Since NHL teams reconvened after their three-and-a-half-month Gary sabbatical, it’s been noted that fighting is on the rise this season.

This development, perforce, sparks any one of a number of debates about fighting’s role in the game; about the league’s tacit endorsement of fighting and various other themes which have become all-too familiar and more than a little tiring. The plain fact is that fighting is part of what the NHL is trying to sell, and that doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon.

What’s changing, however, is who’s doing the fighting, and that has fundamentally altered the way the game is played. This is also pertinent to the Canucks, because it appears the Presidents’ Trophy winners are part of fighting’s new face, and for fans who are still traumatized by the image of professional rat Brad Marchand speed-bagging Daniel Sedin in the 2011 Stanley Cup final, this is not unwelcome news.

“We’re team-tough,” said defenceman Kevin Bieksa. “We don’t have a fighter. There are still a couple of those guys around, but not every team has one. Most people don’t want to waste a spot on a guy like that. They want a young guy who can play the game and develop and that’s what we have.”

The Canucks, in fact, sit third in the league in team fighting majors with 15, as of Friday, and in each of their last four outings, fights have played a big part in the game’s narrative. Zack Kassian’s fight with Antoine Roussel in Dallas on Thursday night was a momentum-changer. In Chicago on Tuesday night, Dale Weise’s first-period scrap with Brandon Bollig set the tone for a spirited affair. Last Sunday against St. Louis, the Canucks got a lift from Aaron Volpatti’s third-period bout with Ryan Reaves. The game before that against Dallas featured the now-famous natural hat trick, with three fights taking place within three seconds in the second period. Those fights played a role in the Stars’ third-period rally.

OK, no one is confusing the Canucks with the Broad Street Bullies just yet. But they have added an element of team toughness without disturbing their larger makeup and, no matter what you think about fighting, that is important.

It’s also part of a larger movement within the NHL. As mentioned, fighting in the NHL is up on a per-game basis over last season. But those numbers — and before we go any further, let’s acknowledge that the data in this piece was taken from hockeyfights.com, the Congressional Library on this subject — are consistent with the totals from 2007-08 to 2010-11. The NHL actually saw a dramatic reduction in fighting majors in the first two seasons out of the last lockout before they spiked in 2007-08. Over the next four seasons, the fights-per-game average was .54, .60, .58 and .52. It sat at .58 before Friday night’s games.

Things, however, get a lot more interesting when you look behind the numbers at who’s doing the fighting. The three-minutes-a-game fighting specialist is still around, but more and more he’s been marginalized. The new-age goon is someone who can take a regular shift while contributing something other than knuckles to the greater good. Columbus’s Jared Boll leads the NHL with seven fighting majors. He also averages 7:42 of ice time a game. His teammate Derek Dorsett has five majors thus far, plays 16:52 a game and is coming off a Gordie Howe hat trick against the Red Wings on Thursday night. Tampa’s B.J. Crombeen has six fights and plays 9:20 per game. Montreal’s Brandon Prust also has six fights and plays 12:43 per game.

True, there’s still the Jody Shelley type around. Shelley, in fact, has played one game with the Flyers this season. But, more and more, the designated fighter is going the way of the eight-track and platform shoes. Ten years ago, the players with the most fights were, in descending order, Peter Worrell, Andrei Nazarov, Shelley, Kevin Sawyer, Matt Barnaby, Todd Fedoruk, Darcy Hordichuk, Georges Laraque, Reed Low and Steve McKenna. Of those, Barnaby is the only one who fit the current mold.

“There are obviously guys who want to get into a certain amount of fights per year and that’s where you see the staged ones,” said Bieksa. “But I think we’re getting away from that. I think it’s good where we’re at right now. I don’t think it’s out of control.”

On the Canucks, Dale Weise leads the team with five fights, Aaron Volpatti has four and Zack Kassian has three. They play, respectively, 9:36, 7:16 and 14:54 per game. Kassian, in fact, is developing into that rarest of NHLers, who combines fourth-line toughness with a top-six skill set. Philly’s Wayne Simmonds is a year or two ahead of Kassian, San Jose’s Ryan Clowe is the elder statesman of the group. Boston’s Milan Lucic is still the best example of that player, and they are more valuable than platinum.

Just so you know, that’s true of today’s NHL — or any other time in the league’s history.

ewilles@theprovince.com

twitter.com/willesonsports

NHL TEAM FIGHTING: MAJOR LEADERS, according to hockeyfights.com

(before Friday night’s games)

Toronto, 21

Columbus, 18

Philadelphia, 15

Vancouver, 15

Buffalo, 12

Montreal, 12

Tampa Bay, 11

Boston, 10

Chicago, 10

Dallas, 10

FEWEST FIGHTING MAJORS

(before Friday night’s games)

Edmonton, 2

Ottawa, 4

Washington, 5

Carolina, 5

Calgary, 5

THE TEN BUSIEST CANUCKS FIGHTERS OF ALL-TIME

Gino Odjick, 129

Garth Butcher, 96

Donald Brashear, 83

Tiger Williams, 66

Harold Snepsts, 57

Stan Smyl, 56

Jason Strudwick, 47

Curt Fraser, 46

Dana Murzyn, 39

Ronnie Stern, 39

Note: Kevin Bieksa is the active leader, in 11th place with 34 fights. Alex Burrows is in 37th place with 19 fights.