May 25, 2022

Winnipeg
18° C, Partly cloudy

Full Forecast

Contact Us Subscribe Manage Subscription Chat with us
Log in Create Free Account Help Chat with us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • My Account
    • Manage my Subscription
    • Change Password

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
    • Log in
    • Create Free Account
    • Help

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
  • Coronavirus Coverage
  • Replica E-Edition
    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • Community Review East
    • Community Review West
  • Above the Fold
  • Front page
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Book Club
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
    • Manitoba's Top Employers
  • Canada
  • Local
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • World
  • The Star
  • Reader BridgeNEW
  • WFP EventsNEW
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Archives
  • Free Press Community Review
    • All Free Press Community Review News
    • East Edition
    • West Edition
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Classifieds
  • Contests
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • LifestylesNEW
    • All Lifestyles
    • Business Hub
    • Community
    • Drink & Dine
    • Life
    • Wellness
    • Whiskers & Wings
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Homes
    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Newsletters
  • Obituaries
  • Puzzles
  • Photo and Book store
  • More

©2022 FP Newspaper Inc.

Close
  • Quick Links

    • Coronavirus Coverage
    • Federal Election
    • Above the Fold
    • Home
    • Local
    • Canada
    • World
    • Classifieds
    • Special Coverage
    • Newsletters
    • Obituaries
    • Photo and Book store
    • Archives
    • Contests
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Content
    • Privacy Policy

    Ways to support us

    • Pay it Forward program
    • Subscribe
    • Day Pass
    • Support Faith coverage
    • Support Arts coverage
  • Replica E-Edition

    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • Community Review East
    • Community Review West

    Business

    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Arts & Life

    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Sports

    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • Opinion

    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor

    Media

    • All Media
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos

    Homes

    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Canstar Community News

    • All Free Press Community Review News
    • East Edition
    • West Edition
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Coupons

    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • About Us

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
The Free Press
Articles Read
Your Balance +tax
Day Pass Till
Day Pass
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Report an Error
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
    • Staff Biographies
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • Log in
    • Create Account
    • Help
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
    • My Account
    • Manage My Subscription
    • Change Password
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
Log in Create Account Contact Us
Contact Us Manage Subscription
  • Sections
  • Local
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Diversions
    • Environment
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Health
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
    • Manitoba's Top Employers
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Soccer
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • E-Edition
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
    • All Classifieds
    • Announcements
    • Automotive
    • Careers
    • Garage Sales
    • Merchandise
    • Pets
    • Real Estate
    • Rentals
    • Services
  • Lifestyles
    • Business Hub
    • Community
    • Drink & Dine
    • Life
    • Manitoba’s Top Employers
    • Wellness
    • Whiskers & Wings
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print
    • Ripley's Aquariums
    • The Bay
    • Staples Canada
    • Altitude Sports
    • Nike
    • Tuango
    • Ebay Canada
    • Sport Chek
    • Roots
  • Obituaries
  • Subscribe$1.50 for 5 months
Home Opinion Analysis

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

From fights to bites

Hockey violence is out of control

By: Jon Heshka
Posted: 1:00 AM CST Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email
  • Save to Read Later

To the uninitiated, the raw physicality and violence in professional hockey can be unsettling. Bone-crushing hits and fights are the rule rather than the exception. Nothing fires up the fans and players like a big hit or a fight.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/1/2009 (4882 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

To the uninitiated, the raw physicality and violence in professional hockey can be unsettling. Bone-crushing hits and fights are the rule rather than the exception. Nothing fires up the fans and players like a big hit or a fight.

The focus on fighting in the National Hockey League has, however, masked a bigger problem. Excessive hockey violence is on the rise and, unsurprisingly, the league is in a downward spiral. The causes are myriad but the uncomfortable truth is that professional hockey has lost its way.

Recent events should give the governing bodies of hockey and the legal system cause for concern. Don Sanderson, a 21-year-old defenceman, died last month after his head struck the ice at the end of a fight in an Ontario Hockey League game. Ottawa Senator Jarkko Ruutu just bit the finger of an opponent in an NHL game! Even though they're on opposite ends of the spectrum, Sanderson's tragic death and Ruutu's chomp share the same theme of unbridled violence in hockey.

New Jersey Devils’ Mike Rupp, left, fights with Boston Bruins’ Shawn Thornton.

BILL KOSTROUN / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES

New Jersey Devils’ Mike Rupp, left, fights with Boston Bruins’ Shawn Thornton.

This argument is not strictly about fighting. Fighting is an accepted part of the hockey culture and the leagues have developed complex, if not irrational, regulations governing its conduct.

The penalties do not serve to dissuade or discourage players from fighting. Its place in the game and its promotion serve as a "ground zero" in infecting other parts of the game with hitherto unheard-of levels of violence. In short, despite denunciation by the leagues and rules against such conduct, players are hitting one another harder (into the boards or open ice checks), hitting higher (in the head) and hitting with a weapon (a hockey stick) more than ever before. Lost is a respect for the game amid a willingness to "cross the line" with late hits and cheap shots. As Jeremy Roenick of the NHL San Jose Sharks has commented, "In the mid-'80s, there was more respect for the guy's well-being. Nowadays, it's see how hard you can hit them."

Hockey violence is escalating. Eight of the 10 longest suspensions levied by the NHL have been in the 21st century. More than half of last season's 65 concussions in the NHL were the result of hits to the head or from behind and only eight drew penalties. The rules are not working.

Not only is the line not being respected by players, it is not being enforced by the NHL.

Colorado Avalanche player Steve Moore was tracked, not unaware, by Todd Bertuzzi and felled by a gloved blow from behind -- the legality of which is for the courts to decide in his civil lawsuit. Moore wasn't in a fight. Neither was Donald Brashear, who was hit from behind with a stick (Marty McSorley -- 23 games), nor Tomas Sandstrom who was cross-checked and suffered a broken jaw (Dave Brown -- 15 games) and the list goes on and on.

These are not isolated incidents. Connecting the dots reveals a pattern of systematized violence.

The NHL will try to hide behind the shibboleth that violence is part of the game of hockey. Indeed, upon his arrival with the Toronto Maple Leafs, former Anaheim Ducks GM Brian Burke vowed to engineer a team that is pugnacious and belligerent and whose style of play results in black and blue hockey. Burke applied this blueprint to success in the 2006-07 NHL season when the Ducks amassed a league-high 71 fighting major penalties and went on to win the Stanley Cup.

But there's a difference between playing hard hockey and intending to injure.

The Free Press | Newsletter

Winnipeg Gardener

What you need to know now about gardening in Winnipeg. A monthly email from the Free Press with advice, ideas and tips to keep your outdoor and indoor plants growing.

Sign up for Winnipeg Gardener
Sign Up

The courts are no longer willing to sit idle on the bench. Two NHL players, Marty McSorley and Todd Bertuzzi, have been convicted of assault. The game is perilously close to being out of control. How else to characterize a sport in which an NHL player (Mike Danton) is imprisoned for attempting to hire a hit man to kill his agent, brain injuries are regarded as normal, eight-year-olds are involved in bench-clearing brawls, Steve Moore's $38-million lawsuit, and Todd Bertuzzi's suit against his former coach? This is to be considered normal in sport?

Surely even the sport's most ardent defenders must concede that something is wrong with the game of hockey.

If the NHL hasn't the backbone or is unwilling to clean up its act, the state will have no choice but to do its dirty work. The Quebec government's intervention last year to introduce tougher rules to curb hockey violence is a welcome development and reminiscent of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt's threat in 1905 to abolish football by executive order unless the game could be made less violent. It would do the NHL good to bone up on its history.

The focus shouldn't be on fighting. It should instead be about reckless and excessive violence that has no place in the game of hockey. And if this type of behaviour does rear its ugly head, then players should be prepared to pay the price both in ice time and in court.

 

Jon Heshka, a former Winnipegger, is an assistant professor at Thompson River University in Kamloops, B.C.

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

  • Report Error
  • Submit a Tip
  • Refund
  • The Free Press is certified by

The Winnipeg Free Press invites you to share your opinion on this story in a letter to the editor. A selection of letters to the editor are published daily.

To submit a letter:
• fill out the form on this page, or
• email letters@freepress.mb.ca, or
• mail Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 3B6.

Letters must include the writer’s full name, address, and a daytime phone number. Letters are edited for length and clarity.

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Top