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Originally Posted by Hipcheck  Youre not going to get an arguement from me....care to comment on the crux of the post? |
The two sentences I wrote sum up all I have to say on the subject.
To elaborate, I think you're right (to a point), that Bettman and the board of governors instituted the instigator rule for the purposes you mention, but I think the effect has been opposite of what they hoped for.
Case in point, Patrice Bergeron.
Despite this and other instances, the instigator rule remains.
I don't know why.
The product (IMO) was much better without it.
As far as injuries go, are the stars getting hurt more or less since it was instituted?
I don't know. It'd be nice to see some data pre and post instigator rule to give us an idea.
Another big reason for the instigator rule was to lessen fighting to improve the league's public/media-image and make it more family friendly to bring in more fans and improve the possibility of getting a fat national TV broadcast contract.
I don't think that has worked either so I don't know why the rule remains.