Serious question just to let everybody know.
When rugged, physical contact entails fighting, however, the debate then changes--especially when viewing the legal rights of an NHL player and the legal obligations of an NHL team. Namely, can fighting comprise part of one's employment for an NHL team?
On one hand, fighting is against the rules so perhaps it should not be considered part of one's employment. How can one be "employed" to partake in something disallowed? That would seem to negate the contract's very foundation.
On the other hand, some players are paid by their NHL employers to pick fights and win fights and thus break these rules, and they do so in order to protect star players (with the idea essentially one of deterrence: if a player on the other team delivers a cheap shot to your star player, then your team's "enforcer" will likely retaliate). In other words, some players often we call "goons", would not be employed but for their willingess to fight; others would earn less compensation without that willingness.
When rugged, physical contact entails fighting, however, the debate then changes--especially when viewing the legal rights of an NHL player and the legal obligations of an NHL team. Namely, can fighting comprise part of one's employment for an NHL team?
On one hand, fighting is against the rules so perhaps it should not be considered part of one's employment. How can one be "employed" to partake in something disallowed? That would seem to negate the contract's very foundation.
On the other hand, some players are paid by their NHL employers to pick fights and win fights and thus break these rules, and they do so in order to protect star players (with the idea essentially one of deterrence: if a player on the other team delivers a cheap shot to your star player, then your team's "enforcer" will likely retaliate). In other words, some players often we call "goons", would not be employed but for their willingess to fight; others would earn less compensation without that willingness.
