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“I went to a fight the other night, and a hockey game broke out,” the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield joked. [1]
Fighting has been part of hockey practically since its inception and part of NHL hockey since the league’s formation in 1917. The league instituted Rule 56: Fisticuffs in 1922, which states, “A major penalty shall be imposed on any player who fights. A player who is deemed to be the instigator of an altercation shall be assessed an instigating minor penalty, a major for fighting and a ten minute misconduct.” [5][6]
The current NHL rulebook addresses fighting in Rule 46, which defines a fight as “when at least one player punches or attempts to punch an opponent repeatedly or when two players wrestle in such a manner as to make it difficult for the Linespersons to intervene and separate the combatants.” Referees purposefully are given wide latitude for punishments to disperse penalties based on the extent of each player’s participation in the fight. Players who fight are sent to the penalty box during the game and may be subject to additional fines or suspensions. [7]
In the early 1960s, there was a fight in about 20% of NHL games. That percentage increased to 100% by the 1980s, when there was an average of one fight every game. In 1992, the NHL introduced an instigator rule adding an extra two minutes in the penalty box for anyone caught starting a fight. [8][9]
Fighting has since decreased dramatically: in the 2001/2002 season, there were 803 fights; in the 2022/2023 season, there were 334. [39]
Fighting in hockey has been banned nearly everywhere outside of the NHL (National Hockey League), including youth and NCAA games, and the Winter Olympics. While not explicitly banned, Canadian junior hockey leagues strongly discourage fighting with steep penalties for repeat offenders. [3][4][40]
So, should fighting be allowed in hockey?
(This article first appeared on ProCon.org and was last updated on Apr. 22, 2024.)
Professional hockey is a fast-moving sport, and referees often miss illegal body checking, hits with hockey sticks, and other aggressive plays. Retaliation by fighting brings accountability and prevents more of those dangerous plays from happening. [10]
Hockey players don’t fight just for the sake of violence. Combat within the context of the game serves as a deterrent to hurting star players because the aggressors know there will be payback.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman states that fighting may prevent other injuries in a fast-moving, emotional, and intensely physical game. And former professional player Brandon Prust agrees: “If they take fighting out…. I guarantee more people will get hurt from an increase in open-ice body checks.” [12][13]
Steven Stamkos, a forward for the Tampa Bay Lightning, says, “You have to police yourselves sometimes on the ice…. When you see a fight now it’s a response, someone didn’t like something that was done on the ice. I think you need that. It’s healthy.” [11]
SportsCenter anchor John Buccigross writes, “Fights can add entertainment value, change a game and have fans talking for days.” [23]
Travis Hughes, SB Nation hockey writer, says, “Fighting exists in hockey because we enjoy watching people fight.” And a majority of hockey fans agree with him, opposing a fighting ban and agreeing that the on-ice scuffles are a significant part of the game at the pro level, according to a Toronto Star newspaper poll. [19][20]
Brawls increase attendance: an economic study of hockey found that “violence, specifically fighting, tends to attract fans in large numbers across the United States and Canada.” Hockey fight clips get shown on ESPN’s SportsCenter and have millions of views on YouTube. Fights help the NHL stand out from other sports because no other team sports sanction brawling. [21][22]
Rich Clune, a Maple Leafs forward and long-time fighter, said, “I think the NHL is cognizant of the fact that they can’t eliminate it and turn it into a non-contact sport because I don’t think it’ll sell… especially in America where the game is still growing.” [24]
Fighting is an essential part of the professional game, and it is governed by the NHL rulebook. 98% of NHL players surveyed say they do not want to ban fighting in hockey. [7][30]
Ross Bernstein, the author of the book The Code: The Unwritten Rules of Fighting and Retaliation in the NHL, states that “hockey is, and always has been, a sport steeped in a culture of violence. Players have learned, however, to navigate through its mazes and labyrinths of physical contact by adhering to an honor code of conduct.” [10]
The code dictates who can fight and for what reasons, and has reportedly existed for over 100 years. The fact that fights happen less in the postseason, when teams are focused on winning the championship, shows that players adhere to an unwritten code. [10][29]
NHL officials expressed in private emails their views that fighting can lead to concussions, long-term health problems, and heavy use of pain medication. Bill Daly, NHL Deputy Commissioner, says, “Fighting raises the incidence of head injuries/concussions, which raises the incidence of depression onset, which raises the incidence of personal tragedies.” [15]
Former NHL player Derek Boogaard filled an unofficial role known as an enforcer, which is a player whose purpose is to fight as a means of responding to dirty plays by the opposing team. After he died at age 28 in 2011, doctors examined Boogaard’s brain and determined that he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is believed to be caused by repeated head injuries. [16][17]
Two other enforcers died within four months of each that same year, raising concerns about the physical, as well as mental and emotional, toll that fighting takes on players. [18]
Even though fighting in youth leagues is banned, young hockey players constantly imitate the tactics used by professionals, both legal and illegal. [25]
The damaging physical effects of fighting are even more significant for young players, since their brains are not fully developed. For younger players, concussions can cause permanent learning and cognitive disabilities, many of which may not be recognized until they grow up. Young hockey players are already susceptible to catastrophic spinal cord and brain injury, at nearly four times the rate of young football players. [26][27]
Michael Cusimano, neurosurgeon, says, “Whatever is done at a professional level in sports is emulated almost immediately by children who idolize their heroes. NHL players also have to be aware of this and set a better example for our kids.” [28]
Most of what players are trying to accomplish through fighting can be done by having the referees call more penalties during the game, which sends a better message to kids about conflict resolution. [29]
Matthew Sekeres, writer at Globe and Mail, says, “Hockey is a sport that solves its problems with violence.” [32]
Allowing hockey players to fight creates a culture in which fighting is respected and valued, according to a study in the journal Men and Masculinities, which states, “interpersonal aggression is common in the lives of these hockey players, both on and off the ice.” [31]
When the use of violence is approved and legitimized among hockey players, they are more likely to participate in other forms of violence. For instance, a study found that people seeking a career in professional hockey are more likely to commit sexual assault and have abusive relationships than non-hockey players and people who play hockey as a hobby. [33][37][38]
Researchers have found that hockey violence also makes fans more hostile in the stands and off the rink. [34][35][36]
