Fighting in hockey is almost as old as the sport itself. Fans have always turned to the officials to stop brawling between players, believing that the people on the ice know how to play the game better than anyone else. They’re not wrong. After all, hockey is a contact sport and the refs are the people in charge of keeping the peace on the ice.
Since the start of the season, several high-profile fights have broken out between players and fans have called for an end to fighting in hockey. But why? Is it a lack of refs stopping fights? Is it the NHL wanting to keep fans interested in the sport during the pandemic? Let’s take a closer look.
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Injuries.
It’s no secret that hockey is a physical game. Checking is extremely common and fans usually turn to fights to let off a little steam after a particularly grueling checking session. While injuries aren’t necessarily caused by fights, they’re certainly made easier by them. After all, a fight usually results in at least one player being checked hard into the ice. That’s bound to hurt somewhere, somehow.
In fact, since the start of the 2019-20 season, there have been 433 fights in the NHL according to stats website HockeyViz.com. That’s an increase of 42% over the 338 fights recorded the season before. There were also 30 fights in the KHL in the 2019-20 season. In total, there were 562 fights across all NHL and KHL leagues last season. That’s a 13% increase over the previous season.
No Game Without A Fight.
You might think that fans would be in favor of fewer fights in hockey. After all, they’re the ones who come to the rink every day and see the players fighting each other. But that isn’t the case. According to a poll conducted by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) in partnership with the NHL, fans actually want to see more fights. In the poll, 72% of respondents said they’d like to see more fights in hockey, while only 12% said they want to see fewer fights.
Even the most diehard hockey fans probably weren’t expecting this. Why? Well, since the start of the season, there have been several high-profile fights in the NHL. Two of the most notable ones happened in the first round of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, with the Nashville Predators and New York Rangers going at it for nearly 25 minutes before anyone could even think about taking a break for the series finale. And what was the main topic of conversation after the game? Yep—you guessed it: the referees’ decision in the fight.
The league saw record numbers of people tuning in for those two games. In total, 12.3 million Americans watched the Predators-Rangers series, making it the most-watched NHL playoff series of all time. According to the 4A’s and NHL results, more than 5 million of those viewers were between the ages of 25 and 54.
In the same vein, the Vegas Golden Knights and the San Jose Sharks were also involved in a massive brawl that drew significant viewership. The fight, which was the largest in franchise history, was fueled by frustration over a bad giveaway that ultimately led to a fight-clinching goal by the Golden Knights in overtime.
Even more impressively, the NHL posted record-breaking numbers during the season, averaging 14.3 million viewers per game. That’s a rise of 2.3 million viewers per game over the previous season and a whopping 25% increase over the 10.1 million viewers per game posted in 2019-20. The numbers don’t lie. Hockey is back.
The Rise Of ‘The Craze’
If there’s one place you can expect to see fights emerge, it’s the Stanley Cup playoffs. The intensity is ratcheted up another level, as the players are desperate to win their first championship. And who will they be competing against? One of the best teams in the NHL, of course.
The Boston Bruins have a history of brawling during the playoffs. They’ve been involved in several fights since their dynasty years and some, such as the 1970s series with the New York Islanders, are considered classics. This year’s playoffs are no different. The Bruins aren’t afraid to drop the gloves against any opponent, with some of the games being decided by fights. In fact, according to HockeyViz, the team has already surpassed their total number of fights for the whole season (70) from a year ago.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been involved in a couple of interesting scraps this year, with Auston Matthews and Matt Duchene going at it during the season, but they’ve also been known to fight other teams’ players. It’s quite a bit more common in the NHL nowadays, as fights are basically an integral part of the playoffs. And the numbers back it up. According to HockeyViz, Toronto has already surpassed their 2019-20 fighting total (36) by about 10 fights.
There’s also the Minnesota Wild, who have only had one fight this year so far, but that was a one-punch knockout against Anaheim Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano. The Wild have been involved in more fights (9) than they’ve had this year (6), largely due to them playing in a lot of close games. It really is an epidemic. In the 2019-20 season, there have been nearly 1,500 fights across all NHL and KHL teams, with several rounds going on at once. In the playoffs, the numbers are even more impressive, with the average game featuring about 22 punches, 1 kick and 2 hockey fights, per the 4A’s and NHL’s research.
The Referees’ Role
For as long as there’s been hockey, there’s been conflict on the ice. The fans want to see skill and speed, while the players want to show off their strength. The officials have always been the ones in the middle, trying to keep the violence to a minimum while also maintaining some fun. They’ve always had to walk a tricky line. It hasn’t always been easy.
Since the start of the 2019-20 season, several high-profile fights have broken out between players and referees. Both sides have been involved in a few scuffles, with the most recent one happening this past week between the Vegas Golden Knights and the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks challenged a call made by an ice judge and when tempers started to flare, there were several punches thrown. No punches were thrown directly by the players, however. The fights usually break out after bad calls by the officials, who have to defend themselves against allegations of over-intervention. But maybe it’s time for a change.
The Changing Climate
It hasn’t always been easy being an official in the NHL. There was a time when fighting wasn’t accepted, but those days are long gone. Since the sport evolved into what it is today, refs have become an integral part of the game. They wear specific hats, which is iconic, and a large part of their job is to keep the fans interested in the game, despite all the fighting that takes place on the ice every night.
Now, with hockey seemingly returning to the ice, the officials have to walk a much different line. They can’t allow the fighting to continue, but they also have to provide entertainment value to fans, who have grown sick of the game. It’s a difficult balance, but maybe, just maybe, it’s time for the officials to start making some waves in the sport. Let’s face it: as entertaining as hockey can be, nothing draws a crowd like a good old-fashioned fight. It doesn’t have to. If the games aren’t being broadcast, fans can always find an outlet for their love of conflict through social media.
The Future
Back in 2014, the NHL decided that officials should be included in their broadcasts. Prior to that, they had always turned to players and fans for commentary on the game. The decision was made to include the referees in the broadcasts in an effort to provide more context for the events that take place on the ice. The idea was to give the viewers a better understanding of the game, which in turn, might draw more fans to the sport.