NHL GMs Propose Stricter Penalties For Staged On-Ice Fights

NHL GMs Stop Short Of Outright Fighting Ban, Propose Stricter Penalties For Staged Fights

NHL GMs yesterday at their meetings in Naples, Florida, "brushed off" the NHLPA's request for "unanimity on hits to the head, but they did take steps to eliminate 'staged' fights and the growing practice of vigilante justice for clean hits," according to David Shoalts of the GLOBE & MAIL. The GMs yesterday recommended "additional penalties for players judged to have taken part in staged fights," and supported "more strict application of the instigator penalty for players who start fights to avenge clean hits and for those who wear a visor and start fights." The GMs, as expected, "stopped short of an outright ban on fighting," but proposed that a 10-minute misconduct "automatically be issued to players who start fights at faceoffs." The misconduct also would be issued for "any other fight judged by the referees to be staged." The GMs elected not to endorse the NHLPA's proposal regarding stricter penalties for head shots, but NHLPA Exec Dir Paul Kelly said that the union still will bring its proposal to the competition committee. If seven of the 10 committee members, "which will also consider the GMs' recommendation, vote in favour, it will go to the governors for approval." But NHL Senior Exec VP/Hockey Operations Colin Campbell said, "Right now, our managers do not have the appetite to call shoulder hits to the head." Meanwhile, Shoalts notes the GMs yesterday also discussed making it "mandatory for players to keep their helmets on during a fight, but decided that it needs further study by them" and the league's competition committee "before any recommendations are made" (GLOBE & MAIL, 3/11).

Kelly Says NHLPA Intends To Talk To Players Before Embracing GMs' Proposed Changes

PULLING NO PUNCHES: Kelly said that the NHLPA this summer intends to talk to players to "get their perspective on the issue before it embraces" the GMs' proposed changes regarding staged fights. ESPN.com's Scott Burnside wrote the "bottom line is that the number of fights, on the rise this season, seems destined to decline if these changes do take effect," and how "dramatic the drop-off will be might say a lot about whether the debate over fighting fades into the distance" (ESPN.com, 3/10). In Toronto, Damien Cox wrote NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman's administration seemingly has "decided to take a stand against the type of fights few support, although it stopped short of booting players from the game who engage in staged fights or respond to a clean hit on a teammate by starting a fight." Campbell: "What we're saying is that if you're going to fight, it's got to be a real fight" (THESTAR.com, 3/10). More Campbell: "If it's staged, why are we doing it? If it's staged, let's do it between periods." Maple Leafs President & GM Brian Burke, who has opposed a ban on fighting, said, "I like the recommendations, start calling the instigator penalty with greater frequency and we'll have less of this foolishness" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/11). Burke: "Even guys like me have never wanted an increase in fighting. ... But if it is truly a staged fight, good, let's give them another 10 minutes." Wild GM Doug Risebrough agreed, saying, "I'm kind of offended by the fact that it's a staged fight. I think fighting is a reactionary thing" (GLOBE & MAIL, 3/11). NHL Senior Dir of Hockey Operations Kris King: “The consensus from the group was that we have to look at it a little bit more, try to make the right decisions here, but the overall impression was we really like where our game is today and fighting is part of that game” (“GM Meetings,” NHL Network, 3/10).

A SILENT APPROACH: The GLOBE & MAIL's Roy MacGregor writes the GMs, at the very least, "owed it to the game to take the issue of fighting seriously, not slough it off with some ridiculous proposed tweak to the current rules." The GMs "could have done something about unnecessary fighting and did nothing," and they "could have done something about helmets that fly off easily ... and did nothing." The GMs "could have taken the [NHLPA's] sensible suggestions for dealing with hits to the head ... and did nothing" (GLOBE & MAIL, 3/11). In Chicago, Bob Foltman writes fighting in the NHL exists because most GMs and governors "like it and they think their fans do too." There is "nothing wrong with admitting that," but there is "something wrong with insulting the players' character to justify it" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/11). In Sacramento, Bill Bradley writes the casual fan is "turned off by this barbaric tradition," and the NHL "should be fighting only to grow its fan-base" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 3/11). NHL Network’s Brian Duff said, “This is a critical time. I think many people feel that for the league, that as a sport it’s always going to be in challenge mode, if you will, when it pertains to issues like (fighting)” (“GM Meetings,” NHL Network, 3/10). In Chicago, Steve Rosenbloom wrote fighting will never be eliminated from hockey, but if it is, "welcome to the death of the NHL" (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 3/10).