Fitzpatrick'sbeard
01-06-2012, 02:49 PM
"If you want a game where guys can cheap shot people and not face retribution, I'm not sure that's a healthy evolution," he said Thursday at an impromptu media conference. "The speed of the game, I love how the game's evolved in terms of how it's played. But you're seeing where there is no accountability, this is the byproduct — is people running around that won't back it up."
According to numbers provided by the NHL, fighting is down significantly this season. Through play Wednesday, there was an average of 0.8 fighting majors per game compared with 1.2 at the same point last year.
"To me, it's a dangerous turn in our game," said Burke.
The Leafs found themselves in the bottom third of NHL teams in that category with just 13 total fighting majors prior to facing Winnipeg on Thursday night. The New York Rangers were tops with 31 while the Detroit Red Wings were last with six.
Burke's comments come at a time where the sport has been forced to do some soul-searching. Tough guys Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak died in a short span over the summer and Boston University doctors found evidence of the neurodegenerative disease CTE in Boogaard's brain, as they have with other former fighters.
At the same time, a number of high-profile NHLers have been sidelined with concussions while new league disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan has attempted to lead a crackdown on dangerous hits, suspending three players in the last week alone.
Burke once held Shanahan's job and believes the director of player safety wouldn't be so busy if players were policing the game themselves with more fights.
"(Shanahan) needs a telephone receptionist in his house because of all of this crap that's going on on the ice," said Burke. "These guys that won't back it up, won't drop their gloves, run around and elbow people in the head and hit people from behind. They never have to answer for that in the game, they used to have to answer for that in the game.
"The players (used to) police the game and now it's Brendan Shanahan."
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=AjKgDd9RW7ckQlj5lph5Swh7vLYF?slug=capress-hkn_leafs_burke-16201960
According to numbers provided by the NHL, fighting is down significantly this season. Through play Wednesday, there was an average of 0.8 fighting majors per game compared with 1.2 at the same point last year.
"To me, it's a dangerous turn in our game," said Burke.
The Leafs found themselves in the bottom third of NHL teams in that category with just 13 total fighting majors prior to facing Winnipeg on Thursday night. The New York Rangers were tops with 31 while the Detroit Red Wings were last with six.
Burke's comments come at a time where the sport has been forced to do some soul-searching. Tough guys Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak died in a short span over the summer and Boston University doctors found evidence of the neurodegenerative disease CTE in Boogaard's brain, as they have with other former fighters.
At the same time, a number of high-profile NHLers have been sidelined with concussions while new league disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan has attempted to lead a crackdown on dangerous hits, suspending three players in the last week alone.
Burke once held Shanahan's job and believes the director of player safety wouldn't be so busy if players were policing the game themselves with more fights.
"(Shanahan) needs a telephone receptionist in his house because of all of this crap that's going on on the ice," said Burke. "These guys that won't back it up, won't drop their gloves, run around and elbow people in the head and hit people from behind. They never have to answer for that in the game, they used to have to answer for that in the game.
"The players (used to) police the game and now it's Brendan Shanahan."
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=AjKgDd9RW7ckQlj5lph5Swh7vLYF?slug=capress-hkn_leafs_burke-16201960