They don't get into dust-ups in the league like they used to in the 90s. So any fight today will draw a few more eyeballs than normal.
That said...
That little slew foot move by Chatfield was an absolute piece of shit move (we can argue over whether it was a slew foot...I say it is). I don't care where you played hockey growing up; you are taught, often and well, that moves like slew footing (tripping and making a player defenseless on the fall) or sending someone into the boards defenseless (not in this case...just going off on a rant) have no place in hockey. You're jeopardizing a man's ability to make a living.
They dropped gloves, took the helmets off. So you fight. Eventually most fights end up on the ground, but the takedowns aren't brutal greco-roman throws. You don't hip-throw a man down backwards without a helmet onto the ice. He could have killed him, and I'm not joking. Players like that, who have no respect for another man's livelihood, have no place in hockey, at any level.
Chatfield is going to have to watch his back for the rest of his career, people won't want him in a locker room. I'll be interested to see how Rod the Bod handles this one internally. Might be on the bus back down to the AHL.
