Would Bringing Back NHL's Fighting Enforcers Make Hockey Safer?
TThe 2021 Stanley Cup final kicks off Monday night as the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning gear up for the demolition for the title. So now is the perfect time to tell followers of other sports a secret, although serious hockey fans have known it for years. There is hardly any fighting in the NHL anymore. As in many sports, the terrible consequences of concussions in hockey are well documented. This year I was asked if I know how bad a concussion is and what it must feel like. I do. Mine was from playing hockey in my teens. William Beaver, Professor Emeritus of Social Sciences at Robert Morris University, has explored how the NHL handled concussions. He says there was an increase in the number of concussions after 2005, but I assume most of the increase was [due to] better awareness and reporting of concussion. Beaver said 8% of concussions were the result of fights. That 8% is interesting because I think the league forbids fights rather than any main contact illegal, incidental or not. Banning fighting may not affect the incidence of concussion as much, but punishing all head contact certainly would. I asked Beaver if the game would be safer if enforcers were allowed back in. [Enforcing the rules and fair play] is something the umpires should do, he says. However, consistent enforcement of rules is something the league has never had. It depends on the refs and situations. One of the arguments against using enforcers is the toll it takes on the players themselves. In 2011, three NHL enforcers died. All were under the age of 35 and their deaths were attributed, at least in part, to: the brain trauma they had suffered of fighting during their playing career. Darren McCarty won four Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings, in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008. He played right on Detroits Famous Grind Line. He matched opponents frontline stars while protecting Detroits skill players from serious injury. A more demanding role in sport is hard to imagine. Now retired, hes raspy, tough, charming and super smart about hockey. He knows a lot more about the game than I will ever know. He also doesnt mind being remembered as an enforcer. I take no offense at that, he says. Most importantly, all the cups I have. Call me what you want. He says his path to becoming an enforcer made sense. When I was 16 I was taken apart and told that if I wanted to make it to the NHL I had to do one thing better than 99.9% of the rest of the [players], and for me it would be physical play. Like Beaver, McCarty thinks the concussion rate in the NHL is due to increased awareness and reporting. As the rules evolve, hockey can be considered softer, he says. But he doesnt necessarily see that as a bad thing: I hope people are safer. The most important thing for any enforcer or hockey player is responsibility, McCarty says. He believes that taking fighting out of the game comes with a sense of responsibility for actions on the ice. Enforcers had the role of holding players responsible for injuring other players. Historically, hockey has been self-regulated and if you take that out of the game, it gives that bit of anarchy and guys take liberties. The old enforcers, known almost exclusively for their fighting, are gone. You should be able to play now, he says. The old toughness, the old size, it turned into speed. He is clear: Absolutely. One hundred percent better. They are so inconsistent. They dont know what to call it, and what they are interested in is parity. McCarty gives the example of one of the NHLs best players, the Pittsburgh Penguins Sidney Crosby, of whom: I couldnt be prouder to represent the league, but Im getting frustrated at the abuse he wouldnt. [have to] take if there are guys in my role to this day. There is, of course, another reason to love enforcers. Its the joy of those rare occasions when they shake off the stereotype of only being good at fighting and produce a moment of magic. For McCarty it was undoubtedly his 1997 Stanley Cup goal. Its a masterpiece from a boy who was told that if he wanted to play in the NHL, he had to fight. Its a target for grinders everywhere, from all walks of life.