The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has toughened penalties for fighting, moving from five to fifteen penalty minutes for dropping the gloves.
RULE 47 – All players involved in a fight will now be assessed a misconduct penalty (duration of ten minutes) which will be added to the major penalty (five minutes), except if a player involved is considered an instigator or an aggressor.
An automatic 1-game suspension will be assessed after the third fight, and for any additional fight.
Players will now receive an automatic one-game suspension after their third fight of the season, and for each fight thereafter. The prior threshold was eleven fights before the required ban.
Thirty-three players in the QMJHL had three or more fights last season with the highest clocking in at seven scraps, well short of the amount required for a mandatory suspension.
Instigators will also pick up a minor, major, and misconduct penalty going forward.
“It’s very important to protect our players, to make sure [they’re] playing in a safe environment,” said QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau. “Today in the hockey business, the way that the game has improved, it’s based on speed [and] skill, [not fighting].”
“I think we’ve done a great job. There’s some room for improvement and we will continue to work on it. And we’re convinced that the adoption of the actual playing rules and consequences following a fight will have a positive impact on fighting.”
The league’s 18 teams voted to confirm the rule changes Wednesday via video conference.
The Q provided a situational comparison to show the change under the updated rule:
| Game situation | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 |
| Fighting Code 2-2 | Major penalty | Major penalty + Misconduct penalty |
| Code 4-1 Aggressor | Automatic 1-game suspension | Automatic 1-game suspension |
| Code 4-1 Agressor – Goaltender judged aggressor against a player | Automatic 5-game suspension | Automatic 5-game suspension |
| Code 4-1 Aggressor – Goaltender judged aggressor on another goaltender | Automatic 10-game suspension | Automatic 10-game suspension |
| Code 1-4, 2-2 and 3-4 Instigator | Minor penalty, major penalty and misconduct penalty | Minor penalty, major penalty, and misconduct penalty |
| Code 1-4, 2-2 Instigator | Minor penalty and major penalty | This situation will not be available anymore |
| Code 4-2 in the last 5 minutes of play with a two-goal differential | Game misconduct penalty | Game misconduct penalty |
| Code 1-4, 2-2 and 4-4 Instigator in the last 5 minutes of play or in overtime | Minor penalty, major penalty, game misconduct penalty | Minor penalty, major penalty, game misconduct penalty |
| Code 4-3 Fight between a player and a goaltender | Automatic 5-game suspension | Automatic 5-game suspension |
| Code 4-6 Second fight by the same player during the same stoppage of play | Game misconduct penalty | Game misconduct penalty |
| Code 4-7 Second fight during the same stoppage of play | Automatic 1-game suspension | Automatic 1-game suspension |
| Code 4-10 Staged fight | Automatic 1-game suspension | Automatic 2-game suspension |
| Accumulation of code 2.2 | Automatic 1-game suspension starting with the 11th fight | a- Automatic 1-game suspension starting with the 3rd fight b- Automatic 1-game suspension for any additional fight |
| Accumulation of codes 3.4, 4 and 5 | Starting with a 4th infraction, an automatic 1-game suspension | Starting with a 4th infraction, an automatic 1-game suspension |
| Players involved in the first battle during the warm-up period | Automatic 10-game suspension | Automatic 10-game suspension |
The Ontario Hockey League and Western Hockey League are reportedly not considering similar changes at this time.
The OHL has seen a decrease in fighting since implementing an automatic suspension after a player’s fourth fight.
Dig into the updated QMJHL Rule Book here. and catch up on this season’s referees and linesmen. The Q’s 2020-21 season starts Friday, October 2.
