Do Staged Fights Still Have A Purpose In The NHL?

The vast majority of NHL fans love a good fight, but when it lacks emotion and has little relevance to what has transpired in the game, is it something the league should look to eliminate, or do those fights help sell the game, add to the fans NHL experience, generate buzz, and land on enough highlight reels to keep the staged fights in the game?

When Deslauriers and Olivier initiated their fight six minutes into the game, my first reaction was why? Why are they fighting? Nothing on the ice precipitated the fight. Not a questionable hit. Not a guy taking liberties with a goalie or skilled player. There was nothing from a previous game that carried over and the two players do not have a personal history against one another.

Did Olivier ask for the fight because he is with a new team and wanted to make a good impression? Did Deslauriers think his team come out flat and thought a fight would energize them? What purpose did the staged fight serve and what impact on the game did it have, if any?

Do staged fights have the desired impact on their teams, that the combatants are looking for; to bring energy to their respective benches and set a tone for the game? Or do players see staged fights for what they are, a ploy?

The Deslauriers fight didn't seem to spark anyone or change the complexity of the game, much like his other attempted staged fight against Mike Borowiecki two weeks prior against Nashville. Not to solely point out Deslauriers, as he typically picks his spots well and does so with more purpose and vigour, but staged fights consistently happen throughout the league.

Fights in the NHL should have emotion and testosterone to them; relevance to the game. A response to a big hit. Fighting to protect your goalie. Creating room for your skilled guys. Making a player answer the bell for taking liberties with a teammate. Making players answer for liberties they take on the ice; establishing the pack mentality and having your teammates back. Something other than two guys just lining up on a draw and asking if they want go.

A prime example of an emotional fighter in the Flyers lineup is Nick Seeler. Seeler fights with a purpose and responds to in game cues and incidents. Seeler's fight against Cole Smith of the Nashville Predators earlier this year was the type of fight you want in the NHL. Two warriors who were battling on the ice, who got under each others skin, and their emotions escalated into a phenomenal fight.

That is the type of fight that can change a game and impact momentum. That is the type of impromptu fight that benefits a team, fires up the bench, and riles up the fans base. That type of fight is the result of the temperature of the game and personifies the emotion of the game.

Fighting will always have its place in the NHL and the players do an admiral job of policing themselves through fighting, but there has to be purpose and the staged exhibition fights examined closer by the league.