So the NHL will hold their General Managers' meetings in Florida, where they will, much to the delight of the fine folks at The Hockey News, discuss fighting in hockey. Yippee.

This is in the wake of the Don Sanderson tragedy. Sanderson was playing for the Whitby (Ontario) Dunlops in the Major Hockey League. Sanderson was in a fight during a game, and his helmet came off. He fell backwards and his head hit the ice. He suffered massive damage to his frontal lobes, and was essentially brain-dead on the ice. 

A few days later, Sanderson died when his family had the miserable task of taking him off life support.

By all accounts, Sanderson was a stand-up guy, which are, thankfully, in plentiful supply throughout the hockey community. But with THN calling yet again for a ban on hockey fights, it's time to take a deep breath.

Is fighting bad for hockey? Hell no it isn't. First of all, hockey, more than any other sport, is self-policing. Players are less apt to take liberties with their sticks or elbows if they know there's a knuckle sandwich waiting for them. There's a lot happening on the ice, and the officials can't see it all. Baseball used to have the deterrent of brushbacks and fastballs to the ribs. As baseball did away with this, you've seen the decline in sportsmanship, with everyone preening after a home run. But lets leave that for those who cover baseball. Let's get back to hockey.

Aside from the retribution side of fighting, let's look at the fans. There are only two times fans come out of their seats at a hockey game: goals and fights. Next time you're at a game, when the gloves hit tie ice, see how many people stay seated, or look away. Look at the benches. I think hockey fights can get more people on their feet than a holy water spinkler in Lourdes.

Now, back to Sanderson...what if he was on a breakaway, and he lost an edge on his skate, and his helmet came off and he hit his head on the ice? Would THN call for a ban to breakaways? Also, if you asked the editorial board at THN to name the greatest players of all time, the list would include names like Orr, Howe, Hull, Messier, Richard, Shore. All guys who were pretty handy with the fists.

You can go back 80 years, and hear stories about how badass the Cleghorne brothers were. It's always been a part of the game, always will be. But any time a hockey fight goes wrong, you can count on THN getting damp in the drawers at the idea of ending hockey fights.

If the NHL wants to get serious in the wake of the Sanderson tragedy, they'll look into tougher guidelines for helmets, especially chinstraps. Also, they'd look for ways to crack down on head shots.

Leave fighing alone.

Relax.