Milo;307537 wroteMuch as I love hockey, I do not watch with any regularity until the playoffs start. Why? Because there is none of the crap seen in the OP. No "staged" fights, just good physical hockey. IT frustrates the crap out of me that the NHL is STILL the only major professional sport that does not immediately eject a player for fighting. and spare me all the usual drivel about how it is part of the game . . . IT ISN'T. That's why fighting is a penalty. The NHL could get rid of fighting if it wanted to with little difficulty. Just do something along the following lines:
1) You fight, you're gone. Immediate ejection for the player that fights, and a 5 minute major penalty for his team. Also, the ejected player earns a 1 game suspension, as well.
2) Second offence, same thing, except the suspension is 5 games. All subse=quent suspensions will increase by 5 games.
Teams with players suspended for fighting are NOT allowed to fill that vacant roster spot. Shorten the bench. That is a rule I would apply to ALL suspensions.
I'm not against your suggestions but you need fighting in the game so the dirty players don't take over the game. They need to be accountable and this is the way hockey does it.
Like baseball, hockey players try to gain advantage by dirty tricks. Recently Marchand punched a guy in the nuts during a goal mouth scrum. Not caught by the refs, a fight keeps this in check. As much as I like the Habs, Subban tends to slew foot a lot. It's been missed by the refs and I can understand why he gets into altercations.
This is why they are afraid of a total fighting ban. I would say a game misconduct is good enough. Make the team play the rest of the game down a man should be enough to cut way down on staged fights.