from Roy MacGregor of the Globe and Mail,

There was a time when Tex Rickard, owner of the New York Rangers, would park ambulances outside Madison Square Garden to attract fans to games.

In the 1960s, Montreal Canadiens owner Hartland Molson called on his fellow owners to put an end to the violence only to be dismissed, as he predicted, as a “pantywaist.”

A generation later, then-Boston Bruins general manager Harry Sinden led a charge to bring an end to fighting and “goons” – but got nowhere.

It is different now, though. Mr. Molson and Mr. Sinden had good arguments, but they did not have science on their side. Good arguments can be countered – science, surely, cannot be.

When it comes to proof, science even trumps incriminating e-mails.

It’s time for professional hockey to act professionally.

more