Last week’s goalie fight between the Flyers’ Ray Emery and the Capitals’ Braden Holtby has generated plenty of discussion and debate in the hockey community.
Emery left his zone and skated past center ice during a line brawl between the two teams in Friday’s game in Philadelphia, then proceeded to fight the Washington goalie even though the 24-year-old didn’t want to get involved.
Holtby could have suffered a serious injury, which would have caused a lot of problems for the Capitals. This is why it’s not too surprising that the NHL is reportedly going to discuss 10-game suspensions for goalies who leave their part of the ice to engage in a fight, according to Gary Lawless of the Winnipeg Free Press.
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Many fans, and some members of the media, wanted Emery to be suspended for his actions. But by the letter of the law, Emery didn’t break any rules that would warrant a suspension. However, his fight wasn’t a good look for the NHL and the sport as a whole, as commissioner Gary Bettman recently told the Columbus Post-Dispatch.
“I don’t think anybody liked it, liked what it looked like,” said Bettman. “Fortunately it’s not something that happens very often. But I’m sure it’s something we’ll focus on, particularly with the general managers.”
It will be interesting to see what kind of response the players give on the idea of handing out suspensions for goalie fights. The overwhelming majority of players want to keep fighting in the game.
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