The Elimination of Goons, the Continuation of Hockey Fights

‘‘I loved watching fights growing up,’’ said Brookbank, who has earned nearly four dozen fighting majors in his NHL career. ‘‘I can see where people are coming from with the staged fights being kind of meaningless. But you’d be hard-pressed to find 10 percent of the fans in the building sitting down when someone’s fighting, even a staged fight.’’

There aren’t many pure goons left in the league. Bollig, the Hawks’ primary enforcer, made a name for himself in the NHL with his fists, but he’s staying in the NHL with his rapidly improving two-way skills. Brookbank has been a solid defenseman for the Hawks, while adding the physical presence the more finesse-oriented team needed.

But while goons are going the way of the dodo, hockey fights aren’t going anywhere.