Not much ignites the fighting debate in hockey more than a star player suffering an injury during a bout.
Connor McDavid, captain of the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters and considered the top 2015 NHL Draft prospect, fractured a bone in his right hand Tuesday night while fighting Mississauga Steelheads center Bryson Cianfrone.
McDavid reportedly will be out for five to six weeks, but as soon as he left the game, the hot take machine was set to overdrive with articles on why fighting should be eliminated from hockey.
The fact of the matter is that if McDavid didn’t miss on one of his punches, smashing his right hand into the glass, the conversation would be much different. Instead of trying to take fighting out of the sport at every level, fans and columnists would praise McDavid for sticking up for himself and showing an “edge” to his game on top of his world-class offensive talent.
Players like McDavid often are slashed, punched and cross-checked many times during a game, especially at the junior level. They are so talented — McDavid leads the OHL with 51 points in 18 games — that one of the only ways for opponents to throw them off their game is to be extra physical.
McDavid likely was incredibly frustrated and took matters into his own hands. But referees won’t put Erie on the power play every time McDavid is slashed or cross-checked, because the game then would be dominated by special teams.
Many teams have enforcers who protect players of McDavid’s caliber, but sometimes the superstars choose and/or need to fight their own battles. In some of these cases, the decision to fight results in stars not being slashed or cross-checked as much as before — Bobby Orr fought many of his own battles in his rookie year and wasn’t tested a whole lot after that.
The result of McDavid’s decision was unfortunate and unlucky, and in hindsight, he probably wouldn’t drop his gloves if given a second chance. No one forced him to fight. He made his own decision in the heat of the moment and now must live with the consequences.
There probably will be a time — but not in the near future — when the NHL outlaws fighting. Medical research has shown the brain injuries suffered as a result of fighting impact players long after their careers conclude.
Keeping fighting in the game is becoming harder to defend, but using McDavid’s injury as an example of why it must be eliminated is wrong. It was an example of a player sticking up for himself, and that’s something we would see even if fighting was outlawed.
Photo via Twitter/@LeafsLunch1050
