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Dan Treacy
A fight could be one of highlights of the season in most sports. Baseball fans can vividly remember Jose Ramirez and Tim Anderson squaring up, or Rougned Odor punching Jose Bautista. Hockey takes a different approach.
Fighting is commonplace on the ice, to the point that it’s almost a ritualistic part of the game. That was especially clear during the first 4 Nations Face-Off matchup between the USA and Canada.
American and Canadian players dropped the gloves seconds into the game, with three fights in the first nine seconds as the USA looked to make a statement. NHL games don’t often start with fights, but it was a scene much more common in hockey than anywhere else.
Here’s what you need to know about why fighting is allowed in hockey and how players can still be penalized.
4 NATIONS FACE-OFF HQ
International and European hockey leagues, fighting is largely banned. Players who engage in fights in most European leagues are hit with a match penalty, or an ejection, and face even more discipline.
Fighting is not explicitly legal in the NHL, as the league has rules in place to punish players who fight, but the relatively light consequences for an offense mean it’s effectively legal.
Why doesn’t the NHL crack down on it? For one, tradition. Fighting has a long history in the sport of hockey. It was common as the sport grew in Canada, and it spilled into the early years of the NHL. When the league decided to regulate fighting without ejections more than a century ago, it only further normalized fighting as part of the game.
Fighting is also viewed by many as a check on other players. Much like how some in baseball perceive intentionally hitting players with a pitch as the sport policing itself, fighting allows hockey players to police each other. If a player wants to deliver a dirty hit to an opponent, they know they might have to drop the gloves and fight as a consequence.
In a perfect world, the threat of a fight could deter violence by giving players a reason to avoid dangerous hits.
There is, of course, an entertainment factor as well. While the NHL might not admit it, fights are a thrill for fans. The NFL is the most popular league in America in part because real violence is the basis of the game. By keeping fights somewhat legal, the NHL ensures there is some element of combat to keep certain fans interested.
MORE: Watch USA vs. Canada fights from round-robin matchup
Per NHL rules, “A fight shall be deemed to have occurred 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.”
Here are the possible penalties for fighting in the NHL:
Players who engage in a fight automatically receive a five-minute major penalty.
“A major penalty shall be imposed on any player who fights,” the NHL rulebook states. While the penalty is significant, teams often won’t be shorthanded compared to their opponent because it takes (at least) two to fight.
A match penalty, or an ejection, is possible if a player goes outside the boundaries of what is considered a fair fight.
“Any player wearing tape or any other material on his hands (below the wrist) who cuts or injures an opponent during an altercation will receive a match penalty,” the NHL rulebook states, also stating that a match penalty should be given “to a player who punches an unsuspecting or unwilling opponent (i.e. “sucker punch”) and causes an injury.”
Connor McDavid was slapped with a match penalty and suspended three games for cross-checking Vancouver’s Conor Garland in January, turning what would have been an ordinary fight into a more severe violation.
MORE: USA injury updates for 4 Nations Face-Off championship
Fighting is certainly not new to the sport of hockey. In fact, fights in the NHL have decreased fairly significantly over the last few decades, dating back to when teams would prioritize putting enforcers on the ice to protect players and take the brunt of brawls.
The sport featured fights as early as its 19th century roots in Canada, and the NHL regulated fighting in 1922 by calling for a five-minute major penalty for fights rather than an ejection or suspension.
Fighting in the NHL increased after the 1960s, though many fights were not as violent as those in the early decades of the league’s existence. Fights peaked during the 1983-84 season with an average of 1.17 per game, and the rise of fighting was assisted by the “Broad Street Bullies” Philadelphia Flyers teams of the mid-1970s.
The prioritization of enforcers protected smaller players from the potentially brutal effects of fights, and eventually, the frequency of fights in the NHL began decreasing. The decrease hasn’t always been linear, as the number of fights increased briefly after the COVID-19 shutdown, but the total number of fights has shrunk in the mid-2020s.
Fighting is prohibited in Olympic hockey. A fight in the Olympics carries a match penalty, which is an ejection, and could risk a suspension.
“‘Fighting’ is not part of international ice hockey’s DNA,” the IIHF rulebook states. The IIHF, which governs Olympic hockey, defines a fight as occurring “when at least one (1) Player punches or attempts to punch an opponent repeatedly or when two (2) Players wrestle in such a manner as to make it difficult for the Linespersons to intervene and separate the combatants.”
The NHL governs the 4 Nations Face-Off despite its international theme, so fighting is allowed during the tournament.
Dan Treacy is a content producer for Sporting News, joining in 2022 after graduating from Boston University. He founded @allsportsnews on Instagram in 2012 and has written for Lineups and Yardbarker.
