Enforcers fight to stay in the game

Brian McGrattan and Tie Domi fight at a time when teams valued enforcers

Many of us knew the role of the enforcer was on its way out, but who knew it would happen so soon?

James Mirtle's piece in The Globe and Mail this week discusses the declining role of the enforcer. Fighting has decreased 40 per cent in the last five seasons and many established NHL enforcers are currently without a contract.

There are many reasons for this decline, including a new focus on puck possession, a heightened awareness of concussions, and an influx of players from wealthy backgrounds.

For me, while I respect the players who make their living fighting, I am OK with fighting gradually leaving the game. I have been a fighting advocate most of my life, but the more I learn about concussions, the more uneasy I become about watching giant men punch each other with their bare knuckles.

I think the way fighting is leaving the game is perfect. No one is making the final decision, it's just part of the evolution of the sport.

Part of me does wonder if this decline is temporary. In Mirtle's article he mentions how fighting increased after the truculent Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup, and declined with the success of teams that rarely fight like the Chicago Blackhawks and the Los Angeles Kings. The NHL is a copycat league, and sometimes in the NHL what looks like a long-term trend may be a short-term fad.

That being said, I don`t think that is the case with fighting. The decline of fighting has been going on for too long and has happened too gradually. Fighting may remain in the game, but the players who fight will still need to be good hockey players, and will only do so occasionally. 

I am a little sad to see the role of the enforcer go, but it`s about time.