Fighting has been part of hockey as long as anyone can remember. Back in the day, it seemed like every game had a couple guys exchanging their favorite recipes after a big hit or a cheap shot. As rivalries became more heated, the fights beca🤪me more frequent. And the Blackhawks have certainly had their share of fighters over the years.
But hockey on the macro has started to slowly move away from fighting being part of the game. It still happens, and there are times when it’s necessary. We just don’t see it as much as we used to. Some fans don’t like that, but the reality is that concussions are awful and have done terrible damage to players. And fights are a place where those types of injuries happen.
Last season, the Blackhawks tied with Seattle for 13th in the NHL with 23 major penalties. According to , the Blackhawks were involved in 23 fights — the most by a Blackhawks team in the past decade. And they added a few guys this offseason who have no problem dropping the gloves, especially Corey Perry.
I think all of us had the same reaction when Jarred Tinordi turned on the dance music as quickly as he did after returning from facial injuries last season. WHY? Stay healthy, bud. Stay on the ice. But he’s one of the guys who stood up for teammates and made sure opponents didn’t take liberties with Chicago’s younger players.
News on Thursday appears to indicate a major move is being made in the CHL to limit the number of fights, and it’s going to test one Blackhawks prospect immediately.
that the league is banning fighting. Fighters are automatiꦐcally ejected and will receive a one-game suspension. Heavier penalties will come for those who instigate the fight ore are viewed as the aggressor in the fight.
Blackhawks prospect Samuel Savoie will be in the QMJHL this season once again with Gatineau. As we’ve talked about a lot, fans love his style of play because he’s been referred to as Andrew Shaw 2.0 — he has no problem mixing it up. But one of the things he talked about when he spoke with the media during development camp was being more cautious with when he jumps into the fray to stick up for a teammate and being smarter with escalating the physical play. He knows he’s too valuable to his team to miss five minutes because of a fight; now, he’ll have to consider losing the rest of that game and at least the next one because of a fight.
This rule is in line with how the NCAA penalized fights already. Players who fight are penalized with a five-minute major and a game disqualification, meaning that the offending player is out of that game and the next game. This past season, top prospect Adam Fantilli dropped the gloves against rival Michigan State and had to miss their game at Litꦗtle Caesars Arena against the Spartans because of it.
Will a stricter rule completely eliminate fighting? No. Fantilli still did it. And I’m sure at some point Savoie will this season, too. But the looming suspension that would come because of the fisticuffs will give most players pause when the bell rings and the music turns on.
We don’t live in the world of “Slap Shot” any more. As much as hockey players will still talk about a good scrap giving the bench energy and claim that it can shift momentum, the potential for injury is too much of a consideration at this point. And this move by the QMJHL — like the NCAA — is going to accelerate the decline in fighting as players remove it from their game at a younger age and earlier in their development.
