from Jonas Siegel of the CP at CTV,

Shawn Thornton used to scan the roster of his team's next opponent for players he might have to fight, but in today's NHL that's no longer necessary.

It's a new reality embraced by the 38-year-old one-time enforcer.

"I'm OK with not having to lose sleep every single night," Thornton said.

Fights have plummeted nearly 50 per cent from only five years ago, according to HockeyFights.com, a stunning reversal for a league that has long contemplated fighting's place in the game.

The NHL is on pace for about 300 fewer fights from the 2010-11 season, a 47 per cent drop, and nearly 400 fewer scraps from the more 730 of two years before that. In fact, the NHL is likely to see fewer fights this season, about 345, than the 347 during the lockout-shortened 48-game campaign in 2013.

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