Weighing in on Simmonds-Edler with help from Evgeni Malkin.

Weighing in on Simmonds-Edler

I may as well join the ‘thousands on twitter and the millions who watched around the world!!’ (lol) and offer up my 75c worth of comments on the big fight last night…..........between Toronto’s Wayne Simmonds and Vancouver’s Alex Edler. I say 75c because that’s my default go-to number reason being that’s how much a pint cost at Happy Hour at the Manotick Legion circa 1979. And the majority of the comments on this are worth maybe a 75c pint so I’m just adding mine.

Re the code; call it what you want. If you don’t think it’s the code such as it was back in the day if you think that in itself is an archaic term and long passed rite – whatever- there still are many instances where if one of your players is hit illegally ( or in many cases legally) retribution will come by way of a fight. So take the word ‘code’ right out of the description of this fight. It’s a non-sequitur. These types of payback fights happen all the time. The majority of fans of the NHL still want them in the game. The owners want them, the managers want them, the coaches want them and the players want them. The overwhelming majority of all of the above want fighting in hockey to continue with the penalty being a five minute major and the majority of all of the above are okay if a player on their team does what Wayne Simmonds did last night.

The NHL is a professional billion dollar business collectively bargained by the owners and the players through their representatives. Fans and today some media have weighed in negatively about the fight and all that it represented. The league doesn’t care nor does the NHLPA what you think or say. Thankfully. And I say that because I’m firmly in one camp. Their caterwauling and that’s what it is, is a sad commentary for the majority who viewed the fight for what it was-a challenge as payback, accepted as such, took place and was over. Edler still played 20 shifts, almost the exact same number as his three previous games. Simmond’s played less than 10 minutes and the whole thing was over in seconds unlike the hand wringing which has gone on for nearly 24hrs.

Should Edler have had to fight? Did he have to, no, he did not. He chose to take it, dropped the gloves and took a few shots. In the world of the dissenters the fact he was

a) suspended for his hit on Hyman

b) is not a fighter

c) should never have to fight a guy like Simmonds

These constitute the bulk of their reasoning for him not having to fight. Some have pushed the envelope further and the usual vocal minority have attacked fighting in hockey and others have attacked the masculinity it portrays and sure, let’s be honest, we don’t see it in women’s sports despite the fact the Canadian and American hockey playing ladies have punched each other numerous times in their hotly contested games – still – we know this is a guy thing and certainly with its nearly 130 year history in the sport of hockey the roots of fighting are entrenched.

It’s difficult for the dissenters of fighting to understand what it means to the men who play the game at that level. Can there be any better example of that than Kyle Turris’s comments when he was here in Ottawa and how he literally gushed over the play and actions of Chris Neil with his handling of the NY Rangers Tanner Glass in their playoff game four years ago? Were the majority of Montreal fans okay with Joel Edmundson fighting Tyler Myers or just last week Corey Perry fighting Alex Chiasson for their hits on teammates in previous games? Yes, the majority were okay with it.

Edler had never fought before but what he had done before is throw his knee out and injure a player. Next to a slew foot it’s the most dangerous play in the game followed very closely by the hit on the name or numbers into the boards. Sadly these types of things will always be a part of contact hockey. He answered the bell in an aged, time worn tradition that the majority who play and view the game still want in it. I for one was totally okay with that fight.

Post script; Can anybody....anywhere....at any time.....as a non fighter say it better than Malkin in this clip...yes, in his instance he agreed to fight Blake Wheeler after catching him with a dirty hit the game before. I don't know if Hyman was in the game last night if he would have gone after Edler or not. But in the world that is the NHL you are fair game from somebody, could be anybody if you injure one of their teammates.