The answer isn`t exactly simple, and even avid hockey traditionalists are beginning to question the relevance of combat in today`s modern sport. The truth is that a combination of tradition, the physical nature of hockey and the need to intimidate the opponent is ultimately the reason players are allowed to fight hockey. So, let`s dive a little deeper into the nuance. As mentioned earlier, ice hockey fighting is a concept that has been etched into the game since the league`s inception. For nearly 100 years, Rule 56 has stated that in-game combat is allowed, but with consequences. Therefore, many fans believe that changing or eliminating a rule that has been intertwined in the game for 100 years would drastically change the game on many levels. Law enforcement sometimes starts fights to create game dynamics and provide a psychological advantage over the opposing team. These battles usually involve two executors, but also each player who disturbs the opponent. [8] This type of fight boosts morale in the winning player`s team, and often thrills the home crowd. For this reason, it can also be a gamble to start a struggle for momentum; If an executor loses the battle, the momentum can tip in the wrong direction. [62] Barbarian or not, hockey is a fast-paced and physical sport. Tempers can heat up and some players simply lose their temper. Fighting in this situation offers players the opportunity to vent their frustrations while taking revenge or revenge on their opponent.

Before two players engage in a hockey game, it usually starts with an argument to trigger it, whether it`s a hit against a team`s superstar, a previous “bad blood” between two players, etc. In addition, players are not allowed to remove their helmet before the battle begins. This leads to a minor penalty and unsportsmanlike punishment. Fighting has been a part of ice hockey since its inception. But when the Fisticuffs really took off, it was during the 1970s. During this particular decade, it was not uncommon to see fights on the bench during a professional hockey game. Fighting is an established tradition in North American ice hockey, with a long history that spans several levels of amateur and professional play and includes some notable one-on-one fights. [1] Fights can be fought by enforcers or “thugs”[2] – players whose role is to fight and intimidate – in a specific team,[3] and are subject to a system of unwritten rules that players, coaches, officials and the media call “the code”. [4] Some fights are spontaneous, while others are performed intentionally by the participants. [5] Although officials tolerate fights during hockey games, they impose various penalties on players who fight. Although fighting was rarer from the 1920s to the 1960s,[26] it was often brutal in nature; Author Ross Bernstein said of the game`s early years that it “probably looked more like skate rugby than modern hockey.” [7] Star players were also known to fight for themselves during the Original Six era, when fewer teams existed than in the following years.

However, as the expansion of the NHL in the late 1960s created more spots on the roster and spread star players throughout the league, executors (who usually have limited general skills) became more common. [28] Several struggles during this period received considerable media attention. [29] During an NHL preseason game between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues in 1969, Bruins defenseman Ted Green and Blues left winger Wayne Maki engaged in a bloody battle with sticks. The fight initiated by Maki resulted in a fractured skull in Green. [28] [30] In 1978, Dave Hanson, head of the Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association, known for his 11-year professional career, fought Hall of Famer Bobby Hull and received Hull`s wig in his joints. The incident got Hanson talking, and angry Winnipeg fans tried to attack him as they walked out of the arena. Hanson appeared in the 1977 film Slap Shot, a comedy about violence in hockey.

[32] Some hockey viewers who are new to the sport and some to WWE might feel that hockey fights are somehow staged. According to the rules, Eller was in error and then went into the penalty area. According to the unwritten rules of the game, however, Marchand was wrong because he had not accepted the fight.