Mike Milbury says it’s time to ‘grow up’ and ban fighting (Video)

In case you haven’t heard, the Summer of Analytics in the NHL was followed by the Fall of the Enforcer.

A number of low ice time, high punch count players have been demoted or dropped by NHL teams in the preseason, with many claiming that teams simply can’t afford to have players that can’t handle the puck in a possession obsessed league.

Keith Jones and Mike Milbury discussed this thesis on NBCSN during opening night, when Milbury – this Mike Milbury – made quite a statement about fighting in the NHL.

For the video impaired:

“I think it’s telling me that it’s time to get rid of fighting. It’s telling me that it’s over. As much as I like a good scrap in my day, too many issues here involving concussions. Too many problems. The teams are going away from it. Let’s grow up and get rid of it.”

Now, before you go painting Mad Mike as a phony and start making “shoe meets fan” jokes, please keep in mind that he’s modulated his views on violence in the NHL in recent years. One assumes the plight of Marc Savard and other concussed players, even if those injuries didn’t orginate in fights, has something to do with that.

“So many problems with concussions,” he said. “There are too many guys seriously hurt. It’s time.”

Of course, with Milbury comes some expected double-standards. His call to ban fighting, for example, might carry more weight if he hadn’t called for frontier justice against Matt Cooke and criticized Brooks Orpik for not “manning up” and fighting his opponents after big hits. Answering the bell, if you will.

Of course, both of those players have had the audacity to attack Boston Bruins, so maybe we’re working with a couple different sets of rules here on fighting bans.