Fighting in hockey is coming to an end as major league bans it!

This will have hockey fans reacting. The QMJHL is expected to ratify a new rule that bans fighting in June. The ban would take place for the 2023-24 season if it all goes according to plans.

The Hockey News published a report on Wednesday that clarified the league’s plans:

”The QMJHL is planning to have a rule in place that will ban fighting, making it black and white that it is no longer a part of our game,” the spokesperson said on behalf of the league. “The punishments have not been decided as of yet. We will be looking to have a rule in place in June when the next general annual assembly of the members of the board of governors takes place.”

The pending ban is getting a lot of reactions on social media, including from former NHL enforcer Paul Bissonnette.

The QMJHL has been one of the more aggressive leagues in the sport for disciplining fighting, including an added 10-minute misconduct to the standard five-minute major that comes with the penalty in 2020. This is going up another level when it comes to this ban.

The move has been promoted by Enrico Ciccone, a Liberal member of Quebec’s national assembly and a former NHL enforcer with 85 fights in 374 NHL games.

Fighting has been on the decline in hockey for a years now, nothing in the rulebook has been done. The QMJHL has seen a decline in fighting from 0.78 fights per game in 2011-12 to 0.07 last season, while in that same span the NHL’s seen a decline from 0.44 to 0.25, reaching a low of 0.15 in 2019-20.

Will the NHL follow suit?