Flashback to the 4-Nations fight and why we won’t see another huge brawl in the Winter Olympics

Ice hockey is a sport that allows fighting, which makes it one of the most entertaining sports to watch. Although there has been a decrease in recent years, fighting is still a major part of the game and serves a purpose, which we’ll try to explain for you here. The USA vs Canada match in the 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal is a great example:

The players didn’t fight just to entertain the crowd. They dropped gloves for a reason: the USA team wanted to make a point. They wanted to let the Canadian fans and players know they were there to win and meant business. It set the tone for the game and motivated Team USA:

The National Hockey League’s official rulebook states that a fight is considered official if one or more players punch or attempt to punch an opponent repeatedly. According to the rulebook, a fight can occur when two players engage in wrestling, making it challenging for the linesmen to intervene and separate them. On the ice, two players can engage in a fight, and it is also possible for multiple fights to occur simultaneously

The reason behind fighting in hockey

Tyson Nash, a former NHL player, who spent time with the St. Louis Blues, was known for his role as a pest to try to throw the other team off their game. He explains his role and why fighting is an important part of hockey:

“There’s a means to the madness to fighting in hockey, there’s such a purpose for all of it,” he told the guys on the Subpar podcast. “You get people off their game. They’re so worried about killing me that they’re not worried about scoring goals.”

No fighting at the Olympics

The IIHF rulebook is explicit. Under Rule 46 a “fight”, defined as repeated punching or wrestling that prevents officials from breaking it up, is “not part of international ice hockey’s DNA,” and will be penalised harshly.

“Players who willingly, participate in a ‘brawl/fight’ so-called ‘willing combatants,’ shall be penalized accordingly by the referee(s) and may be ejected from the game,” the rulebook explains, adding that “further supplementary discipline may be imposed.”

That level of consequence is far more severe than what an NHL player faces for dropping the gloves. In the professional league, fighting results in a penalty box stint and, at most, team-level fines or even internal discipline.

“Any player who persists in continuing or attempting to continue a ‘fight or altercation’ after they been ordered by the referee to stop, or who resists a linesperson in the discharge of their duties shall, at the discretion of the referee, incur at least a major penalty, plus an automatic game misconduct penalty,” the rulebook reads.

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