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          Cross Checks Blog

          Fighting continues to decline in the NHL

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          Levy And Melrose: Fighting Losing The Fight (2:31)

          Barry Melrose makes the prediction that fighting will be completely eradicated from the game in the coming years, even though both he and Steve Levy believe fighting has its purpose on the ice. (2:31)

          • Pierre LeBrun, ESPN Senior WriterMar 17, 2015, 11:27 AM ET
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            • Covers the NHL for ESPN.com and TSN in Canada
            • Six years on the "Hockey Night In Canada" Hotstove panel
            • 13 years at The Canadian Press national news agency
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          Through 1,037 games this season (through Sunday night), there had been a total of 704 fighting majors. Last season in the same number of games: 822 fighting majors. That's a drop of 14 percent.

          Let’s go back a half-decade. In 2010-11, there were 1,114 total fighting majors through 1,037 games. So, the league is down 37 percent from then.

          There's no surprise here. Regardless of whether you're for or against it, the reality is that this is where fighting is headed.

          The increasing speed of the game has left many traditional enforcer types on the sidelines. Most tough guys today need to be productive hockey players, not just enforcers.