BREAKING: Top League Officially Bans Fighting
On Thursday The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) officially announced that they have banned fighting.
The QMJHL has announced that fighting has been banned starting this upcoming season.
The rules now state that fighting will result in an automatic ejection with other supplemental discipline to follow.
The rules now state that fighting will result in an automatic ejection with other supplemental discipline to follow.
QMJHL Takes A Leap
The QMJHL is the first to take the step to ban fighting. This had been rumored for several months and now becomes a reality. The new rule put in place reads as follows:
Section 4: Fights
In order to prevent physical and psychological violence that may result in minor or serious injury or, in extreme circumstances, death, the QMJHL is responsible for establishing rules of intervention when a fight occurs between two or more people during a game, regardless of whether they are players or other team members (coach, assistant coach, trainer, etc.).
Rule 47 of the Playing Rules, starting with the 2023-2024 season, provides for fights being prohibited with more restrictive and dissuasive sanctions in order to emphasize a safe quality of play conducive to the development of players participating in QMJHL activities.
The QMJHL will ensure that the sanctions mentioned in the following paragraphs are applied.
As soon as a fight occurs, those engaged must be systematically ejected from the game.
Any player found to have instigated the fight will also receive an automatic one-game suspension.
The person declared to be the aggressor during the fight will receive a minimum of two automatic games of suspension.
In addition to the game misconduct, an automatic game suspension is imposed starting with the player's 2nd fight of the season. This suspension is in addition to the sanctions described in the preceding paragraphs.
In order to prevent physical and psychological violence that may result in minor or serious injury or, in extreme circumstances, death, the QMJHL is responsible for establishing rules of intervention when a fight occurs between two or more people during a game, regardless of whether they are players or other team members (coach, assistant coach, trainer, etc.).
Rule 47 of the Playing Rules, starting with the 2023-2024 season, provides for fights being prohibited with more restrictive and dissuasive sanctions in order to emphasize a safe quality of play conducive to the development of players participating in QMJHL activities.
The QMJHL will ensure that the sanctions mentioned in the following paragraphs are applied.
As soon as a fight occurs, those engaged must be systematically ejected from the game.
Any player found to have instigated the fight will also receive an automatic one-game suspension.
The person declared to be the aggressor during the fight will receive a minimum of two automatic games of suspension.
In addition to the game misconduct, an automatic game suspension is imposed starting with the player's 2nd fight of the season. This suspension is in addition to the sanctions described in the preceding paragraphs.
The focus will now shift to the other major junior leagues around the world to see if they follow suit.
Fighting In The NHL
While fighting in the NHL is down compared to previous generations we are likely still a long way from its removal from the league. Many around the NHL are still in favor of fighting. One such individual is Brian Burke the former NHL general manager who had this to say when asked about fighting recently.
Brian Burke doesn't mess around when it comes to fighting in the NHL. "I will personally challenge anyone who wants to get rid of fighting to a fight." - Brian Burke on the possible elimination of fighting in the NHL.
It will be interesting to see the approach that the NHL takes to the rules on fighting in the coming months and years.
| POLL | ||
Should all hockey leagues ban fighting? | ||
| Yes | 328 | 19 % |
| No | 1401 | 81 % |
| List of polls | ||
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