QMJHL increases punishment for fighting in hockey games

The QMJHL has officially taken an aggressive stance on fighting in hockey.

Mario Cecchini, the commissioner of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, announced that there are new changes to the rules with regards to fighting in hockey games in their league.

“We are taking a tremendous stride towards player safety,” said Cecchini in a press conference on Friday ahead of the QMJHL’s draft.

Their were four rules added or altered in this change on fighting:
1. All players involved in the fight will receive a game misconduct.
2. Any player identified as the instigator of a fight will receive a one-game suspension in addition to a game misconduct.
3. Any player identified as the aggressor of a fight will receive a two-game suspension in addition to a game misconduct.
4. Any player that gets into their second fight of the season will receive a one-game suspension in addition to a game misconduct, as opposed to their third fight under the old rules.

The new change to the rules will take effect for the 2023-24 season.

The QMJHL had endorsed adjusting the rules to fighting in March, but nothing was going to be official until after a board of governors meeting in June to vote on the changes. A release stated that the commissioner’s office is confident that this will discourage QMJHL players from fighting.

The QMJHL has been aggressive in the past about trying to minimize fighting in the league. In 2020, they added a 10-minute misconduct to the standard five minute major penalty for fighting.

The QMJHL has seen a drastic decrease in fights over the years as a result of their rule changes. They’ve gone from 0.78 fights per game in 2011-12 to 0.07 last season, while the NHL has gone from 0.44 to 0.25 in that same span.

The QMJHL also approved a new rule to provide on-ice officials with tablets to help review calls on the ice and various sequences in the game. There will also be cameras added above both blue lines to help determine offside calls quicker.