The NHL, or National Hockey League, is the biggest hockey league, not only in the U.S., but in all parts of the world. Â Although games and teams represent cities and states of the U.S. and Canada only, players actually come from different parts of the world including Europe and Asia. Â Along with the entertaining game of skating, sliding, defending, and scoring, hockey, or the NHL, is also associated with a lot of player-fighting.
For sports experts, fighting in the NHL actually stems from tradition. Â Hockey was born as a physical sport, and it has continued to become a highly physical and demanding type of sport. Â Because of the way the game is played, much of the sports’ moves and plays actually resemble fighting. Â Plays like checking and high-sticking, for example, are viewed by many as too physical and as a form of fighting in themselves. Â It has also been a tradition of many teams to be involved in a fight with the opposing team as an intimidation tactic or to protect its star players. Â Teams who want to appear as the stronger team, or those who want to make a bold statement, frequently involve themselves in fighting during the game. Â This particular tradition has continued to present times because the NHL in itself actually allows for fighting to occur during games.
In the NHL, when players fight over a supposedly illegal play or move, for example, all the players involved basically are allowed to throw punches at each other. Â In a world of entertainment, hockey fights in the NHL provide a huge entertainment value to the sport. Â Another thing that contributes to the continued fighting in the NHL is that players who are involved in fights are not automatically ejected from the game. Â This seemingly bizarre rule has made people question this move by NHL officials, but the fighting has continued in NHL games.