UFC and boxing focus strictly on fighting and shots to the head. Why is a 30 second fight in a game considered to be more deadly than the career paths in those respective sports?
It's been a staple of this game ever since the first puck was dropped. With the decrease of illegal hits and new advances in equipment, players are safer today than they have been in the past. Granted that all goes out the window during a fight, but I just think there would be far more cases popping up if fighting was that bad for the game.
I'm falling asleep so this argument might not be overly strong.