Do enforcers have a role to play in NHL hockey?

The recent deaths of three professional hockey "enforcers" are raising questions about the role of fighting in the NHL.

On Wednesday, former NHL tough guy Wade Belak was found dead in a Toronto condo. Sources have confirmed to CBC News that police are treating the death as a suicide.

Vancouver Canuck forward Rick Rypien, who suffered depression, committed suicide at his Alberta home in August. In mid-May, New York Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard, 28, was found dead in his Minneapolis apartment following a drug overdose.

All three were fighters, players whose main task was to protect the big scorers - violently, if necessary.

It's a tough role, both physically and emotionally, former enforcer George Laraque told CBC News.

"I could give you about 20 names of people that have demons still because of that job," he said. He suggested the NHL set up a counselling program to pair active enforcers with retired players who know how the job affects them.

And Jim Thomson, an NHL enforcer in the early '90s, used drugs and alcohol to deal with the dread he felt every August when another season would approach.

"It got to the point where you talk about taking your life and I can honestly say that to you, I thought of suicide many times," he said.

"Deadly serious questions have to be asked about the role of enforcer in hockey," National Post columnist Bruce Arthur wrote Thursday. "This shouldn't be a political issue in the sport; it should be a human one."

CBC Community members are also weighing in.

"The NHL is the only sport where you can fight with impunity - you can even have a career (if you can call it that) as a fighter," alchemy wrote. "We're lapping it up in the stands each time while the guy's taking one step closer to dementia, depression, possibly brain trauma and without doubt a much higher chance of an early death."

Fighting in U.S. college and international hockey is rare because it's punished with game penalties and suspensions. In the NCAA, a player who fights is ejected from the game and gets an automatic suspension for as many games as the player has had fights in the season.

How should the NHL deal with fighting in the game? Do enforcers have a role to play in hockey? What does fighting in hockey do to the game, and to the players? Let us know what you think.



(This survey is not scientific. Results are based on readers' responses.)