Wild forward Marcus Foligno needed to go to the hospital Thursday night after taking a big punch to the face from Blackhawks forward John Hayden during a fight in Minnesota’s 5-2 win. According to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, he may have suffered a “broken facial bone” as a result of the hit.
Foligno and Hayden fought in the second period at the United Center on Thursday. Hayden, a 6’3, 223-pound winger known for his power game, finished off the fisticuffs by landing a huge right hook to Foligno’s face:
John Hayden lands a monster right on Foligno. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/AJ8af2HRk9
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) October 13, 2017
Afterward, Foligno, who measures 6’3, 225 pounds, could be seen with a bruise and some blood on his face:
The aftermath pic.twitter.com/Q3X5PEbhvk
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) October 13, 2017
Foligno ended up playing less than eight minutes against Chicago, a big drop from nearly 18 minutes against Carolina in the previous game. He’s considered questionable for Saturday against the Blue Jackets, although he’ll likely miss additional time if it’s indeed a facial fracture. As Russo noted, that’s particularly unfortunate given Foligno has family members coming into town this weekend to watch him play, which might not happen now.
Fighting is a controversial part of the NHL, and plays like this are a big reason why. There was little reason for Foligno and Hayden to be fighting, and now the former has suffered an injury that was entirely avoidable. There are dangerous aspects of hockey that cannot be legislated out given the speed and intensity of the game, but this was not that.
The most common retort is that fighting helps players police each other on the ice, therefore making the game safer, but there’s not much to back up the deterrence theory. Meanwhile, we have situations like this to show how fighting can be a problem, and that’s before even digging into the concerns about long-term health issues stemming from hits to the head.
Fighting used to have its place in the game, but hockey has evolved a lot over the past few decades. Plays like this show why that change needs to continue.