Photo: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images
The commissioner of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) announced this week new, supplemental sanctions to prevent fighting in the league. The decision to ban fighting came back in February after QMJHL owners voted to add a new rule to its rulebook “which specifies black-and-white that fighting is forbidden in our league.”
The new sanctions are in addition to the original list of rules, penalties and sanctions established by the league’s Members’ Assembly voted during its meeting back on March 6.
The new, additional sanctions approved by the league’s Members include:
- Addition of a game misconduct penalty for any player involved in a fight;
- Addition of an automatic one-game suspension for any player declared the instigator of a fight;
- Addition of a minimum two-game automatic suspension for any player identified as the aggressor;
- In addition to the game misconduct, an automatic one-game suspension will be imposed once a player has reached his second fight, rather than his third.
The new sanctions are in addition to the original list of penalties and sanctions previously announced by the league.
The QMJHL has been working toward banning fighting since 2020, when Isabelle Charest, the minister responsible for sport in Quebec, called for it.
The League’s ban is expected to officially take effect this month, ahead of the 2023-24 season.
By Jon Sorensen