The NHL preseason is underway, and fans around the league are seeing their fair share of old-fashioned fights, as players literally battle to get noticed to try to secure big league roster spots.
For the most part, their efforts will be futile. Once the regular season gets rolling, fisticuffs will become more and more of a rare occurrence.
HockeyFights.com stats confirm that fighting in the NHL dropped again in 2015-16. Speed and skill are now seen as the more effective tools for winning hockey games. A better understanding of the long-term effects of blows to the head has also helped fans and players understand that hockey fights are more than just harmless sideshows within a game.
Fighting isn't out hockey quite yet. Players who are willing to spar can still rack up penalty minutes much more quickly than the agitators who are primarily whistled for minors.
This coming season, no one is going to come anywhere near Dave "the Hammer" Schultz's all-time record of 472 penalty minutes in a single season, set in 1974-75, according to QuantHockey. For the second straight year, it's unlikely anyone will even break the 200-minute th ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Carol Schram
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