Fighting is usually performed by enforcers, or "goons"—players whose role it is to fight and intimidate—on a given team and is governed by a complex system of unwritten rules that players, coaches, officials, and the media refer to as "the code". Some fights are spontaneous, while others are premeditated by the participants. While officials tolerate fighting during hockey games, they impose a variety of penalties on players who engage in fights.
Physical play in hockey, consisting of allowed techniques such as checking and prohibited techniques such as elbowing, high-sticking, and cross-checking, is inextricably linked to fighting.
Enforcers occasionally play regular shifts like other players, but their primary role is deterring opposing players from rough play. Coaches often send enforcers out when opposing enforcers are on the ice or any time when it is necessary to check excessively physical play by the opposing team.[21] Enforcers, particularly those with questionable playing skills, can be colloquially referred to as goons. As the years go by, the teams need for an enforcer seems to be decreasing. In today's game, coaches and teams want a well rounded player.
Causes[edit]
There are many reasons for fights during a hockey game. Some reasons are related to game play, such as retaliation, momentum-building, intimidation, deterrence, attempting to draw "reaction penalties", and protecting star players. There are also some personal reasons such as retribution for past incidents, bad blood between players, and simple job security for enforcers.[21]
Game-related reasons[edit]
A large fight in an OHL hockey game between the Sudbury Wolves and Ottawa 67s
Of the many reasons for fighting, the foremost is retaliation.[21] When players engage in play that members of the opposing team consider unscrupulous, a fight can ensue. The fight may be between the assailant and the victim, between the assailant and an enforcer from the victim's team, or between opposing enforcers. Fights that occur for retaliation purposes can be in immediate response to an on-ice incident, to incidents from earlier in the game, or to actions from past games.[21] Enforcers who intend to start a fight have to consider their timing due to the Instigator rule. For example, putting the opposing team on a power play due to penalties incurred from fighting is less advisable when the game is close.[22]
Enforcers sometimes start fights to build game momentum and provide a psychological advantage over the opposing team. These fights usually involve two enforcers, but may involve any player who is agitating the opposition.[8] This type of fight raises morale on the team of the player who wins, and often gets the home crowd into the game as well. For that reason, it can also be a gamble to start a fight for momentum; if an enforcer loses the fight, the momentum can swing the wrong way.[23]
Intimidation is an important element of a hockey game[2] and some enforcers start fights just to intimidate opposing players in hopes that they will refrain from agitating skilled players.[24] For example, in the late 1950s, Gordie Howe helped establish himself as an enforcer by defeating Lou Fontinato, a notable tough guy who tallied over 1,200 penalty minutes in his career.[25] Fontinato suffered a broken nose from the fight.[26] After that incident, Howe got a lot more space on the ice and was able to score many goals over the span of his career because he intimidated other players.[27] Conversely, games in European professional leagues are known to be less violent than North American games because fighting is discouraged in Europe by ejection and heavy fines. Since the penalties for fighting are so severe, the enforcers are less able to intimidate opposing players with fighting and said players take more liberties on the ice.[9]
For teams that face each other frequently, players may fight just to send the message to the opposing players that they will be the target of agitation or aggression in future games.[28] Teams that are losing by a considerable margin often start these fights near the end of the game when they have nothing to lose.[29] Enforcers may start fights with more skilled players to draw what is called a "reaction penalty", an undisciplined reaction to aggressive play on the part of the enforcer. This practice is also known to be difficult due to the Instigator rule.[30]
Another reason is the protection of star players. Fighting within the game can also send a message to players and coaches from other teams that cheap shots, dirty plays, targeting specific players will not be tolerated and there will be consequences involved. Fighting can provide retribution for opposing team's players getting targeted or injured. Overall, fighting is known to be a beneficial policing that the game needs to keep players in line. Over the history of hockey, many enforcers have been signed simply to protect players like Gretzky, who was protected by Dave Semenko, Marty McSorley, and others, and Brett Hull, who was protected by Kelly Chase and others.[31] Many believe that without players protecting each other, referees would affect the game play by having to call more penalties, and the league would have to suspend players for longer periods.[32]
