One reason the Komets said they could trade Jeff Worlton was because fighting is down all over the league. I did some research, and was a little shocked to see the results:
Last year through 33 games, the Komets had been called for 39 fighting majors including 17 by Worlton on his way to a league-leading 34. This year through 33 games the Komets have been called for 31 fighting majors including nine by Jeff.
Throughout the UHL, the numbers are also down. According to UHL Vice President of Hockey Operations Brad Jones, through the first 12 weeks of last season there were 2.34 fighting majors per game compared to 1.98 this season. Major penalties are also way, way down. Last year UHL games averaged 2.17 majors, and this year it's all the way down to 1.09 per game. That's an extremely good number when it comes to safety of the players in regards to boarding, high sticking and slashing majors.
