Wings don't often fight, but it hasn't hindered their success

Detroit— The way hockey is often played in the NHL, Henrik Zetterberg is just the sort of player who could benefit from having guys around him who can fight.

He is a key offensive player. Zetterberg also usually covers the best forward for the opposing team; often, a bigger man.

He faces other tough battles, too. Opposing defensemen often cross-check Zetterberg's lower back, especially in the playoffs. The Red Wings forward is known to have occasional back problems, and a few stick handles thrust into it becomes a strategy.

Sometimes the referees call penalties. More often, they do not, even when the cross-checks come in a quick flurry.

Players who fight can protect teammates who are victimized and who face tough tasks against bigger men. In the NHL, some call it "keeping the flies off."

But the Red Wings rarely fight.

They are dead last in the NHL. The Rangers, who lead the league, fight 543 percent more often than the Wings — 38-7. The next lowest-ranked teams, the Canadiens (11) and Coyotes (11), fight 57 percent more than the Wings.

Two of the biggest criticisms of the Red Wings' roster over the years are their comparative smallness and lack of combatants. Some critics even assert that the lack of fighting stands between the Red Wings and a Stanley Cup.

But from players, to coaches to management, the Wings say they are little concerned. They believe they can play anyone and win, including the top fighting teams and physical teams in the league.

So do not look for the acquisition of an enforcer in the coming weeks, as the Wings seek to improve their shot at a 12th championship.

Like many of his teammates and much of the Red Wings' brass, Zetterberg thinks the Wings' have enough guys who can toss their fists.

"I think we have pretty good fighters on this team, you know?" said Zetterberg, who has one major penalty in his nine-year career, and it was not for fighting.

"Stewie can hold his own. Big E can hold his own. Abdelkader can hold his own. Commodore can hold his own," he said, referring to Brad Stuart, Jonathan Ericsson, Justin Abdelkader and Mike Commodore. "So, I don't think you need more than that."

'Waste of time'

Mike Babcock sometimes likes when his guys fight. When Todd Bertuzzi let fists flail during the playoffs last year, Babcock said it was something the Wings had not seen much of in recent years, and it motivated the team.

Babcock also recently said he would prefer that all of the players were "tough and ugly." But he meant that in the same way he would say that he also wishes they all played like Pavel Datsyuk.

Acquiring a fighter for the 2012 run to the playoffs is not a concern for Babcock.

"No, not someone who fights, because to me, that is a waste of time," he said. "Fighting? What are you going to do, fight at the stoppages in the playoffs? I think you've got to play.

"Now, if you're capable of playing and doing both, then that's great. But that wouldn't be a priority."

In fact, the critics who say the lack of pugilism will stymie the Wing are likely wrong.

From a review of their records during their four recent Stanley Cup years, it is not at all clear that fighting is necessary for success. They mostly fought more during those years than they do now. But they also were near, or at the bottom of the NHL in the number of fights during those regular seasons.

And, in the playoffs, they fought sometimes not at all.

According to HockeyFights.com, which tracks these things:

In the 1996-97 regular season, leading to the Wings' first Cup in 42 years, the Wings fought 55 times and were 23rd out of 26 teams in the NHL. The Bruins and Islanders led with 90 fights. The Red Wings fought seven times in the playoffs, more than any other team.

In the 1997-98 regular season, the Wings fought 33 times and were 25th out of the 26 teams. The Canucks led with 105 fights. The Red Wings did not fight in the playoffs.

In the 2001-02 regular season, with a roster laden with future members of the Hockey Hall of Fame and other stars, they fought 21 times, the least of any of the 30 teams. The Panthers led the league with 117. Again, the Wings did not fight in the playoffs.

In 2007-08, the Red Wings again fought 21 times, the least of any of the 30 teams. The Flames led the NHL with 70. The Wings fought once in the playoffs.

Probert's role

In the mid-1990s, with all of the offensive finesse and fine defensive play the Red Wings possessed, the thought took root that they were not winning Cups because other teams would beat them up before they got there, because they could not deter opponents' bullying tactics.

Acquiring Brendan Shanahan helped; he could both fight and score.

But teams also learned that sitting in the box after trying to intimidate the Wings often meant watching big goals scored on the power plays.

Regardless, the critics, many of whom simply prefer a different style of hockey, persist.

When the Red Wings recently visited Toronto, the game was broadcast across Canada on the CBC. In his "Coaches Corner" segment, Don Cherry, one of the most vociferous detractors of the Red Wings in this regard, continued to question the personnel decisions that emphasize skill and speed and generally ignore fighting.

The previous day, Brian Burke, the Maple Leafs' president and general manager, complained that there was little room anymore on NHL rosters for fighters. And Cherry leveled his criticism at Ken Holland, the Red Wings' general manager and vice president, who has enjoyed so much success.

"I know, Kenny," Cherry said. "Brian and I are animals, and you've got the whole thing figured out.

"But you've got to go to Boston, too," Cherry said, of the possibility that to win the Stanley Cup the Red Wings might have to play the rough-and-tumble defending champs in the final. "And you're not going to win the Stanley Cup if you don't have somebody to straighten guys out."

The accuracy of that assertion, however loudly stated, is not clear from the record. Moreover, the Red Wings already were in Boston on Nov. 25.

The Wings won, 3-2.

No one fought anyone, and the Red Wings won with help of finesse goals by Datsyuk and, in the shootout, Bertuzzi.

For the uninitiated, fighting in the NHL may seem barbaric. In the NFL, another league full of violent body contact, fighting usually results in expulsion. But in the NHL, it is penalized with a five-minute major — the hockey equivalent of 15 yards for a personal foul.

And there are reasons, many argue, why it belongs in the game, including as a deterrent against the bullying of talented players who are not prone to fisticuffs.

Steve Yzerman was a comparatively small player, especially at the start of his career, who never fought much. In his early years with the Red Wings, the late Bob Probert and others looked out for him.

"On the ice together, it felt good knowing Bob had my back," Yzerman wrote in the forward to Probert's posthumously published autobiography, "Tough Guy."

Despite some decent offensive talent, Probert described his key role with the Red Wings simply: "Nothing happens to Stevie."

Net results

A fight also can spark a team. That has long been a belief in the game, and recently a company that provides NHL statistics, PowerScoutHockey.com, measured the phenomenon.

By tracking the number of shots on goal in the three minutes following 1,553 fights since September 2010, the company says it determined that 76 percent of the fights resulted in more offensive pressure from one of the teams, and 23 percent of the fights resulted in more offensive pressure from both teams.

But some fights are clearly gratuitous, with the only purpose served perhaps to sharpen the skills of the combatants or to preserve a spot on a roster for a player lacking offensive skills.

Fights also please some customers in the seats and fans watching at home.

A survey in March 2011 by Angus Reid Public Opinion revealed that 49 percent of Canadians believed the game would be "worse off" if fighting was banned. It would be "better off," according to 43 percent.

While Cherry often says "no one goes to get a cup of coffee" during a hockey fight, 27 percent of Canadians surveyed said they are less likely to watch hockey because of the fights.

The rough-and-tough style of play is part of the Canadian soul. But it need not involve fighting.

Ken Dryden, the former goalie for the Canadiens who is in the Hockey Hall of Fame, a lawyer and former member of Parliament, recently wrote a long piece for The Globe and Mail, a national newspaper in Canada, about how fighting should not be equated with "the fight that is within" Canadians, which contributes to winning hockey.

"'Fight' is not 'fighting' or high-speed cheap shots," Dryden said. "Fight is never giving up.

"Gretzky, Orr, Richard, Lemieux, Lafleur — they were great fighters. They fought with their head, hands, legs, will, and need to be best, and rarely with their fists. Crosby too. The toughest players aren't those who hit but those who are willing to be hit, to fight their way to the net, to fight expectation and disappointment to score the game-changing goal."

The Red Wings have a supply of those players, and as the trade deadline of Feb. 27 draws near, they maybe looking for more.

"To me, if we could get another heavy winger, or heavy forward, or D — those would all be good things to help you," Babcock said. "I put together a wish list every year, this time of year, and then management does what they can do."

But the objective is clear: If they can fight, fine. But, first, they have to be able to play with the Red Wings.

gkrupa@detnews.com

Changing times

The late Bob Probert, regarded as the top enforcer in Red Wings history, is the franchise's single-season leader in penalty minutes at 398 (1987-88). By comparison, last season's Red Wings leader was Jonathan Ericsson at 87. Probert owns five of the top 10 spots among the Red Wings' single-season leaders in penalty minutes:

1. Bob Probert, 1987-88 — 398 penalty minutes

2. Joe Kocur, 1985-86 — 377

3. Bryan Watson, 1976-76 — 322

4. Bob Probert, 1990-91 — 315

5. Dennis Polonich, 1975-76 — 302

6. Bob Probert, 1992-93 — 292

7. Bob Probert, 1991-92 — 276

8. Joe Kocur, 1986-87 — 276

9. Bob Probert, 1993-94 — 275

10. Dennis Polonich, 1976-77 — 274

Tough guys

Leaders in fighting majors this season:

Zenon Konopka, Senators — 15

Brandon Prust, Rangers — 12

Shawn Thornton, Bruins — 12

Jared Boll, Blue Jackets — 11

Derek Dorsett, Blue Jackets — 11

Tim Jackman, Flames — 11

Zac Rinaldo, Flyers — 10

Matt Hendricks, Capitals — 9

Cody McLeod, Avalanche — 9

Brad Staubitz, Wild — 9

Who's fighting?

Teams with the most and fewest fighting majors this season, and where they are in the conference standings:

FEWEST

Red Wings — 7 fights, 1st in West

Coyotes — 11 fights, T-10th in West

Canadiens — 11 fights, 11th in East

Hurricanes — 13 fights, T-13th in East

Lightning — 14 fights, 12th in East

Islanders — 14 fights, T-13th in East

MOST

Rangers — 38 fights, 1st in East

Bruins — 36 fights, 2nd in East

Senators — 34 fights, T-5th in East

Flyers — 32 fights, 4th in East

Blue Jackets — 32 fights, 15th in West