Andre Roy's role in the NHL is to log roughly three minutes of ice-time per game and use his fists more than his hockey stick. He's one of the league's tough guys. A fighter that's dropped the gloves 122 times in his career, according to his fight card over at hockeyfights.com. As the debate rages on about the place of fighting in the sport, players like Roy could quickly find themselves out of work if the league takes measures to limit -- or eliminate -- players from dropping the gloves. Having said that, Roy's father, Gilles Roy, has an interesting -- and surprising, considering the role his son plays -- take on hockey pugilism.
This from an article by Vicki Hall of the Calgary Herald:
``I hate that,'' Gilles Roy said via telephone from his home in Boca Raton, Fla. ``Nobody in their right mind who loves their children wants to see them in this type of predicament. You don't want them to get hurt. ``Every time they fight, I just cringe. My stomach gets very tense. I'm very nervous. I don't like to see it.''Frankly, it doesn't make a difference to me whether or not the NHL makes efforts to limit, or eliminate, fighting. It's not going to change my rooting interest in the sport and I'd venture a guess that many hockey fans feel the same way. Sure, there are going to be "radicals" that will argue against it. Take, for example, this recent thread over at the hockey's future message boards titled, "support real hockey -- support fighting."
I'm not even sure what that means. I consider the Detroit Red Wings to be "real hockey" and there isn't a team in the NHL that fights less than them (and it's not even close). They don't have an "enforcer" sitting on the end of their bench possessing only the ability to deliver haymakers to another team's goon.
Yes, fights can be entertaining, especially the 1970's and early 1980's when line brawls and bench clearing riots were all the rage (and when Mike Milbury hit people with penny loafers). Of course, those no longer exist, and the league has survived. I don't think replacing the Derek Boogard's of the league with players that can actually impact the scoreboard is going to be such a terrible thing. After all, the league has survived far more drastic changes (think four-on-four overtime, shootouts, and gaining a point for losing a game).
