The 20 Most Bone-Jarring Hockey Hits In History

The big hit. It is something that gets hockey fans out of the seats and can knock players out of their skates. Big hits are laid by enforcers, by defensemen or can come with an assassin's wit. They rattle jaws and shake arenas. They attract fairweather hockey fans or endear players to the most devout fans.

Big hits have long been part of the National Hockey League, but only recent technology has allowed the biggest of hits to be captured and a victim's suffering replayed over and over again. The next big hit can come at any time, but for now we can look back at the 20 biggest hits in hockey.

20. Todd Bertuzzi Body Checks Barrett Jackman

Jackman came around the net with his head down and skated into a brick wall, also known as Todd Bertuzzi's shoulder.

19. Matt Cooke Elbows Marc Savard

The Bruins are still not over Matt Cooke's blatant elbow to the side of Marc Savard's head. Now the Bruins and Penguins lock up in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

18. Vladimir Konstantinov Wipes Out Claude Lemieux

The Red Wings' Vladimir Konstantinov took out Claude Lemieux's legs during the height of the Wings-Avalanche rivalry. However, it wouldn't be hardest hit in the series history.

17. Wendel Clark Knocks Out Bruce Bell

Bruce Bell came around the back of the net with his head down and Wendel Clark nearly took his head off.

16. Michael Peca Cuts Down Teemu Selanne

A young Michael Peca made his presence known when he leveled Winnipeg Jets star (oh those Winnipeg Jets) Teemu Selanne with a crushing open-ice hit.

15. Brian Campbell Knocks out R.J. Umberger

Brian Campbell showed how one can from 60 to 0 as opposed to 0 to 60 when he blew up R.J. Umberger right in his tracks.

14. Mark Bell Destroys Daniel Alfredsson

Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson found out the hard way what it's like to be blindsided on the open ice by Maple Leafs forward Mark Bell.

13. Darius Kasparaitis Puts Down Eric Lindros

Kasparaitis' blow on Eric Lindros set off a chain of events that would eventually end Lindros' career. Kasparaitis' shot was the first of many concussion-inducing hits that Lindros would suffer in the years to come.

12. Tie Domi Sends Martin Havlat Airborne

Domi, the notorious enforcer, sniffed this hit out and did whatever he could to knock Havlat off his feet.

11. Dion Phaneuf Levels Denis Hamel

The Senators Denis Hamel thought he had a crease to get by the Flames Dion Phaneuf. Phaneuf closed that hole quickly and forcefully.

10. Kyle McLaren Knocks Out Richard Zednik

There is no love lost between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens. In 2002, Kyle McLaren laid this hit on the Habs Richard Zednik who hit the ice like one of the classic knockouts from NHL '94.

9. Claude Lemieux Smashes Kris Draper's Face

It was cheap. It was dirty. It was a hit from behind. Claude Lemieux nearly took Kris Draper's face off with this shot into the boards in 1996.

8. Jiri Fischer Puts Daniel Sedin Through Glass

Daniel Sedin ate glass thanks to this hit from the Red Wings Jiri Fischer.

7. Doug Weight De-Skates Brandon Sutter

Brandon Sutter had a full head steam heading up ice. Unfortunately his head was down and that's always bad news.

6. Milan Lucic Puts Mike Van Ryn Through Glass

The glass is made nowadays so that players don't go through it. Milan Lucic provided an engineering failure when his hit on Mike Van Ryn turned the glass into pellets.

5. Trevor Linden Gives Jeff Norton a Front Row Seat

Trevor Linden thought Jeff Norton had enough of the game so he put Norton into the front row.

4. Stevens Wrecks Lindros

Did anyone ever teach Eric Lindros to keep his head up? Going into the teeth of Scott Stevens' defense with your head down was the stupidest thing one could do.

3. Darcy Thunder Thunderstrikes Sami Kapenen

Kapanen's jelly legs after this hit says enough about how big of a blow Tucker laid on him.

2. Stevens Sends Kariya Into Blackout

Paul Kariya came across the open ice and then BOOM!, the lights went out.

1. Stevens Annihilates Kozlov

The Red Wings entered the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals as the heavy favorites over the New Jersey Devils. Stevens' Game 2 hit on Slava Kozlov let it be known the Red Wings were in for a long, long series. The Devils went on to sweep the series.

The amazing thing is that Stevens went through one of his own guys and still dropped the bomb on Kozlov.