The End Of Fighting Is Near

Don Sanderson was a 21 year old defenseman living his hockey dream and playing for the Whitby Dunlops (yes, they are a team named after the character played by Newman in 'Slap Shot'), when he got into a fight, struck his head on the ice, lapsed into a coma - and died.

This seems to me to be the inevitable result of fighting in hockey. Yes its extremely rare, but like the slapshot that got tipped into the stands and killed a little girl, it was also predictable.

Cue the outrage from journalists looking to ban fighting. Opportunistic, grating, and also predictable.

Personally, I have always loved a good tilt. Probert, Neely, Tocchet, Nilan, Hunter, Lindros, and others were all among my favourites in part because they throw the meat when push came to shove. I'm not alone in loving them for it, nor am I alone in standing and cheering when a good tilt breaks out during a game. For years I have not only enjoyed a good fight, endorsed its presence, but positively celebrated them.

But I was always aware of the darker side. The trade-off would come in the form of the death of John Kordick, or the career ending bout of Nick Kypreos;



...even if they are a rarity, they are still a heartbreaking tragedy.

As a fan I love fighting. As a dad, I realized recently I now have more mixed feelings. The idea my kid could be the one who breaks his head open on the ice makes me sick in ways that can't be described. The good news is that Oliver's tilts are still likely years away.

As for banning fights, that is unlikely to work - afterall fighting was already banned in the league Sanderson plays in, and whats more it is still a deep part of hockey culture. But it will be leaving us. Count on it.

What is ultimately going to kill fighting in the NHL once and for all is the insurance costs. As sure as Sanderson's death is a tragedy the people who insure hockey players are going to take note of it at a level beyond what the fans care and crave - and they are simply going to price it out of the game.

Not this year, not the next, but soon.

And after thinking about it for a while, I'm ok with that.