i hate hockey, but i love hockey fights!

Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQmMRipmWi0

~Andrew

Thats awesome. That reminds me of when I was playing semi-pro hockey. Good times.

man - I could watch that all day!!!

What a great vid

I love:

1. Goalies fighting
2. Gear all over the place

EDIT: I love hockey!

idiot.

just stupid.

Originally posted by m!key:
idiot.

if enjoying hockey fights makes me an idiot, then so [censored] be it

~Andrew

I Love Hockey!!! But I am not sure about all those fights. I like the fights, I think they help the crowd/team get back in a game. But not that many that was just lame. Oh, and being a goalie, I love those fights!!!

is it just me, or does fighting on ice skates seems like one of the most pointless things in the world. like 3 decent punches thrown in all of thos fights

It's just you.

Ok lets see...

can you skate?

Can you fight?

Now try doing both at the same time. It's an art and sure as hell is not easy to do. Some players have made a living on fighting in the NHL. Love it, hate it, or dont understand it (your case)... its part of the game.

Originally posted by teamSVTour:
its part of the game.

No it's not. The NHL's new rules would seem to favor a much more wide open game with less clutch and grab that slows play and leads to elbow, sticks and fist being thrown. "Goon" is no longer a position on most NHL teams and the fans seem to like it.

If you are really into it, go here:

http://www.hockeyfights.com/

If you're not, don't.

Great video! Brings back memories.

Jim T.

Originally posted by teamSVTour:
It's just you.

Ok lets see...

can you skate?

Can you fight?

Now try doing both at the same time. It's an art and sure as hell is not easy to do. Some players have made a living on fighting in the NHL. Love it, hate it, or dont understand it (your case)... its part of the game.

uh, that was my point. I understand it completely, but every time they throw a punch they drift back, fall over, seems more like they're just jerking their body around wasting energy than fighting. I guess generally low-scoring games need something to keep the crowd interested....soccer riots, hockey fights, whatever floats your boat I guess

It used to be a major part of the game. Back in the 80's teams would draft players stickly on their size and fighing ability, regardless of if they could skate, pass or shoot. Rembember the saying "I went to fight last night and a Hockey game broke out." Then players like Gretzky, Lemiux, Yzerman, Messier etc... came around and made the game about skill again. Sure there are some players in the NHL who are labled as "scrappy" and those players are usually the ones who get into the fights. But any one of those "fighters" can also skate circles around the minor league players below them. If they couldn't, they would be out of the NHL and back on the farm team.
Fighting in hockey is nothing like what it used to be, now its reserved for the intense rivalies which is how it should be.

The guy winning in the first fight is the Brashear who the Caps just picked up to protect Ovechkin. WOOT!

-Andy

Originally posted by RT and his SE:

Originally posted by teamSVTour:
its part of the game.

No it's not. The NHL's new rules would seem to favor a much more wide open game with less clutch and grab that slows play and leads to elbow, sticks and fist being thrown. "Goon" is no longer a position on most NHL teams and the fans seem to like it.

YES it is. The new rules may be geared to less clutching and grabbing, etc. but the fact of the matter is IT STILL IS and will always be part of the game until the league bans it altogether which I highly doubt. Fighting is engraved in the roots of hockey. Years ago when fighting was prominent, teams dressed players simply for their fighting ability. Fighters like Probert, Domi, Tony Twist, Rob Ray, Sandy McCarthy, Dennis Bonvie, Joey Kocur, Craig Berube, etc. were there to protect the stars on the team and to spark some energy when the team needed it.

To say that today there is no "goons" is incorrect. Fighters like Brashier do the exact same thing. He played 76 games in 05-06, had 9 points and 166 penalty minutes. He's a goon, w/ enough talent to get by in the NHL. They are there to serve a purpose and that is to protect the franchise players. Just about every team has one guy they can throw on the ice to send a message. Most of these guys (not all) are 5th line players that see very minimal ice time. Once again it is not their role to be on the ice often, they are not point getters, check their stats. Lastly, have you ever been to a hockey game? Any time a fight breaks out the crowd really gets into it. True hockey fans love the sport for what it is...and fighting is a part of it.

"According to statistics released by the NHL, fighting is down 42 percent from its average during the 2003-04 season. There were 227 major penalties through the first 264 NHL games this season, down from 393 over the same span during the 2003-04 campaign."

Attendance is up. Must not be in your definition "true fans".

Goals per game are up.
It would appear that what attracts you to the game is not what attracts everyone to the game.

And if you want to compare Brashier to a REAL goon like Dave Schultz of the Flyers you'll see there is no comparison. In the 74-75 season he played 76 games had 9 goals, 17 assists and 472 penalty minutes! In his career with the Flyers for every goal he scored he spent 26 minutes in the box!
The goon is a dying breed. With tight payrolls and rules that help protect the stars there's no room for players that don't produce.

I'm from Minnesota and you ask if I've ever been to a hockey game?

I got my first hockey stick at 5...2 years after I got my first pair of skates.

I'm not going to argue %'s w/ you. Fighting is rooted in hockey, it is still part of the game, it always will be.

As far as true hockey fan loyalty I feel the sport of hockey has taken a huge hit from the lock-out. In an attempt to try to acquire new fans the league implements this "new style and new rules". The game is totally different. The league takes out original rules such as the "two line offside pass" as a means to "open the game up". All this did was enable cherry picking in an effort to increase scoring as a means to attract new fans

. So under this logic should the NBA move up the 3-point line so there will be more 3 pointers or the NFL shorten the field so there are more touchdowns? Since when does the number of points scored determine the acceptance of a sport? Look at soccer. Its the most popular sport in the world and is recognized by its relatively low scoring games. You don't see FIFA getting rid of offsides like the the NHL got rid of the two line offside pass in an attempt to acquire new fans. And of course the goals per game will be up when the defensemen can't even play the body like they used to w/out getting a "new style" penalty. It's ridiculous. I myself have been playing hockey since I could walk. I have played all the way through the ranks from squirt to semi-pro until I had a career ending shoulder injury. Many people I grew up around the game w/ very rarely even bother watching anymore b/c of the "new style". If you want to watch a high scoring sport watch basketball.

As far as fighters being a dying breed your wrong that's all I can say. Like I said each team has one guy that can drop the gloves. Brashier gets his paychecks b/c he fights and can send a message physically. Why do you think he was just signed to the Capitols to protect Ovechkin?? As long as there are franchise players, there will be players paid to protect them.

If you don't like to see an occasional fight then watch golf.

Originally posted by teamSVTour:

If you don't like to see an occasional fight then watch golf.

Why do you think the NBA adopted the 3 pointer in the first place?
Why do you think the NFL implemented all the new rules regarding pass interference and protecting the QB?
How about that new baseball?
The game was opened up so the skilled players can do what they do best.
Defensemen can still play the body, checking hasn't been outlawed but the guy has to have the puck. The only difference now is that instead of holding the other guys stick or grabbing a handful of jersey when he's away from the puck you'll have to skate to cover the him.

A good body or hip check is always fun to watch and the speed of the new game allows for that.
The NHL needed a change and they made it.
I'd rather watch 60 minutes of fast, high energy, up and down hockey then the slow clutch and grab style where they had to have a fight or 5 to make the game interesting.
If you want to dispose of the pesky game part of it try roller derby!

I agree to some level, but I feel that with some of the rule changes to make the game faster and a higher scoring, they sacraficed too much and it is not what hockey is. Hockey needs to have some of it's physical prowess back. I am not saying that it has to go back to the 70's where you just fought and that was the game. but I think there needs to be more physical play involved to keep some of the roots of the game intact. To me seeing a player get a penalty for barely putting his hands on another player to "slow" him down is ruining the sport. I know we don't want the trap implemented back in the game because it made it boring(even though it worked great, Go DEVILS!!!) I understand that in order for it to survive in the North American market it needs to be able to compete with the flashyness of basketball and football.

lmao @ this thread.

hockey and fighting go together like peas and carrots.

my fave is definitely when the goalies go at it... lol.

At least there aren't any "thugs" in hockey.