Should NHL star players risk fighting?
In a game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Auston Matthews (6'-3", 220 pounds) initiated contact with Travis Konecny (5'-10", 187 pounds) at the 18:16 mark of the last period. Konecny wanted to fight Matthews, but rarely do you see that happen in the NHL. The game was all decided by that point with the Leafs in a commanding 5-2 lead. Konecny was trying to spark his team.
Dating back to Wayne Gretzky days, he had his protectors to do the dirty work. It seems that Matthews wants the same treatment.
Konecny received 14 minutes in penalties while Matthews was assessed just two minutes for slashing, which started the whole altercation.
So, who stepped in to defend the two time Maurice Richard Trophy winner? That would be Mark Giordano who stands 6'-1", 200 pounds. Mathews is clearly bigger than Konecny and should be able to handle it himself.
Must read on FlyersInsider
The question then becomes, do you risk having your best player who scored 60 goals last season be involved in a fight which could cause him to be sidelined for who knows how long?
In reviewing Mike Rupp's comments on the following video, he offers some excellent points. Matthews slashed Konecny and most NHL players do not take kindly to that treatment.
Retaliation is only a matter of time. You judge for yourself whether Rupp's point of Matthews' body language saying everything you need to know about what caused the altercation, and how he smiled and allowed his teammates to pick up the pieces.
This writer who follows the Arizona Coyotes, can remember when forward Max Domi (who is no comparison to Matthews) got into a fight in with Garnet Hathaway who stands 6'-2", 212 pounds. This was back in 2016. Domi was clearly smaller at 5'-10", 192 but that didn't stop him from getting into it with a bigger player.
Also, notice how players from both teams pair up to keep things even. Something that Matthews failed to do.
It goes without saying, that Matthews shouldn't be practicing his pugilistic skills, but when you initiate, you better be ready for action. Domi was out for 23 games with a broken bone in his hand.
The Coyotes went 8-14-1 in the games without Domi. And when Domi returned his goal scoring prowess disappeared with him just adding four goals. He followed that up the next season with just nine tallies to his credit. It's not known if that hand injury affected his play or not.
Just imagine if Matthews had dropped the gloves with Konecny and he injured himself. The Maple Leafs (and the NHL) would lose the services of one of its best players... over what?
| POLL | ||
6 NOVEMBRE | 68 ANSWERS Should NHL star players risk fighting? Should Auston Matthews dropped the gloves with Travis Konecny? | ||
| He clearly is bigger, so why not? | 24 | 35.3 % |
| No, the risk of injury is too great | 18 | 26.5 % |
| Matthews is a scorer, not a fighter | 7 | 10.3 % |
| It would have been interesting | 19 | 27.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
Latest 10 stories
