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Sabres coach Nolan on fighting: 'I've never liked bullies and I don't think there's a place for them'

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Buffalo Sabres head coach Ted Nolan is reversing course on the issue of fighting in hockey, and he now says it's obsolete.

“People are always questioning whether I’ve softened,” Nolan told reporters Friday. “I’ve never softened. I don’t like bullies, I’ve never liked bullies and I don’t think there’s a place for them. And sometimes when bullies are out there you have to defend yourself; that’s what happened in the past (but) they’re not as relevant now.”

The Sabres fought 192 times combined during Nolan's first tenure in 1995-96 and 1996-97

Buffalo was assessed 19 fighting majors in the 62 games after former head coach Ron Rolston was fired and Nolan was re-hired last November. The Sabres fought 17 times over the first 20 games of the season.

Nolan says there has to be a reason to do it or else it's counter-productive.

We do everything in our power to stop an offensive guy from scoring goals,” said Nolan. “We do things to break a system, yet when we have fighters on another team we want to fight him? I don’t know why. There’s a purpose for aggressive play, but there has to be a purpose (for fighting) — without it there’s no reason to do it.

Earlier this week, Nolan said he is still skeptical of analytics, but the Sabres head coach is at least showing an open mind in one facet of the game.

(H/T Sportsnet)

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