Should Fighting be Regulated More in Hockey?

Fighting has always been a part of the NHL and all of hockey. It is one of the longest running traditions in the game. Eliminating fighting in the NHL would be like taking flour out of a cake recipe; it just doesn’t work out. Fighting, believe it or not, protects players, sends a message, or can change momentum in a game.
Fighting protects the star players on every team. Enforcers on teams will usually only play a few shifts per game but can be one of the most valuable players on a team. Their job on the team is to protect the star players. Just by an enforcer being on a team, the opposing teams will not hit the superstars as much. The other team just has to look at the end of the bench and will think twice before taking liberties on superstars. There is something about seeing a six and a half foot giant of a man staring at you that will make you think twice about doing anything.
One of the major problems going on in the NHL right now is fights taking place after clean hits. This can be a big problem. Fights are usually justifiable whenever they occur after cheap shots. Whenever a clean, but hard, hit is administered there has been a trend that fights have followed. This is not good for the NHL. It gives the league a bad reputation for harboring loose cannons. Fighting in the middle of a play like this can also be a disadvantage for your team. When a fight breaks out, the play is whistled dead regardless of if you had a scoring chance or not. Because you have decided to fight your team has given up a crucial scoring chance. Although you have decided to send a message by fighting, scoring a goal would be sending an even greater message.
In defense of fighting, it can be a game breaker in a positive way. A fight can change the momentum of the game in your favor. The Pittsburgh Penguins were losing 3-0 to the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2009 NHL Playoffs. During the second period of the game Max Talbot of the Penguins started a fight with Daniel Carcillo of the Flyers. Talbot lost the fight, but the Penguins won the game due to the momentum shift that started with Talbot fighting Carcillo. Within a minute of the fight ending the Penguins scored their first goal of the game. It would have been best for the Flyers if Carcillo would have just backed off and refused the fight, it being alright because there was no reason to fight. He fought only to please the fans. It was a typical move by the Flyers.
Fighting in the NHL needs to be regulated by reducing the amounts of fights after clean hits. Fighting does protect players but is unnecessary in certain situations. The NHL needs to define when fights are permitted. Fights for clean hits need to be regulated more by giving a penalty to the player who starts the fight. This would allow for the game to flow better and punish players for fighting for all the wrong reasons.