There are certain inherent dangers in sports. Depending on the playing surface or the particular arena, pitfalls and peril are at every corner for our heroes. In the first week of the hockey season an incident spurred discussion that could change the game of hockey.
A freak accident during a consensual (yes I said consensual) fight between George Parros and Colton Orr resulted in Parros being stretchered off the ice. In most hockey fights there is clutching and grabbing and often a decisive winner and loser. There has never been a serious incident regarding player safety as a result of a fight. Then again, I suppose it depends on your perspective.
Parros was injured accidentally and incidentally when he lost his balance and Orr’s momentum pulled him to the ice face-first. It was horrific to watch and your gut tells you that you never want to see something like that again.
Hockey is many things: graceful, fast, fluid, explosive, aggressive and violent. The players know exactly what they are signing up for, and certain players, like Parros sign on specifically for the violent part. As a matter of fact, Parros developed a merchandise line that boasts the title “Violent Gentlemen”. They produce shirts and other merchandise that, by design, promote the more aggressive side of hockey.
George Parros is a graduate of Princeton University where he majored in economics. He is a spokesman for the “You Can Play” initiative designed to fight homophobia in sports. Every Christmas he donates his hair to Locks of Love an organization that makes wigs for children who have lost their hair due to illness. Parros is also an enforcer for the Montreal Canadiens. He is one of the toughest players in the league and nicest human beings off the ice.
There was no hidden agenda when he signed his contract with the Canadiens. His role was to be a physical and often times imposing presence on the ice for Montreal. Parros is a hockey player first and foremost. He knows how to play the game, but excels at the portions that involve making big hits or dropping his gloves.
He has fought Colton Orr at least four times before and is very comfortable with his role in the NHL. Colton Orr himself has been knocked cold in a couple of fights during his notorious career. Each player would tell you that the Parros accident was an accident, something that rarely happens.
The moral of the story is that for lack of a better word: Sh#t Happens.
The knee-jerk reaction from all of the faces on television and the writers with much more glamorous credentials is to ban fighting, immediately, forever. A random accident is cause to change the way that the game of hockey is played? I don’t think so.
Am I being dramatic when I suggest that outlawing fighting in the NHL would change the game of hockey? Maybe. Fighting is banned in international play why couldn’t that work in the NHL?
Without the worry of any on-ice consequences the game becomes more chippy and players that are known for treading near the boundaries of fair play start to wander across without fear. The game of hockey itself can be so frustrating at times that even the mildest mannered players can drop the mitts.
The argument is that eventually someone will die from an on-ice incident. My response is that the fights are bare-knuckled affairs that rarely result in a knockout blow, with a referee hovering nearby to step in when a fighter is in trouble. There have been much more gruesome and certainly more dangerous injuries when Clint Malarchuk and Richard Zednik were sliced open with skate blades. Do we ban skates? Or just sharpening them?
Player safety is the main concern and I have no beef with that. My quarrel is with the agenda driven crusaders who feel like their voice is full of reason because it condemns the barbaric and brutal act of physical (and yes, consensual) fisticuffs with another grown man. Rather hypocritical in my opinion considering that it took a frightening, yet not career-threatening injury to an NHL player.
The evolution of the NHL and the changes to certain rules has been seamless so far. While I like hybrid icing, I think it would be easier just to go to no-touch icing to remove the subjectivity during close calls. However, leave the fighting debate off the table.
Every, well almost every fan in the arena will get out of their seat when there is a fight in the game. The adrenaline that comes from watching adults pummel each other is the same that occurs when you watch boxing, UFC, NASCAR and football. The inherent violence is unapologetically glorified in each of these sports and the NHL should be no different.
Given the public relations nightmare that the NHL suffered during the 2012-13 lockout, the last thing they need to do is alienate the fans or any paying customer. If the promise of blood and a donnybrook can get more people to the arena, I say it’s a good, nay, a great thing. If that makes me a Neanderthal, then so be it. I’ll see you at the rink.