Something had to give. With too many lower line forwards, the Rangers needed to do something to ease the logjam. So, general manager Glen Sather sent forward Ryan Hollweg to Toronto yesterday for a fifth round pick in the 2009 draft. With the signings of Aaron Voros and Patrick Rismiller, the trade for Fredrik Sjostrom last season and Dan Fritsche a few weeks ago, Hollweg became the odd man out. Although he provided energy on the fourth line, the 25 year-old provided very little scoring for the Blueshirts with two goals and two assists last season and when the team acquired Sjostrom from the Phoenix Coyotes, the little wing was scratched more often than not by coach Tom Renney.

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From the first time a puck was dropped on a sheet of ice in North America, hockey players have earnestly felt the need to defend themselves and their teammates through physicality. During most of this time, it appeared that hockey and fisticuffs were wed. However, over the past five years, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and other high-profile league officials have sought to put a halt to the violence, much of which has been enjoyed for almost 100 years. Though the league has attempted, ardently, to eliminate fighting from the sport, pockets of fans and media have felt that in doing so, the NHL was stripping the sport of its essence. For many, fighting is a necessary evil and one that helps maintain the game’s classic norms of passion, courage and grit. Without it, many contend, the game becomes more about scoring and less about teamwork and toughness.

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