Hockey fighting and the NHL mandatory visor debate

Mixing concerns about player safety with the quasi-legal assistance of fighting in the NHL is like putting marinara sauce on your Cheerios: Both have their virtues, but the combination is really hard to swallow. We see it in the head-shot debate, as the NHL goes to great lengths to protect player's heads (because the brain is located inside the head, you see) while allowing (and marketing) fighting with rather miniscule repercussions. We also see it in the latest flare up of concerns about player safety: The Mandatory Visor issue, following that frightening stick to the eye to Philadelphia Flyers captain Chris Pronger on Monday. (For the record, Ian Laperriere isn't sure a visor would have protected Pronger in this instance anyway.) Flyers GM Paul Holmgren believes in mandatory visors in the NHL. Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke believes in Paul Holmgren, according to Mirtle: "Visors should be mandatory for all defencemen, at the least," Burke said, adding that b...