Why are there so many fights during ice hockey matches?

Question

Are there really alot of fights?
What are the rules on fighting etc?
Any notorious players that were trouble makers?

I just think its werid there are so many fights when fighting is against the rules. But a 5 min time out for fighting doesnt seem like much of a punishment. Thats probally why there are so many.

Answer 1

Hockey is a sport where there are a lot of fights. It's one way for a team leader to let a player on the opposite team that something they did is not cool. There are some rules on fighting, especially in the new NHL rules. Each person in the fight gets a 5 minute major for fighting, and if the refs feel one of the two fighters instigated the fight, they get an extra 2 minutes. If a player commits 3 major penalties during a single game, or is ruled as instigating two fights, they are ejected from the game.
There used to be a lot more fights before the new rules, and hockey used to be a more physical game. If you watch a minor league game (AHL, OHL, etc) there are often more fights. A fight can bring the crowd back into the game, and excite a team to play better. There are really too many notorious fighters to list, but here are a few: Donald Brashear (WAS), Darius Kasparaitis (NYR).
Wikipedia also says, "notorious ones in NHL history include Matthew Barnaby, Sprague Cleghorn, Red Horner, Lou Fontinato, John Ferguson, Donald Brashear, Reggie Fleming, Dave Schultz, Chris Nilan, Joey Kocur, Rob Ray, Bob Probert, Tiger Williams, Marty McSorley, Dave Semenko, Tie Domi, and Georges Laraque."

Answer 2

Intimidation and to try and make sure the other team isn't taking cheap shot hits at their teams star players. In other words, to protect their star players, because hockey is a full contact sport where hitting is the norm. You have to discourage big hits against your star players somehow and fighting is the best way. Winning a fight can also turn the moentum of a game in your teams favour, just by picking up there energy level. In the majority of fights, it is a tie game or the initiating team of a fight is behind in the game. Very rarely do you see a team who is winning even want to fight, unless one of the teams stars has been overly targeted. Yes, you do usually get a 5 minute penalty for fighting, but if one player from each team both decide to fight, each team loses the player for 5, so there is no advantage to one team in many cases. I would also say that it's not true that they LIKE to fight, most players who do fight fairly often don't exactly like it. In fact I would say quite the opposite, but they realise it's part of the game and part of their job. Some players are on pro teams just because they are good fighters, that is not to say they like it , in fact most admit they really don't, but it's worth a good paycheck. A really great fighter can earn over a million dollars US in the NHL per year.

Answer 3

Although it is officially prohibited in the rules, at the professional level fights are sometimes used to affect morale of the teams, with aggressors hoping to demoralize the opposing players while exciting their own, as well as settling personal scores. Both players in an altercation receive five-minute major penalties for fighting. The player deemed to be the "instigator" of an NHL fight, if one is determined to exist, is penalized an additional two minutes for instigating, plus a ten-minute misconduct penalty. If there is no instigator, both players stay in the penalty box for five minutes, and neither team loses skaters. This so-called instigator rule is highly controversial in NHL hockey: many coaches, sportswriters, players and fans feel it prevents players from effectively policing the objectionable behavior of their peers, which is often cleverly hidden from referees. [citation needed] They point to less extreme on-ice violence during the era before the rule was introduced. Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe famously observed that "If you can't beat 'em in the alley you can't beat 'em on the ice."

Answer 4

Yes there are alot of fights
There are no "rules" "for" fighting
actually ---fighting is against the rules !!! Go figure !!
There's a list of "notorious players" so long I'm not even going there

And, the real reason that there are so many fights during ice hockey matches is----THE FANS EXPECT THEM !!!!!!!

Answer 5

if fighting wasn't allowed they would be automatically kicked out of the game so fighting is allowed yes you do get a 5 minutes penalty, and its part of the game. you never really see two guys just drop the gloves for no reason, they have a job to do and that's it, if they can help out offensively that's a bonus. Gary Bettman has been trying to get fighting out of hockey for year and he cant cause its simply a big part of hockey. if you are constantly pushing my top player on my team around or even keep bumping in my goalie i will send out my tough player to knock you on your a-s-s to get you to stop and give you a warning. if my team is down in the 3rd period and my team is not playing great then i will send out my checking line to get punishing the other team with big crunching hits or send out mu tough guy to start a fight to get my team pump up and its a plus if your playing at home cause you have your home town fans cheering for you. those are big parts of the game and that's why tough guys will always be around the NHL, if they were all gone players like Briere, Crosby, Koivu to name a few will get knock around constantly and you will need that guy on your team to stop it.

AND TO THE PEOPLE THAT WANT FIGHTING OUT OF THE NHL, THEY JUST SIMPLY DON'T LIKE THIS GAME.

Dupont, Nilan, Probert, Shaltzy, Domi, Ray, May, to name a few.



GO HABS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Answer 6

To make it interesting.
If there were no fights the average spectator would see two teams of men skating around a patch of ice hitting some invisible object with a stick.

Answer 7

Just watch Derek Boogaard knock someone else out. It'll answer those questions

Answer 8

There aren't a lot of fights anymore... Gone are the days of Bob Probert and his ilk... Watch a few games and find out...

Answer 9

there really arent anymore but when it happens its because it a physical game thats played with lots of intensity at a high tempo lots of blood and adrenalein pumpung tempers flare easy

Answer 10

To make the game interesting and worth watching.