“I’m not at all surprised that there’s this spirited debate about fighting in the aftermath of [the McDavid incident],” he said. “Any time a player of that prominence is in a fight it raises the subject of whether the sport needs that.

“The way I see it, fighting in the NHL is silly. Almost all of the fights are staged and I still don’t know what they accomplish. It’s their designated fighter against your designated fighter. It can be embarrassing.

“When I played, fighting was meant to intimidate the other players. It was more of a message. I don’t think it serves that purpose anymore. If someone fights Matt Martin, John Tavares is not going to be intimidated...."

-Mike Bossy on the fighting issue. More from Bossy by Larry Brooks of the New York Post plus a look at the "snubbing" of Eric Lindros for the HHOF.