"Starting November 1st, the NHL will be fining players $2,500 or $500 for every penalty minute received in a fight. This move will serve three main purposes.
The first is player safety, which has been a top priority for the NHL. Last season, a handful of fights caused some players to miss lengthy time from the ice due to head injuries received from big blows or landing on the ice helmet-less. These injuries are potentially NHL-career ending and life threatening injuries which could be prevented by removing fighting from the NHL.
The second purpose is to create more offense in the games. By now removing unnecessary enforcers from the line up, a more offensively talented player can now enter the game and increase the offensive component in the game.
The third purpose is to prevent Sheldon Souray from fighting and making a fool of himself, potentially ending his NHL career on a whole different spectrum. After several hours of laughter, we as a league decided to make the unpopular move and ban fighting to protect players - players who are obviously unaware of their body's capabilities at the age of 34."
Gary Bettman also noted that the league may remove this ban in the near future if Souray were to retire from hockey altogether.
No comments:
Post a Comment