Quenneville doesn’t want fighting banned
It happens every season. Somebody gets hurt in a fight, like Montreal’s George Parros did on Tuesday night when he suffered a concussion from his face hitting the ice, and there’s outrage accompanied by calls to ban fighting in the NHL.
At least three prominent general managers — Tampa Bay’s Steve Yzerman, Carolina’s Jim Rutherford and Pittsburgh’s Ray Shero — told TSN on Wednesday that it was time for fighting to go away.
It’s funny that Yzerman never had a problem with fighting when Bob Probert and Joey Kocur were protecting him in Detroit.
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville believes the game is fine the way it is.
“That’s tough, tough, tough,” Quenneville said. “It’s been a part of it forever. You have to be careful of taking out the rules. Then you see all these things you never thought about. There’s always been deterrents to eliminate fighting to a different level every season, but at the same time, let’s keep it the way it is.
“It’s not like there are a ton of fights anyways. I think they’re talking about the premeditative staged fights.”
Most Hawks agree with their coach.
“I don’t think it needs to be banned,” Patrick Kane said. “There’s obviously going to be people who talk about this after an incident that happened with Parros the other night. It definitely has a place to the point where we believe it’s a big part of the game. It keeps the game in order.
“If you ask any player, they want to keep fighting in the game for that reason.”
Brandon Bollig, the Hawks’ enforcer, says it is his job to protect players such as Kane.
“You have to keep guys honest,” Bollig said. “You provide that security and protection for your team.
“There’s obviously danger every night when you go out there and risk maybe getting knocked (out) at any instance and going out there and fighting like that. But there’s a place for it in the game.”
Handzus fine:After going plus-2 with an assist in a little over 10 minutes of ice time in Tuesday#146;s win over Washington, veteran center Michal Handzus got Thursday off from practice.He#146;s expected back on the ice Friday and to play Saturday against Tampa Bay at the United Center.#147;Maintenance,#148; is how Joel Quenneville explained Handzus#146; absence on Thursday. #147;He plays a hard game and is a big guy. We#146;ll keep an eye on him to see if he#146;s able to go. He plays through a lot of annoyances, injuries and stages of it, but he#146;s fine.#148;Handzus played through a broken wrist and torn knee ligament in the playoffs against Boston.Too many off days:The Hawks will have been off for three days before they play again on Saturday. Then it#146;s three more off days until Wednesday#146;s game in St. Louis.#147;The league right now has gotten off to a slow first week and a half, then it picks up to a different pace,#148; Joel Quenneville said. #147;That#146;s the way it is. Want to make sure we#146;re ready going into games and fresh. Then again, later in the season you#146;ll say, #145;Jeez could#146;ve used some of those days inserted in between these games.#146; But our guys are fine.#148;Upon further review:The 3 power-play goals allowed in Tuesday#146;s opener to the Capitals were the result of a combination of things, according to Joel Quenneville.#147;Give them credit for their effectiveness on the power play and us maybe being too respectful,#148; Quenneville said. #147;We could#146;ve been more aggressive on some of those situations.#148;Bolland and Frolik:After former Hawk Michael Frolik scored 2 goals Tuesday in his debut for the Winnipeg Jets, Dave Bolland got into the act for Toronto in his second game for the Maple Leafs on Wednesday.Bolland scored 2 goals, including the game winner, in a 3-1 win over Philadelphia.Frolik got his goals in a 5-4 win over Edmonton.Ÿ Follow Tim#146;s hockey reports on Twitter @TimSassone and check out his Between the Circles blog at dailyherald.com.