Caputo: Three Reasons Hockey Players Are Tougher Than Football Players
By: Pat Caputo
They are both plenty tough, so it is, in many ways, splitting hairs, but...
1. An NHL season is 82 games, plus seven-game series in the postseason. The NFL has an 16-game regular season. A team can win the Super Bowl playing as few as 19 meaningful games.
2. Hockey involves sticks, blades on a skate and hard boards serve as the boundry for the playing surface, so it is inherently more dangerous.
3. Fighting is not allowed in the NFL, while an argument can be made fighting is actually encouraged in the NHL.
