Hockey 101 – Fighting (Rule 47)

Posted at June 8, 2008 // Hockey 101

If you sit down and look at the NHL Rule Book you will notice that A) It’s 312 pages long and B) It’s boring as hell! I started thinking today that it would be interesting to do a quick series on the rules of hockey and clear up some misconceptions of the sport. My goal is to break down some of the rules in the book, help us all learn something more about this great game and at the same time, help new-comers understand the guidelines and regulations for the sport. I find it interesting when I engage in conversations with friends regarding my passion of Hockey the conversation eventually turns to the physical and violent nature of the sport. I remember years ago becoming so upset when someone would say the sport I love was promoting violence by allowing its players the freedom to fight. I am sure everyone has heard the joke – “I went to a fight, and a Hockey game broke out!” Well … I would like to take a moment and go over a few things about fighting and its role in the NHL.

Fighting is illegal in the NHL … I will say it again … ILLEGAL in the NHL!!! Along with the North American Junior League and other North American minor leagues. When a fight occurs in these leagues a 5 minute major penalty is called. The difference between these leagues and the rest of the sporting world is they do not eject players for fighting. However, fighting is punishable by ejection in the Peewee, College and European leagues, Olympic competition, and in women’s hockey at any level. So in order to have a fully educated discussion regarding the violence in the NHL these few things here will help you in your next conversation.

Let’s now break down why players fight. Fighting has evolved over time and has become a strategic element to the game. Fighting in Hockey has been around since the 19th Century when it started being used for intimidation and control. There was an increase in fighting after 1918 when the blue lines were introduced and the forward pass in the neutral zone was allowed. Once that started, the sport became more physical because the puck handlers would have to play closer together and would become more of a target in a confined space. In 1922, the NHL adopted Rule 56 titled “Fisticuffs” – rather than ejecting a player from the game they would be charged with a 5 minute major penalty, hence the term “Five For Fighting.” The NHL has done away with “Fisticuffs” and Rule 47 and currently discusses fighting in Rule 47 … titled “Fighting.”

I personally think fighting has an important role in hockey and brings withit an effect that coaches can use to change the momentum of a game. Fighting is still used to show dominance and also to protect the star players or snipers. Fighting is covered in the NHL rule bookand has 22 sub-sections to the rule (47.1 through 47.22) the only larger rule in the NHL rule bookis on Signals (33 sub-sections), and on the other side, the 3rd largest rule in the rule book has only 11 sub-sections. So if you think the NHL condones fighting, your wrong already. I said it before, Fighting is illegal in the NHL. The reason you see the Ref’s stand around and watch the fights is partly for safety (theirs and the players fighting) and partly so the players can do what they were sent out to do. Even though fighting is illegal … it still has its purpose. The rules state that the referees have a large margin of interpretation when it comes to stopping an altercation – basically saying “It’s their call to make.” Just because the ref does not stop a fight immediately, does not mean it is ok to do what the players are doing, there are repercussions and there will be penalties handed out … After!

Comparing the NHL and NFL against each other is hard to do. The only thing they have in common is they are both professional leagues. When we talk about violence, it seems people have become desensitized to certain levels seeing how the harder the hit and the slower the player is to get up increases the excitement during a normal football game. Football fans do not look at their sport as violent – “It’s Football … that’s how it is played.” Football players use force and strength to advance their play. Hockey players use finesse and speed to advance the puck. The violence in football is not noticed because the whole game is violent – after all, the only thing they do is run and tackle. I believe, by its nature, football is the most violent sport (with the exception to boxing and MMA [if you want to call those sports]). When I make comments like that in group discussions I usually witness a few sighs, a couple “You’re kidding right” and at least one major eye roll. I am then met with the statement “Well at least they don’t fight in football!” — And that’s all they got! If hockey is more violent than football, why are the NFL padding and helmets so much bigger and made to protect more of the body?

If you get a chance, open up the NHL Rule Book and scroll down to Rule 47 and see what the NHL says about fighting … keep in mind, fighting is illegal in Hockey … but when a fight breaks out, there are rules, 87 of them to be exact and 85 of them are not as defined as fighting. I think Rule 47 is an interesting read … check it out! If you disagree, or agree, or have a different opinion – Please let us know in the comments section.

Tags : , ,

If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.

4 Comments