Depends, i think it’s case by case. After a clean, legal hit like this one? Nope, that’s just dumb. I’ve seen way too much of these situations where the fight and/or scrap pile that came after was more dangerous than the hit itself. Take the guy’s number, get him back later. But i think we’re bound to see it more and more because enforcers are slowly disappearing.
lurkns
Wheres the fight
LouisWu987
I’m really sick of a guy making a clean hit then getting jumped by half the opposing team. Guy makes a hit and someone jumps him, the jumper should get an auto instigation penalty.
OGHamToast
Not if they’re clean. It annoys the hell outta me when a brawl starts after a clean hit.
PR5EVS
This will be a hot take on here but yes, most of the time I think it’s a reasonable outcome.
I fully agree with most posters on here that a player who lays a hard, CLEAN open-ice check shouldn’t be compelled to fight. But with that said, I don’t think the players who typically lay these checks are afraid of it. They’re big boys, pro athletes, and this is a part of their game.
Fighting in hockey should be like fighting in every other sport. Suspensions and fines. That way, players will save it for something truly egregious instead of adhering to some bullshit code or picking a fight for “energy”.
PineappleEntire7761
What kind of question is this? I thought we were playing hockey.
cheezturds
Not if they’re clean. I find that really annoying that they all seem to warrant a fight these days
NorthboundUrsine
Teams/players will have a donybrook over clean hits, just as easily as dirty hits for a very good reason. They want the other team to think twice before making those hits.
Drew_Ski_1980
That’s part of the momentum swing. It’s expected clean or dirty!!
ovopap
The most hated player in the league, for no other reason than envious haters
AbtractStandard
To be fair after the hit, they then man handled every sentinel that came forward 🤣
mildlysceptical22
A lot depends on the reputation of the players. Tkachuk has a history of bad hits.
Hiddenbehindawall
Yes, I like watching the fights
Prototype_es
Say what you will but you should protect your stars and let it be known youre not gonna let a guy like Debrincat get laid out with zero consequences. Also a big factor besides who got hit is who does the hitting. Chuk is one of those guys everyone is looking for an excuse to fight.
theMadMetis
Yes, every team should have ‘fuck around and find out’ guys
Hutch25
I don’t like it but I get it.
You don’t want to give the impression it’s cool for them to hit your guys like that, plus you wanna take away the energy generated for the other team from your guy getting rocked.
Weekly-Win-8272
I love the Cat but not necessary in this situation. But then again if you see one of your star teammates get wrecked ya gotta do something.
luzer_kidd
Everyone acting like these hits are the first interactions players have with each other. Even though the hit is clean there’s probably other stuff that happens, which leads up to the reaction.
HerdTurtler
The same people who always whine about this are the same ones who lose their shit after one of their team’s guys gets cleanly laid out and nobody answers the bell.
Hakuchansankun
Oh the off season has lasted this long. It’s getting desperate.
Who should play on the top 2 lines for Canada and USA for the Olympics?
Dadittude182
If a guy has his head down or is totally vulnerable and gets completely steamrolled, then yes. That shit ends careers, and NOBODY wants that. Just ask Paul Kariya.
I used to love hits like this, but after coaching for some years now I’ve decided that nobody wants to have their careers cut short like this. That’s someone’s livelihood, it’s their means of providing for their family, or it’s someone’s kid living their dream. Whether it’s A-Level Bantams or an NHL superstar, nobody should have to have the game taken away from them due to a needless hit.
For all you younger guys out there, to this day Paul Kariya doesn’t remember coming back out on the ice and scoring the next goal.
EDIT: Just had to say how sick those Ducks jerseys were. Respect to The OG Mighty Ducks.
Vingt-Quatre
At least, during a fight, both players have a chance to protect themselves. Any fight is cleaner than a “clean” open ice hit.
Louvrecaire
If it ain’t clean or he’s really hurt then yes, otherwise no.
Octane3750
https://youtu.be/7kSQpDFDobg when it’s a mutual one on one where they agree after one calls out the other, it’s completely fine and part of the game and has been for as long as I can remember. Example above. Often times it’s not a question of legitimacy of the hit, it’s your teammate saying “hey, I want to discourage people from hitting you that hard or in that manner so in order to do that, I’m gonna fight for you and hopefully give the opponent something to think about next time they have a chance to hit someone on our team”. THERE ARE times when it’s a player thinking the hit was wrong or late or high or whatever else and they feel like that person needs to be punished, but a fight is not always about punishing someone for doing wrong, sometimes it’s about sending a message in hopes to deter your teammates from getting hit and possibly hurt.
TyWebbTheLegend
Absolutely!
I want deter the other team from doing it again. So what’s a better way than punching someone in the face a bunch of times?
I don’t think “jumping” the hitter is the right move. But fighting is a part of hockey.
KidcoreJae
More instigator penalties please.
hello_hellno
I was an “enforcer” on midget AAA team in Saskatchewan with several current NHLers- even back then the deal was- you leave my top guys alone, I leave yours alone. We’d just fight each other. If someone took a run- especially at a top player- my job was to spend rest of the game making that guy regret it, while having their enforcer chasing me around which fucked the line matches.
I appreciate the new NHL without pure enforcers- guys like Tom Wilson that can still be effective without fighting. But yeah unless you’ve played high level it’s hard to explain the politics that go on within a game and the effect the crowd can also have on you. Rinaldo and I were on the same line- we’d throw massive hits but take them too- not expecting the hitting to fight- just respecting that skill. But if they started going after eberle, we’d be all over that guý- and anything that we felt was dirty against a top guy that went unpunished became our responsibility.
-MakeNazisDeadAgain
Only if they hit a rookie
GoBounce8
Sure let them go after the guy that laid the clean hit but then give him a major and a game. You get to defend your player but at great cost to you and your team.
talie1791
I think they should, it’s part of the game
Mr-PostmanWithNews
Imagine old hockey rules with the new players. Everyone is bigger, faster, and stronger. We would see some epic K.Os out there.
leaponover
‘should’ it lead to fights? No. “Can” it lead to fights? Why not? Actually, it completely benefits the team that threw the hit as almost always, the team retaliating is penalized when the hit is deemed clean. So let the other team react while your team gets a PP. It’s all about momentum.
Nudder246
If the open ice hit is on a young promising star player (like this case) then yes. Hockey is a game of ebbs and flows and a change of momentum can impact the outcome of a game. Generally speaking, the game needs fighting to police itself. People need to know that going for big hits may mean you need to answer the bell. Tkachuk knew that when he went in on Debrincat. If you could lay crazy hits with no regard, the game would be so unsafe. It’s simple etiquette and I can’t believe how controversial this opinion is nowadays.
38 Comments
Not clean ones.
Depends, i think it’s case by case. After a clean, legal hit like this one? Nope, that’s just dumb. I’ve seen way too much of these situations where the fight and/or scrap pile that came after was more dangerous than the hit itself. Take the guy’s number, get him back later. But i think we’re bound to see it more and more because enforcers are slowly disappearing.
Wheres the fight
I’m really sick of a guy making a clean hit then getting jumped by half the opposing team. Guy makes a hit and someone jumps him, the jumper should get an auto instigation penalty.
Not if they’re clean. It annoys the hell outta me when a brawl starts after a clean hit.
This will be a hot take on here but yes, most of the time I think it’s a reasonable outcome.
I fully agree with most posters on here that a player who lays a hard, CLEAN open-ice check shouldn’t be compelled to fight. But with that said, I don’t think the players who typically lay these checks are afraid of it. They’re big boys, pro athletes, and this is a part of their game.
Sens fans hammering the like button on this clip.
Beauty..
[no not at all](https://youtu.be/5YG9Na5F9eg)
Fighting in hockey should be like fighting in every other sport. Suspensions and fines. That way, players will save it for something truly egregious instead of adhering to some bullshit code or picking a fight for “energy”.
What kind of question is this? I thought we were playing hockey.
Not if they’re clean. I find that really annoying that they all seem to warrant a fight these days
Teams/players will have a donybrook over clean hits, just as easily as dirty hits for a very good reason. They want the other team to think twice before making those hits.
That’s part of the momentum swing. It’s expected clean or dirty!!
The most hated player in the league, for no other reason than envious haters
To be fair after the hit, they then man handled every sentinel that came forward 🤣
A lot depends on the reputation of the players. Tkachuk has a history of bad hits.
Yes, I like watching the fights
Say what you will but you should protect your stars and let it be known youre not gonna let a guy like Debrincat get laid out with zero consequences. Also a big factor besides who got hit is who does the hitting. Chuk is one of those guys everyone is looking for an excuse to fight.
Yes, every team should have ‘fuck around and find out’ guys
I don’t like it but I get it.
You don’t want to give the impression it’s cool for them to hit your guys like that, plus you wanna take away the energy generated for the other team from your guy getting rocked.
I love the Cat but not necessary in this situation. But then again if you see one of your star teammates get wrecked ya gotta do something.
Everyone acting like these hits are the first interactions players have with each other. Even though the hit is clean there’s probably other stuff that happens, which leads up to the reaction.
The same people who always whine about this are the same ones who lose their shit after one of their team’s guys gets cleanly laid out and nobody answers the bell.
Oh the off season has lasted this long. It’s getting desperate.
Who should play on the top 2 lines for Canada and USA for the Olympics?
If a guy has his head down or is totally vulnerable and gets completely steamrolled, then yes. That shit ends careers, and NOBODY wants that. Just ask Paul Kariya.
[Scott Stevens Goes Duck Hunting](https://youtu.be/C57NpdhJkUU)
I used to love hits like this, but after coaching for some years now I’ve decided that nobody wants to have their careers cut short like this. That’s someone’s livelihood, it’s their means of providing for their family, or it’s someone’s kid living their dream. Whether it’s A-Level Bantams or an NHL superstar, nobody should have to have the game taken away from them due to a needless hit.
For all you younger guys out there, to this day Paul Kariya doesn’t remember coming back out on the ice and scoring the next goal.
EDIT: Just had to say how sick those Ducks jerseys were. Respect to The OG Mighty Ducks.
At least, during a fight, both players have a chance to protect themselves.
Any fight is cleaner than a “clean” open ice hit.
If it ain’t clean or he’s really hurt then yes, otherwise no.
https://youtu.be/7kSQpDFDobg when it’s a mutual one on one where they agree after one calls out the other, it’s completely fine and part of the game and has been for as long as I can remember. Example above. Often times it’s not a question of legitimacy of the hit, it’s your teammate saying “hey, I want to discourage people from hitting you that hard or in that manner so in order to do that, I’m gonna fight for you and hopefully give the opponent something to think about next time they have a chance to hit someone on our team”. THERE ARE times when it’s a player thinking the hit was wrong or late or high or whatever else and they feel like that person needs to be punished, but a fight is not always about punishing someone for doing wrong, sometimes it’s about sending a message in hopes to deter your teammates from getting hit and possibly hurt.
Absolutely!
I want deter the other team from doing it again. So what’s a better way than punching someone in the face a bunch of times?
I don’t think “jumping” the hitter is the right move. But fighting is a part of hockey.
More instigator penalties please.
I was an “enforcer” on midget AAA team in Saskatchewan with several current NHLers- even back then the deal was- you leave my top guys alone, I leave yours alone. We’d just fight each other. If someone took a run- especially at a top player- my job was to spend rest of the game making that guy regret it, while having their enforcer chasing me around which fucked the line matches.
I appreciate the new NHL without pure enforcers- guys like Tom Wilson that can still be effective without fighting. But yeah unless you’ve played high level it’s hard to explain the politics that go on within a game and the effect the crowd can also have on you. Rinaldo and I were on the same line- we’d throw massive hits but take them too- not expecting the hitting to fight- just respecting that skill. But if they started going after eberle, we’d be all over that guý- and anything that we felt was dirty against a top guy that went unpunished became our responsibility.
Only if they hit a rookie
Sure let them go after the guy that laid the clean hit but then give him a major and a game. You get to defend your player but at great cost to you and your team.
I think they should, it’s part of the game
Imagine old hockey rules with the new players. Everyone is bigger, faster, and stronger. We would see some epic K.Os out there.
‘should’ it lead to fights? No. “Can” it lead to fights? Why not? Actually, it completely benefits the team that threw the hit as almost always, the team retaliating is penalized when the hit is deemed clean. So let the other team react while your team gets a PP. It’s all about momentum.
If the open ice hit is on a young promising star player (like this case) then yes. Hockey is a game of ebbs and flows and a change of momentum can impact the outcome of a game. Generally speaking, the game needs fighting to police itself. People need to know that going for big hits may mean you need to answer the bell. Tkachuk knew that when he went in on Debrincat. If you could lay crazy hits with no regard, the game would be so unsafe. It’s simple etiquette and I can’t believe how controversial this opinion is nowadays.