Could the end of fighting in hockey be near? It looks to be in the QMJHL.

Update: After the QMJHL said it plans to ban fighting, the office of Quebec sports minister Isabelle Charest said any future fighters should be suspended when the new rule takes effect.

“The minister demands that all involved players be expelled from the ongoing game and be suspended for the next,” Charest's office said to The Hockey News in an email Wednesday evening. 

“The minister has the power, under the Loi sur la sécurité dans les sports (Act respecting safety in sports) to impose regulation for the game. Of course, we’d prefer to reach a consensus with the QMJHL, but if need be, the minister will take action via the legislative power.”

A QMJHL spokesperson said Wednesday morning that no punishment has been decided yet, with several options in consideration.

Charest’s office also said she “has spoken with the Hon. Hugh Fraser, chair of Hockey Canada’s board of directors, who said he supported the minister’s approach.” 

With the support of Hockey Canada's new board chair, it remains to be seen whether the OHL and WHL will face pressure to follow the lead of the QMJHL to ban fighting in major junior.

The original story follows.

“The minister demands that all involved players be expelled from the ongoing game and be suspended for the next.” - Office of Quebec sports minister Isabelle Charest

The QMJHL is expected to ratify a new rule that bans fighting in June.

The major junior league for Quebec and the Maritimes has cracked down on fighting more than others in the past, having added a 10-minute misconduct to the five-minute major for any fight in the league back in 2020. Now, it will likely take it a step further. Le Journal de Quebec first reported the news last week.

A QMJHL spokesperson clarified the league's plans with The Hockey News Wednesday morning.

"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."

Past reports said that punishment would include match penalties for the players involved, with an exception considered if one of the combatants is a clear instigator, but those reports were premature, according to the league. There are multiple options currently on the table ranging in severity.

The ban would take place for the 2023-24 season, assuming the league hits no snags at the June meeting.

This move has long been pushed by Enrico Ciccone, a Liberal member of Quebec's national assembly and a former NHL enforcer with 85 fights in 374 NHL games, according to hockeyfights.com. Ciccone has been vocal about wanting change in the QMJHL so players don't have to go through what he and his teammates went through.

After the league initially voted to leave the fighting rules as they were in 2020, Isabelle Charest, Quebec's minister of sports, recreation and the outdoors, influenced their hand. 

Teams were relying on a $20-million commitment from the provincial government as the COVID-19 pandemic was hitting full force, and Charest challenged the league to ban fights.

The league partially followed the wishes of Charest and Ciccone, cracking down on fighting three years ago by adding the 10-minute misconduct to the major penalty. Now, the league has doubled down on its commitment.

Fighting had already been on the decline across hockey. In the 2011-12 season, there were 0.78 fights per game in the QMJHL. Last year, the number was down to 0.07 fights per game, according to the league.

The NHL has seen fights drop from 0.44 to 0.25 fights per game over the same period, according to logs on hockeyfights.com. The 2020-21 season was the first notable uptick in fighting after reaching a low of 0.15 fights per game in 2019-20.

"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." - QMJHL spokesperson.

The QMJHL has long been viewed as the least physical of the three CHL contingents. The OHL and WHL have made different strides regarding curbing fighting.

The OHL has a three-fight rule. After three fights in a season for any player, they are suspended for two games for each subsequent fight. This came in 2016 after initially instituting a 10-game limit for the 2012-13 season.

In 2021-22, the WHL began assessing a misconduct against anyone who tries to remove their own or an opponent's helmet. Enforcing helmets to stay on during fights forces players to reconsider whether they want to be punching at a helmet rather than an opponent's head.

The topic of fighting in hockey has been one of the most divisive in sports for well over a decade.

The days of the classic enforcer, when fans joked about going to a fight and having a hockey game break out, are on their way out in hockey's top professional and junior leagues. With studies and conversations suggesting there are lasting issues caused by fighting, such as CTE and other brain trauma-related issues, the question of if it's worth it has been asked countless times. Fighting has already been banned in college hockey and internationally.

Whether this carries over to other junior leagues is too soon to tell, but we could be witnessing the beginning of the end of fighting in junior hockey.