Molinari: It’s Time Fighting Goes Down for the Count (+)

The merits of fighting — whether it should be accepted, banished or celebrated — is perhaps the most polarizing issue in today’s NHL.

For the past couple of decades, too.

And probably for a few decades to come.

That a significant segment of the sport’s fanbase relishes an opportunity to watch two (or more) men trade punches is beyond dispute. (It’s also true that a certain percentage of the population is fascinated by traffic accidents, as evidenced by how many people slow down to gawk at any random highway carnage across which they happen to come.)

Now, driving a car or truck isn’t supposed to be a contact sport. Hockey, conversely, is.

The game is at its most entertaining when it features not only speed and skill, but physicality. A good, hard check can invigorate a crowd and even alter the course of a game.