Weighing In on AHL's Bench Clear

Icehogs vs Admirals

Coming into the "new era" of hockey their were many rules put into place to try and kill the on ice brawls of the 60's, 70's and to some extent the 80's. The second altercation rule, the third man in penalty, the automatic ten game suspension for leaving the bench, and recently the suspension for starting an altercation in the last five minutes have all but eradicated the old school donnybrooks. 

For old school fans, and true purists of the games the watering down of fighting is a bit of a sore spot, we long for the days of the Good Friday Brawl between Montreal and Quebec. Miss the time where every single Montreal Canadiens player and Boston Bruins player wanted to beat the snot out of each other when the time came. These moments come from an era where the was actually hatred in hockey where it meant everything to wear the red white and blue of a ranger jersey and there is no way in the world you would ever be caught wearing the blue white and orange of an islander jersey. 

Today while teams say they "hate" each other its more of humane hate. Sounds weird to say but its true. Players today have no quam playing for a rival team. It doesn't kill your sense of pride it's just a way to further your career. So it's not just the rule changes that make these fights a thing of the past its the players themselves. 

This being said though that is what makes events like the April Fools day brawl something to hold in modern hockey lore. While the brawl itself is an April Fools joke compared to ones of the past, the fact that the benches emptied in the AHL in the 2000's era is something that makes people who enjoy that type of stuff smile. And in all honesty its the rarity of these moments that make them so spectacular now.

If these happened every game, the game would have a worse black eye than people already tend to see it with. But when it happens in fleeting moments such as these it's something that grabs your attention and makes you hold onto it. Because you'll never know if you see one again. While we will never see something like this in the NHL we'll still the Rangers Devils style fight and the Penguins Flyers mess on Sunday. Which also doesn't compare to what it could have been in the past it still makes us think "holy bleep. that was awesome"