sport sociology
Violence has been a part of ice hockey since at least the early 1900s. According to the book Hockey: A People's History, in 1904 alone, four players were killed during hockey games from the frequent brawls and violent stick work. Fighting in ice hockey is an established tradition of the sport in North America, with a long history involving many levels of amateur and professional play and including some notable individual fights. While officials tolerate fighting during hockey games, they impose a variety of penalties on players who engage in fights. Unique to North American professional team sports, the National Hockey League (NHL) and most minor professional leagues in North America do not eject players outright for fighting but major European and collegiate hockey leagues do.
The debate over allowing fighting in ice hockey games is ongoing. Despite its potentially negative consequences, such as heavier enforcers knocking each other out, some administrators are not considering eliminating fighting from the game, as some players consider it essential. Additionally, the majority of fans oppose eliminating fights from professional hockey games.
Examples
In an NHL preseason game between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues on September 21, 1969 Bruins defenseman Ted Green and Blues left wing Wayne Maki, attacking Green, engaged in a bloody stick-swinging fight that resulted in Green sustaining a skull fracture and brain damage, forcing him to miss the entire season of 1969–70, with Maki emerging uninjured. As a result of the fight, Green would play for the remaining nine years of his professional career with a pioneering variety of hockey helmet in both the NHL and WHA.
April 20, 1984 a bench clearing brawl broke out at the end of the second period of a second-round playoffs matchup between the Quebec Nordiques and the Montreal Canadians, after many smaller-scaled battles had occurred throughout the game. A second bench clearing brawl erupted before the third
The debate over allowing fighting in ice hockey games is ongoing. Despite its potentially negative consequences, such as heavier enforcers knocking each other out, some administrators are not considering eliminating fighting from the game, as some players consider it essential. Additionally, the majority of fans oppose eliminating fights from professional hockey games.
Examples
In an NHL preseason game between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues on September 21, 1969 Bruins defenseman Ted Green and Blues left wing Wayne Maki, attacking Green, engaged in a bloody stick-swinging fight that resulted in Green sustaining a skull fracture and brain damage, forcing him to miss the entire season of 1969–70, with Maki emerging uninjured. As a result of the fight, Green would play for the remaining nine years of his professional career with a pioneering variety of hockey helmet in both the NHL and WHA.
April 20, 1984 a bench clearing brawl broke out at the end of the second period of a second-round playoffs matchup between the Quebec Nordiques and the Montreal Canadians, after many smaller-scaled battles had occurred throughout the game. A second bench clearing brawl erupted before the third