this post was submitted on 05 Apr 2024
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Well, you said it yourself, the NHL is not the NBA lol.
Context for why they fought in this game:
The red white and blue team is the New York Rangers. The red white and black team is the New Jersey Devils. They are indeed long time divisional rivals. The hatred is real. Also for context, the last time these two teams played, a Rangers player injured a Devils player with a nasty hit; he was challenged to a fight then but refused. So the tension had already built up.
Context for why they were allowed to fight:
Fighting has always been allowed in hockey. Big line brawls like this used to be more common even into the 2000s. They have become rare starting in the 2010s when the NHL meta shifted from "have dedicated face punchers fill out the bottom of the roster because they are scary to play against" to the new meta of "have skilled players even at the bottom of the roster because winning games is more important."
If you're wondering why the officials don't break them up immediately, it's a matter of practicality. There are only 4 on ice officials and there 10 angry dudes punching each other. Best to let them tire themselves out before intervening. Usually they will reach a point where they stop on their own. Also, the referees never break up scrums or fights even if there are only 2-3 guys fighting - this is so they can accurately pay attention to all of the infractions and make the proper penalty calls after it is all settled.
All of this is true, but it's also allowed because the fans like the fights, which keeps them buying tickets.
That's the core reason. The rest of the "practical" reasons you listed could be resolved if the owners really wanted the fights to stop. They dont.
On your point about practicality. I think a big point about not breaking up fights is that they are on ice, which is slippery, and they won't have a good grip on the ground, and on skates so not the most solid footing. I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm just saying it's not a worthwhile risk when both hockey players have full gear vs. a ref with minimal gear.
Plus, the context of it being accepted as part of tradition weighs on why it's not as heavily regulated. If they wanted to, officials can force teams to be disqualified or ban players. Another point is It is more profitable to allow fights. Unless players themselves argue to ban fights for their safety, this will likely stay legal. The fact is, the new meta of having a good team but able to rough up the opposing team is better than it was before. Also quite a bit more enjoyable too.
This sounds reasonable, but no. Fights are successfully broken up all the time by the officials. It has gotten really irritating in the last 10 years how quickly they will jump in and separate players. Sometimes they will even jump in too soon, which results in a guy being held by an official but still getting punched by his opponent.
If you are confused by one of my other comments where I say "referees will never break up fights" it's because the refs don't break up fights, but the linesmen do. Refs: guys in striped shirts with an orange armband, linesmen: guys in striped shirts without.
Also everyone saying that the league wants more fighting clearly doesn't follow the NHL. The NHL has been steadily introducing rules over the last decade specifically to decrease the amount of fighting because they are wary of a similar CTE (chronic traumatic encephaly, aka brain damage) controversy that has taken root in the NFL and the WWE and they are afraid of getting their asses sued into the ground.
I am highlighting a limitation. Also, I never saw them break up fights by being able to "carry" or restrain players away from each other like other sports. It's much harder to do on the ice. A lot of times, the linesmen are mostly separating the players by strategically intercepting between the players' line of sight by pushing in between the players. On top of that, the players have enough sense that they should not hurt an official, especially when it's not advantageous back when it was the meta to have brawlers. However, there were moments when the players ignored the linesmen interception and kept going. Small example: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yDkNvuuENwo
Also, I'm not saying the league wants more fights. They want to control those fights because they are profitable for entertainment, IE the fans and surrounding community are entertained by the drama. Having a fight break out for no reason other than to cause harm was not fun or much for entertainment. However, talking smack or telling someone off for bad plays/manners is fun to see.
LMAO you are just saying these referees are weaklings.
Ok so why don't they deal these players a 5 or 6 figure penalty plus a ban for half a year, and their team has to play without spectators at their next home game... it needs to hurt more than one blow in the face.
Damn dude, tell us all you know nothing about hockey without telling us you know nothing about hockey.