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Don’t Be Ashamed Of Fighting
by Paul on 08/30/08 at 08:14 PM ET
Comments (5)
from Damien Cristodero of the St. Petersburg Times,
Imagine if the ice in front of an NHL net were a place where the rules of the game were different. Players could hack and whack like the old days, before the league decided a tug on a jersey was obstruction. Lightning coach Barry Melrose can only hope....
How do you feel about the league’s long-term crackdown on fighting?
I think toughness is leaving our game, and I hope that people realize it’s wrong. I hate to mention this, but the fastest growing sport in the world is ultimate fighting. We’ve got that as part of our game. To act ashamed of that has been wrong of the NHL for a lot of years. You can say you don’t like fighting or you love fighting, but it creates conversation. It creates energy and excitement.
read on for more of the Q & A with Melrose…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Tampa Bay Lightning | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Barry+Melrose,
Comments
If there’s one thing today’s game needs more of, it’s stick violence.
I say defencemen be fair game in front of the net, too, though. Those battles would be epic to watch.
Posted by Ryan from Toronto on 08/30/08 at 09:46 PM ET
Imagine if...[p]layers could hack and whack like the old days, before the league decided a tug on a jersey was obstruction.
A tug on a jersey? How about simply having your butt within two feet of the goalie’s face. The League needs to come up with one set of rules for goalie interference...and they need to apply it League-wide. All we’re asking is that the League doesn’t have one set of rules for 29 teams and another for the Red Wings (i.e., Homer).
Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 08/30/08 at 10:37 PM ET
Okay now, moving on to our next topic, Barry, what do you think of coaching a team of all forwards?
What???
Posted by BobTheZee on 08/30/08 at 11:57 PM ET
Okay now, moving on to our next topic, Barry, what do you think of coaching a team of all forwards?
To be fair, they did just make a trade for a young defenseman from Ottawa. I know, they traded two-for-one, but stil ... 
I don’t think some people are as “ashamed” of fighting as they don’t see the point of it in a hockey sense. James Mirtle addressed this a while back, as did Kent W. (nee Metrognome) of Five Hole Fanatics, and they really didn’t see a point to fighting that showed up in the observable numbers.
The entertainment value to fans is an entirely separate issue.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 08/31/08 at 06:53 AM ET
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I never thought i would say this… But I agree with Barry.
Think of the battle we saw in front of the Penguins net during the playoffs between the defense and Holmstrom. Now imagine if Hall Gill was allowed to pick him up and carry him out of there, and Thomas could turn around and punch him, then Fleury could hit him in the balls like he did during the Sens series, then Franzen and Brooks Orpik could begin that UFC stuff that Barry loves, and while Franzen is trying to put Brooksie into a kimora, brooksie kicks him in the neck with his skates and kills him.
Yeah so maybe Barry was a bit off base. But some of what he said was good.
Posted by Kevin from Pittsburgh on 08/30/08 at 08:30 PM ET