Why do NHL players fight?

The NHL, or National Hockey League, is the biggest hockey league, not only in the U.S., but in all parts of the world.  Although games and teams represent cities and states of the U.S. and Canada only, players actually come from different parts of the world including Europe and Asia.  Along with the entertaining game of skating, sliding, defending, and scoring, hockey, or the NHL, is also associated with a lot of player-fighting.

For sports experts, fighting in the NHL actually stems from tradition.  Hockey was born as a physical sport, and it has continued to become a highly physical and demanding type of sport.  Because of the way the game is played, much of the sports’ moves and plays actually resemble fighting.  Plays like checking and high-sticking, for example, are viewed by many as too physical and as a form of fighting in themselves.  It has also been a tradition of many teams to be involved in a fight with the opposing team as an intimidation tactic or to protect its star players.  Teams who want to appear as the stronger team, or those who want to make a bold statement, frequently involve themselves in fighting during the game.  This particular tradition has continued to present times because the NHL in itself actually allows for fighting to occur during games.

In the NHL, when players fight over a supposedly illegal play or move, for example, all the players involved basically are allowed to throw punches at each other.  In a world of entertainment, hockey fights in the NHL provide a huge entertainment value to the sport.  Another thing that contributes to the continued fighting in the NHL is that players who are involved in fights are not automatically ejected from the game.  This seemingly bizarre rule has made people question this move by NHL officials, but the fighting has continued in NHL games.