MIGHTY DUCKS ‘93-94: PREMIERE SEASON : PUT UP YOUR DUKES : Some Love It, Some Hate It, but Fighting Will Always Be a Part of the Game

Many Canadians view fighting as part of hockey’s strategy--a tool to intimidate opponents or keep opposing bullies off high scorers, a ploy to open up the ice by creating four-on-four skating situations.

Most Europeans view the fighting as barbaric and would like to see it eliminated.

And Americans? Well, if you’ve attended a Mighty Ducks exhibition game and seen the fan response when fists start flying, it’s pretty obvious.

They love it.

All of which makes fighting such a volatile issue and so difficult to legislate in the NHL. Tougher rules helped reduce fighting by 29% last season, and stiff penalties for leaving the bench during an altercation--a 10-game suspension for a player and a five-game suspension for that player’s coach--have virtually eliminated bench-clearing brawls.

But is everyone happy? Hardly.

“This paranoia about fighting has brought sticks up to the point where it’s scary,” said Don Cherry, former NHL player, coach and now between-periods comentator of Hockey Night in Canada. “It’s turned into a hack-and-slash sport. (Toronto’s) Doug Gilmour had 38 stitches from sticks in the face last year. There have been so many rules about fighting in the past 10 years, all from guys who don’t know hockey. The closest they come to ice is in their drinks.”

Cherry points to the popularity of enforcers such as Winnipeg’s Tie Domi (seven goals, 344 penalty minutes in 1992-93) and Detroit’s Bob Probert (14 goals, 292 penalty minutes) as reasons fighting shouldn’t be so frowned upon.

“Fans go nuts every time they go on the ice,” he said. “If the coaches don’t mind it and the fans love it, what’s the problem?”

The problem, many say, is it makes a mockery of the game. Besides the obvious addition of gratuitous violence, fights cause game delays and often clog highlight shows that could be filled with goals and great saves.

“People have the notion hockey is all about fighting, but it’s not,” said Gary Bettman, in his first year as NHL commissioner. “And the whole debate over fighting gets a disproportionate amount of attention. We have to look at it and decide how much fighting is appropriate in the game.”

King owner Bruce McNall, who is chairman of the NHL Board of Governors, admits that it would be difficult to eliminate fighting in a sport that is so violent by nature.

“But if it’s done in a manner where it’s premeditated, where it isn’t spontaneous, it can look silly,” McNall said. “Otherwise, it’s not a big problem.”

Steve Dryden, editor of The Hockey News, believes you can eliminate fighting without alienating the hard-core fans who shell out $20 for “Fists of Fury” videos, which highlight hockey’s best brawls.

“The less fighting you have, the more hitting you’ll have, because players won’t be concerned as much about getting punched in the nose if they check someone hard,” Dryden said. “Fighting just clouds the game.”