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Greg Wyshynski ,2018

Why is fighting in the NHL at historic lows?

1. Summary
This article attempts to break down why fighting in the National Hockey League is at its
lowest of lows. One of the main reasons is due to rule changes in 2005 to try and make
the game more fast paced. It didn't take effect immediately but in 2009 there are fewer
and fewer spots being given to fighters. Many GM’s know that the more skill players
they bring in the more goals they will get thus winning more games. “You need guys
that will bring 3 or 4 tools to your team” - Stu Grimson (Former 12 season NHL fighter”

2. Bias
The author outright comes out and says he misses fighting in the league. Showing a
huge bias to pro fighting in the league. Saying that “it added a edge to the game along
with some hate”. The NHL has always tried to have team rivalry’s be the lifeblood of the
league. But with less fighting rivalry’s are fading away. He also brings up how fighting
can change the momentum of a game, he adds on to this by describing how fighting can
help a team.

3. Evidence
The author gets his evidence from Hockeyfights.com along with statistics from the NHL
seasons. The author explains that less than 10% of all league concussions are caused
by fighting. He backs up his claim that GM’s are wanting more skilled players by sharing
the number of goals most fighters average in a season.

4. Experimental Design
The author does no experiment or provide his own research. He does pull some of his
information about hockey fight statistics from hockeyfights.com. The website (which is
the most popular and accurate fighting site) shows that over the recent years fighting
has dropped 20% In the league. Now having a average .22 which is expected to
continue to decrease.