The QMJHL considers banning the fights

The QMJHL may seek to radically change the game of hockey and ban fighting, according to a Hockey News article published earlier today.

The QMJHL board of governors is set to meet in June, where it will vote on this potential rule change for the sport.

A QMJHL spokesperson clarified the plans for the rule change with The Hockey News.

« The QMJHL plans to put in place a rule that will ban fighting, making it black and white that it’s no longer part of our game, » the spokesperson said on behalf of the league in The Hockey News report. « The sanctions have not yet been decided. »

The QMJHL has been one of the most aggressive leagues in the sport for fighting discipline, including an extra 10-minute misconduct at the standard five-minute major that accompanies the penalty in 2020.

Some reports have indicated that the new rule change could institute a game ban for both players unless one is the clear instigator, but the league source told Hockey News that those reports are premature and that there were several options they would explore.

Although brawling has been on the decline in hockey for many years now, little has been done from a major rules standpoint. The QMJHL saw a drop in fights from 0.78 fights per game in 2011-12 to 0.07 last season, while in the same period the NHL saw a drop from 0.44 to 0.25, reaching a low of 0.15 in 2019-20.

The optic of having teenagers and young adults battling isn’t exactly great, especially when it can be a player as young as 15 or 16 battling a fully developed athlete that old. than 19 or 20, so seeing one of them go for the change is less surprising than the more traditional NHL position.