It Used To Be Cool, But No Longer
Montreal Canadiens players like John Ferguson, Chris Nilan, even Larry Robinson and Maurice Richard were admired for their willingness and ability to drop the gloves.
Tie Domi, Tiger Williams, Bob Probert, Dave Semenko, Dave Schultz…
Just the thought of these names is enough to give any hockey pundits a chill down their spine followed by a wince and grimace. Heavyweight pugilists of a bygone era.
Ken MacMillan wrote about Josh Anderson saying he should be banned from fighting. As I was watching Tuesday’s game against Edmonton and saw him drop the gloves against William Lagesson I just thought…why?
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I get the Oilers were trying to get something going, but 5 minutes into the game? The context was the Habs were leading 2-0 and were running circles around Edmonton’s players. The purists and fight fans will say that Lagesson was trying to make a name for himself. To get the team back on the rails. To get the fans (at home) riled up. He has never fought before and was trying to shake things up. The ones who want fighting gone however was probably thinking “oh no” and watched the fight hoping we didn’t have another Ben Chiarot scenario where Anderson would hurt himself just like Chiarot did. Remember, Chiarot dropped the gloves, again for not much of a reason, and fractured his hand putting him on the shelf for 6-8 weeks.
I also had a flashback of opening night. Montreal is up 3-1 in Toronto in the 2nd period with 10 minutes to go. The Habs were controlling the game at this point and all of a sudden Chiarot accepts a fight with Wayne Simmonds. The Leafs were fired up and mounted a comeback and took the game 5-4 in overtime. Had Chiarot not dropped the gloves, the Habs likely would’ve cruised towards a victory in regulation.
Ben Chiarot is a shutdown defenceman with grit used on the top defensive pair with Shea Weber. You can’t afford to have him fight. Same goes with Josh Anderson. He’s a power forward with a history of shoulder injury. One’s role is to stop the opposing team’s best forwards while the other’s role is to score goals. In what world do we even need to have them fight? Against William Lagesson? J.T. Miller? Wayne Simmonds?
We’re a long way from Georges Laraque & Co.
The Canadiens already have 9 fights this year. All fought by players who shouldn’t be fighting to begin with. If you look down the list of that link, you’ll see that we didn’t need to fight. Even the Edmundson vs Tyler Myers fight, where even the media knew it was planned ahead, is just ridiculous. I get it was revenge for that hit on Joel Armia which caused a concussion, but why? The code of respect saying you have to backup your teammate? Be as romantic as you want about hockey, but that code died a long time ago.
The game has evolved so much in so many different ways. Players are quicker and sharper and stronger than they ever were. There was a time where players would show up for practice, skate around a bit, then hit the pub with a cigarette in their mouth and have a round of drinks or 3. Today, it’s practice followed by training followed by proper eating followed by playing a game and probably more in between. It’s a 24/7 lifestyle in which owners now make an investment in rather than just trying to put some names in the lineup.
The only thing I will say though is that the if the NHL wants to get rid of fighting altogether, they need to do a better job at protecting their players. Still too often do we see players wave their sticks around and dishing out headshots. In an era where concussions are at the forefront of any situation and taken with the utmost seriousness, the hits to the head need to stop. There’s a reason why Wayne Gretzky was untouchable. If you even looked at him the wrong way, you had Dave Semenko running after you like a freight train. Today, Gretzky would have to rely on his speed and skills and go at it gung-ho in order to make it. McDavid and Crosby don’t have players who should be boxing or wrestling for a living slowing the game down for them.
Besides, we don’t need more stories like Bob Probert, Derek Boogaard and Rick Rypien just to name a few. We don’t need links to these, their stories are tragic enough.
The bottom line is, today’s game is so much fun to look at. The skill the modern player displays is out of this world. A 4th liner can now make highlight reel plays and make you jump out of your seat.
You want to make a statement? When Milan Lucic runs after you, or tries to keep up that is, skate away. Don’t let an old bully dictate a game. Play hard, hit hard, skate hard and hit them where it hurts the most – on the scoreboard.
If you’re losing, you work hard until the last second and worst case, you take the loss on the chin and move on.
Much better than a tasteless, bitter knuckle sandwich to the chin.