Why The NHL Is The NHL

Every hockey fan in the United States laments the fact that the NHL plays the nth fiddle to MLB, the NBA, the NFL, NASCAR, NCAA basketball and football, poker, and any number of other sports. To me, one of the big reasons has been the continued allowance -- if not encouragement -- of fighting in the game. Every sport except hockey throws a player out of the game for engaging in fisticuffs. In hockey, a player gets five minutes in the penalty box and then he's right back out on the ice. Not only is it contemptible that such behavior is tolerated, it's also disgraceful that more talented players -- you know, ones that can actually skate, pass, and shoot -- are left behind in the minors in order for teams to carry goons who play about three minutes a game and contribute virtually nothing to the outcome. Time and again the so-called "purists" will make the argument that teams carry a goon to protect their star players. Another argument made is that by carrying goons teams can police themselves without having the league step in with suspensions and fines for illegal behavior. In a post on his blog at The Star, Damien Cox refutes all of this nonsense. While wearing a televison microphone for the game, Laraque inadvertently made a mockery of his chosen art and completely undermined the dogged efforts of those who maintain that fighting has an important part in the sport. With a faceoff just outside the Phoenix and the Coyotes ahead 3-2 in the 14th minute of the first period, the 6-foot-6 Laraque ambled over to L.A.'s designated goon, Raitus Ivanans, and inquired politely if he might possibly interested in fisticuffs. "Wanna do it?" said Laraque, without a trace of anger, a curse word or any indication that the invitation to scrap had anything at all to do with something that had happened within the game. [ . . . ] Neither Laraque nor Ivanans was trying to stop the opponent from "taking liberties" on their teammates. It wasn't about keeping the sticks down. It wasn't about stopping guys with visors from "running around" and hitting everything in sight. It wasn't about "policing" the game to keep it fair and clean. It was a rather pathetic attempt by both men to legimitize their increasingly dicey existence as NHL players. Kudos to Cox for stepping out on this issue. I couldn't agree more that legalized fighting in the NHL needs to go the way of the glow puck.