention? Fighting in the NHL is near extinction and another arrow through the heart of the bloody-knucklers was fired by the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) on Friday.
The league announced some rule changes for the 2016-17 season, including one that may put an end to dropping the gloves in the NHL.
The OHL addressed fighting in the game by lowering the threshold prior to automatic disciplinary action being assessed from 10 fights per player per season to three fights per player per season. Players exceeding such threshold will be subject to an automatic two game suspension, for each fight exceeding the threshold.
The league also decided that if a player is instigated upon, that fighting major will not be included in that player’s total number of fights. All total there were 86 players that dropped the gloves at least three times, including 56 that fought more than that.
It’s not rule changes or fines and suspensions in the NHL that will stop fighting, it’s rules like this in the lower levels that will reduce and eventually eliminate fighting. Players that are feeding into the NHL from the lower leagues will mature with these rules and style of play. Once a player grows up without fighting in his sport, he’ll not suddenly be expected to display his pugilistic abilities once he reaches the NHL.
Just 23 percent of NHL games had a fight during the 2015-16 season. This is the lowest number since that statistic was tracked (2000) and it had continued to decline for eight years. In 2008-09 more than 40 percent of NHL games had at least one fight.
“As the number one development league in the world for the NHL and CIS, the OHL continually challenges ourselves to improve the on-ice environment and evolve the game for the benefit of the most important people in our game, our players,” said David Branch, OHL Commissioner.
The once huge issue of banning fighting is taking care of itself. It is dying a natural death from the inside out. Not because of league mandates or rule changes. Not because of a maniacal Commissioner looking to tick off traditionalists, but because it just isn’t necessary anymore.
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