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Governor General: “If you want to fight, go in a boxing ring”

David Johnston

Add the Governor General of Canada to the list of those decrying the violence we’ve seen in the first round of the NHL playoffs.

“When our kids see this beautiful game where the idea is to injure someone, or to escalate the level of conflict every time the play stops, it’s just not the way we raise our children,” David Johnston told the Canadian Press.

Johnston, 70, played hockey at Harvard, where he was the captain of the varsity team.

He also suffered three concussions as a teenager from playing hockey and football.

To be clear, Johnston doesn’t want to remove the physical elements of the game, just the fighting and unnecessary violence.

“[Hockey’s] rough in the right sense. It’s fast and there are collisions,” he said. “Hockey is not a violent game. … It has no place for fighting. If you want to fight, go in a boxing ring.”

If you’re wondering, the governor general is the queen’s representative.

The queen has yet to comment on the NHL playoffs.

Though apparently she’s a big Kings fan.

I’ll show my way out.