Responses from this week's player poll:

	Do you think fighting will ever be banned?
	No	29 (97%)
	Yes	1 (3%)

Anaheim: Keith Carney -- No
"I don't think so. It's been part of the game for so long, from Day One. Why would they change it after all these years? I don't think they would. Why would they need to? Everyone understands that it's part of the game."

Atlanta: Jeff Odgers -- No
"No. It's kind of a necessary evil. It keeps hockey people honest. You have a consequence for your actions. It keeps you accountable. ... And people want to see blood."

Boston: Anonymous -- No
"I don't see that happening. To be perfectly honest, I think it has its place; I think the game has more of a problem with things like the use of sticks and the hits from behind."

Buffalo: Eric Boulton -- No
"It's been part of the game for so long. Fans expect it, and they like it. It brings another aspect to the game and draw fans in."

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Calgary: Craig Berube -- No
"I don't think it'll ever be banned but it's going to be limited even more. The players coming in nowadays, I don't know if they want to do it. I really believe the players coming in now want to play. They want to make themselves decent players. They don't want that job, being a fighter or a tough guy, for their whole careers. It is tough to do and when you look at all the money you can make being a good player, I think guys really want to work towards that."

Carolina: Bruno St. Jacques -- No
"It's part of the game, like hitting. That's what people like to see. They almost cheer more for fights than for goals."

Chicago: Anonymous -- No

Colorado: Anonymous - Yes
"I think it might, yes. I hope not."

Columbus: Anonymous -- No
"Nope. I don't think they can ban it. It's such a passionate game, so fast and the players going so hard. Tempers are going to flare. It's like a high-and-tight fastball in baseball. You can tell a pitcher not to throw it, but he's got to throw it in some situations. It's a fact of life."

Dallas: Anonymous -- No

Detroit: Darren McCarty -- No
"It should never be banned. I don't know if it will or not. It should never be banned. It's a deterrent for the other more malicious things that happen in the game."

Edmonton: Anonymous -- No

Florida: Stephen Weiss -- No

Los Angeles: Anonymous -- No
"At our games, the fans love it."

Minnesota: Jeremy Stevenson -- No
"No. The players want it there because it keeps order."

Montreal: Craig Rivet -- No
"It's part of the game. Hockey's high contact and very physical. Fighting will always be part of the game."

Nashville: Reid Simpson -- No
"What are we talking about, 50 years from now? Let me put it this way not one NHLer in the league right now will be playing when there's not fighting."

New Jersey: Ken Daneyko -- No
"I can never see it. They've curbed it as much as they can. It's nothing like it was when I came into the league, but it's too much of a tradition and too much a part of the game. People love it. Not too many fans go for a hot dog during a fight."

N.Y. Islanders: Anonymous -- No
"No. They've been talking about it for years. I don't see it happening."

N.Y. Rangers: Sandy McCarthy- No
"I don't think so. A good fight gets a louder reaction from the fans than a goal."

Ottawa: Anonymous -- No

Philadelphia: Todd Fedoruk -- No

Phoenix: Sean Burke -- No
"I hope not. Fighting helps keep our game more honest. From my international experience, there's a lot more stick work and cheap stuff that goes on and there's no accountability without fighting. Nobody has to worry about getting beat up. As cruel as it sounds, it helps police our game."

Pittsburgh: Eric Meloche -- No
"It shouldn't be. Fighting keeps the game interesting. Sometimes, you have to resolve things with a fight."

St. Louis: Barret Jackman -- No
"Never. I think it's just has to be part of the game. If you take fighting out of the game, games are going to get chippier, people are going to be really injured and there's going to be no reason for some players to stop. You would get some altercations that are going to embarrass the game."

San Jose: Scott Thornton -- No
"Things would get out of control out there. It's still our way of frontier justice. I think the fans like it, too."

Tampa Bay: Anonymous -- No

Toronto: Mats Sundin -- No
"The players like it and the fans like it and I think it's a part of the game."

Vancouver: Brad May -- No
"No. It's the only check and measure we have in a game played with sticks and at this speed."

Washington: Anonymous -- No
"Hopefully, no."

Material from The Hockey News.
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