NHL Heavyweights: Top 50 Hockey Fights of All Time

The NHL is one of the most physically demanding games in the world and easily among the most intense.

It is also the only of the major sports that has fighting as an actual real part of the game.

Fights get the players and fans revved up, make rivalries that much more intense and give us all something extra to scream about.

Fighting is something that does attract fans. 

How many times have you heard a casual hockey watcher say "I watch because I love the fights." 

Well, for the casual fan and the diehard hockey freak alike, enjoy this list of the top 50 fights in NHL history.

Jarome Iginla vs. Vincent Lecavalier

This particular fight wasn't really an amazing fight, but it was one of the biggest fights of the year.

The reason that this fight was so big was because it happened in the middle of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Iginla has had a history of dropping the gloves in order to get his team pumped up, but Lecavalier is definitely not a fighter.

When Lecavalier dropped the gloves with Jarome Iginla and held his own, it really got the Lightning going, which helped them go on to their first ever Stanley Cup Championship.

Joe Sakic vs. Doug Gilmour

Joe Sakic is one of the greatest scorers that ever played the game of hockey and also provided one of the best fights.

After scoring a goal in a game against the Chicago Blackhawks, a scuffle ensued, and then Sakic and Doug Gilmour dropped the gloves.

Perhaps the best part of this fight is the commentary provided by Mike Haynes.

Again, not an amazing fight, but still very entertaining.

Rick DiPietro vs. Brent Johnson

In the time that it took to write the title, the fight just ended.

We all love goalie fights, but you kind of expect them to take a bit longer.  Well, not this one.

After taking a leisurely stroll down the ice, Johnson delivered the one punch knock out before things even really got going.

Entertaining for us all still.

Yeah, big contracts don't make you a good fighter, Ricky.

The Rare Double-Knockout Punch.

According to the Youtube page that I found this one, this is in Junior A Minnesota Junior Hockey.

Two willing combatants square off, throw a couple and then both fighters catch the other one with a punch so solid that it knocks the other one down.

Not too often you see that happen.

The One Punch KO of Kypreos

I remember seeing this on a TV replay and just having my jaw hit the floor.

Fights like this just generally don't happen in the NHL, but when they do, they are quite impressive. 

Keep your eyes on the screen.

One Good Double Knockout...Deserves Another

The ECHL is like the single A of professional hockey.

There are tons of fights in this league as people try to show how intense they are in an attempt to get called up to the AHL level.

This particular bout shows the rare, but fun, double knockout, yet again.

Fraser Filipic vs. Graham Dearle (CHL) Great KO

Better than the super quick one punch KO, this Central Hockey League tilt happened in the CHL semi-finals.

Both players land a couple when Filipic lands one of the best left crosses that I've seen.

Dearle was out for the count before he even hit the ice. 

That's good contact right there.

Ryan Wilson vs. Jordin Tootoo

This was actually a really good scrap from earlier this season.

Tootoo and Wilson got started pretty fast, and it looked like it was going to be all Tootoo in this one. 

Wilson made a great recovery and thought his was back hard, drawing even.

I love the fights that start out and look like somebody is just going to dominate the other, but the other guy fights his way back and makes it a draw.

That's what I pretty much saw happen here.

Full marks to both fighters.

Bob Probert vs. Craig Berube

Bob Probert, for a guy who made a living beating the living snot out of people, still recognized a few unwritten rules that go along with the fights.

Towards the end of the fight, Probert has Berube at his mercy and could have wailed on him a few more times when he went down to his knees, but he didn't.

He held up until the refs came in.

The other part about this fight that gets me is that this is the first time that I've ever seen a player separate from the fight, toss off his gear and then charge back into the fight.

To say that Probert was an intense fighter is a bit of an understatement.

Line Brawl: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Mick McGeough

Forget the little line brawl that happens here; watch Mick McGeough (McGoo) get into the mix of things here.

Saying he broke up this fight is a bit of an understatement.

He decided that it was done, reached in and just TORE Darcy Tucker off of the pile and gave him a bit of a thrashing.

Skated him over to the box and shoved him in.

I remember seeing this on Sports Center.

Love to see the referee getting a shot at being an enforcer.

I know I wouldn't want to mess with Mick McGeough.

Kocur vs. Gaetz

This one doesn't last very long, but definitely shows some serious strength.

That old time North Stars-Red Wings rivalry was a pretty fierce one.

Kind of scary to think that Kocur and Probert played on the same team for a while. 

Yipes.

Derek Boogard vs. Jon Mirasty (WHL)

Junior hockey really produces some great fights.

This particular one is one that is pretty amazing.

Derek Boogard is gigantic. There's really no other way to describe him.

Jon Mirasty is small, and especially small when next to the likes of Derek Boogard.

These guys had several fights, and this was the first one.

Boogard has a huge height and reach advantage, but Mirasty really holds his own very well in this fight against his own personal Goliath.

Shawn Antoski vs. Steve Martinson (IHL) Penalty Box Fight

This is one way to go about things. 

If the referees don't let you get to each other on the ice, as it sounds like from the accounts of the action from the announcers, just go at it in the penalty box.

Antoski shows great agility by climbing around the partitions to get to the other penalty box.

Another note, if you aren't going to go with a guy on the ice, don't throw a water bottle at the guy from your penalty box. Just duke it out when you get back on the ice.

Evander Kane vs. Matt Cooke

Don't blink on this one, just to warn you.

Matt Cooke is probably the most hated person in the entire NHL right now, so it will be music to a lot of people's ears to watch this one.

Evander Kane gets the one punch KO on this short-lived scrap.

Matt Cooke will think twice before going at him again; that is, if Matt Cooke ever thinks about what he's doing while he's on the ice.

Aaron Downey vs. Jesse Boulerice: KO

A left hook that would make Rocky Balboa proud, Aaron Downey absolutely destroys Jesse Boulerice with this.

Love the action of this fight.

Drop gloves, make a quick adjustment, circle each other, dodge, one punch, KO, fight over.

All in a day's work.

Brawl: HC PSG Zlin vs. HC Sparta Praha

THIS IS SPARTA!!!  Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Several line brawls take place in this one, which I think is from either the Swedish or Finnish Elite League.

I'm not totally sure what the fights are over, but I assume it must have had something to do with some of the advertisements.

I thought that America was overly commercialized! 

Every single inch of this hockey game, including the officials, is used for advertisement.

Insane.

Ryan Vandenbussche vs. Dennis Bonvie

This is a really long fight, and you know both of these guys had to be completely and totally gassed by the end of it.

Things seemed to lull for a bit in the middle, and both players tell the refs not to stop the fight once or twice.

Great quote, "Get the heck out of my kitchen."

After the adjusting and wrestling, this ends up being a great toe-to-toe battle that ends in a very classy manner.

Nice handshake at the end.

Jon Mirasty vs. Jeremy Yablonski (AHL)

This is one where both players keep saying that they don't want the refs to step in.

These guys just let go on one side and throw them hard for a bit, pause and then switch arms.

Really good bout here.

Goalie Fight!!!

The only thing that I can tell about this one was that it was in the AHL's Providence Bruins, I don't know who the fighters are, but it's quite an interesting one.

You don't usually get to see a goalie fight without the rest of the players being involved as well, but these two just seemed like they wanted to give the crowd a little bit extra.

I doubt we'll see something quite like this again, where all the other players are gone, and the two goalies go at it at center ice, all by themselves.

Pierre Bouchard vs. Stan Johnathen

The Bruins and Canadiens just know how to have a good time together, don't they?

This was a fight where the clearly smaller Best gets the "best" of Bouchard.

After the two exchange several blows and go down to the ice, Bouchard is shown bleeding all over the ice.

Somebody made a donation to the Red Cross that night.

Jim Vandermeer vs. Aaron Downey

You want to see a fight where neither guy wants to let the thing end; this is the one for you.

While trying to knock each other's heads off, Vandermeer and Downey do a good job of keeping the fight moving to prevent the linesmen from jumping in to break things up.

In fact, at one point during this fight, Downey actually gives one of the linesmen a little push to prevent him from coming in because he didn't want the fight to end.

This one has some great rock 'em, sock 'em action as each land some big punches.

GREAT fight.

Dan Carcillo vs. Derek Dorsett

This tilt doesn't feature the mega-heavyweights that a lot of the other fights on the list do, but this is still quite a tilt.

These guys are really chucking the knuckles, but also show good strategy in getting their hands free.

They also show tons of toughness, because both of these guys really take a lot of good shots to the head and face but never back down.

This is exactly the kind of thing that you want out of a hockey fight, regardless of the size of the two guys in the fight.

Brawl: Oshawa at London (OHL) Part 1

This one get some serious points for originality.

With each team having about four or five guys each in the penalty box, one thing just keep leading to another.

Before you know it, we have one of the refs attempting to climb over the boards in order to get in the middle of this penalty box brawl.

By the way, this won't be the last time we hear from Oshawa and London of the Ontario Hockey League.

Jamie Macoun vs. Ron Delorme

The quality of this video isn't that great, but it was obviously from a long time ago, as we can tell from the hideous old Vancouver jersey.

At any rate, this is a fight that makes it to the list because neither guy seems to care how his face looks as a result of this.

Each of these guys gets a good 10 to 15 direct face shots on the other guy while taking one himself.

Old time hockey, gotta love it!

Rob Ray vs. Steve Webb

Rob Ray is another one of the recent juggernauts of the hockey fights.

This fight he had with Steve Webb shows his patience and power when he gets going.

Ray takes a few good shots from Webb, but when he gets where he wants to be, it does not pay to be Steve Webb in this situation.

Ray is the clear winner of this fight by a KO.

Marty McSorley vs. Stu Grimson

Marty McSorley earned himself a reputation as one of the biggest and baddest fighters in the history of the NHL, and for good reason.

He went toe-to-toe with Bob Probert multiple times and never backed down from anybody.

This fight he had with Stu Grimson showed his strength and stamina.

Grimson is no small guy, and McSorley managed to get the better of things after the two of them face-off with each other and just exchange bombs for several seconds at a time.

Best part here is that McSorley, according to the announcers, was also at the end of a long shift, which then ends up in a long fight.

Who says the big guys are out of shape?  This one lasts awhile.

University of Wisconsin vs. University of North Dakota

College hockey doesn't usually see a lot of fighting and really has a zero tolerance policy about it.

So seeing a huge brawl on the bench is something that is a bit out of the ordinary.

This one had players fighting on the bench, in the hallway, with fans, with police, all over the place.

One of the biggest and ugliest brawls from college hockey.

Bob Probert vs. Tie Domi

Looking at these two guys, you would think that Bob Probert vs. Tie Domi would be a gross mismatch.  Not this time around.

In fact, Domi, who does take quite a few shots in this one, actually gets the best of the big man in the end of this particular fight, opening up a large cut over Probert's eye.

The one part about this fight that just make me go, "Oh, you know there's some retribution coming" is when Domi skates off giving the championship belt motion.

You knew there would be more between these two, and there was.

Bob Probert vs. Tie Domi Round 2

There was much more, but it definitely didn't take Probert long for him to reclaim the belt.

There is a point during this fight where both guys just keep tossing haymakers at each other at the same time, one right after the other after the other for about 10 seconds.

After a bit of time goes through on this fight, Probert really asserts himself and takes things over.

For an extra treat, keep watching until about the 1:37 mark, where Steve Yzerman gives Domi a special message.

Brawl: St. Louis Blues vs. Chicago Blackhawks

Also known as "The St. Patrick's Day Massacre," this all out brawl was kind of confusing.

I had no idea why there were so many people that were just out on the ice.

Apparently things all really got started during a line change, which explains where there were so many people on the ice at the time.

Back in the day when Scott Stevens was captain of the St. Louis Blues, Stevens was part of the headline fight in this melee and really took the worst of it.

The moment I love the most in this fight happened right when Stevens was just about to start fighting at center ice.

In the background, you can hear the arena music guy started to play "The Hey Song" as things were really about to get going.

Love the musical assistance.

Brawl: Avangard vs. Vityaz KHL

There will be a few exceptions to this, but I am dedicating the next 10 spots to brawls.

This one was in the news a lot a couple of years ago, as the KHL of Russia was trying to compete with NHL for relevance. This didn't really help.

The game actually ended up being called off because of the amount of brawling that happened.

Honestly, how often does it happen that the entire line begins to brawl, not once but twice, followed up by the benches clearing, followed up by the penalty boxes opening up and allowing the seven or eight guys in each box back onto the ice to continue with the melee.

This was truly something to behold.

Brawl: Ottawa Senators vs. Philadelphia Flyers

This one is like the brawl that never stopped.

I mean, when you get Mark Recchi worked up enough to drop the gloves, then you know that something serious is going down.

I like the announcer's comments right towards the end.

"You don't wanna be the one guy that wasn't kicked out of this one."

Ahh, good times.

Junior Hockey Brawl: Halifax Wolverines vs. Summerside Western Capitals

I will only write one extra phrase about this fight.

"It's a bird!  It's a plane!  It's....a crazy hockey player DIVING into our bench!"

Wow.

Brawl: Boston Bruins vs. Detroit Red Wings

This won't be the last time that you see the Red Wings involved in a brawl on this list; I promise.

This one happened at the very end of a game where the Bruins apparently had their way with the Red Wings.

There was the initial fighting that happened, and the teams separated and started to leave the ice.

Then, out of nowhere, half the Red Wings roster charges down the Bruins exit and starts things up again.

All these guys needed was a steel cage!

Brawl: Boston Bruins vs. Quebec Nordiques

Another example of old time hockey, in the late 80s.

Things start out innocently enough with just one fight, but things quickly degenerate into a bench clearing brawl.

This brawl has an image that, once they flash to it, makes me chuckle.

They show everybody jumping off the benches, brawling, all sorts of chaos unravelling right in front of all of us.

Then they flash straight over to the referee who is just standing there with a pen and a sheet of paper, writing down names, letting everything just go.

Love it!

Brawl: Oshawa vs. London (OHL)

This is a good one.

These junior guys really know how to throw down when things get down to it.

It really has everything, including a couple of fights that stop and then start back up again. 

Love the little "bang, bang" dance towards the end. 

To the winner go the spoils, I guess!

Brawl: Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens

Now this is old time hockey, both in the practice of the brawling and in actual chronological time.

Not exactly sure what year this happened, but this is truly reminiscent of what it took to play back in the good ol' days.

I love this clip for a couple of reasons.

One, I actually get to hear the word "donnybrook" used in its appropriate context.

Two, the Boston police actually stepped in to try and help stop this brawl.

How many times can you say you have seen that happen during a game?

Also, only 32 penalty minutes came out of this!!  Are you kidding me?!!?

Brawl: Warm-Up Brawl

You've got to love an entire team brawl.

You have to love it even more when it happens before the game even starts.

I'm not entirely certain what teams are involved with this one, mostly because the announcers are speaking French the entire time.

I did manage to make out "Quebec" at one point, so that's what I've got.

Still, quite entertaining when people go from a warm-up skate to a warm-up brawl.

Brawl: Colorado Avalanche vs. Detroit Red Wings, Round 2

Not quite as impressive as the first round, but it was still another very impressive brawl.

This time around, Patrick Roy clearly got the better of Chris Osgood in another battle royale that would have made Vince McMahon proud.

Sadly, this rivalry has fizzled in the recent years, but the memories and hatred still exists between the fans, that's for sure.

Brawl: Colorado Avalanche vs. Detroit Red Wings 1997

After the hit on Kris Draper in the Western Conference Finals, the Detroit Red Wings were out for the blood of Claude Lemieux.

Well, they got it, and cemented the creation of possibly the best rivalry in the NHL.

Not only did the lines brawl, but the goalies went as well.

Patrick Roy fought Mike Vernon in what was a really good goalie fight.

Personally, I think Roy got the better of it, but an equal amount of people will tell you Vernon won. 

Strange how it's pretty much split as Avalanche fans and Red Wings fans. 

Great brawl.

Chase vs. Stojanov

Another great fight right here that just goes and goes.

Sometimes you see guys trying to throw those big hay-makers at each other, and each guy keeps missing because they're both too tied up to really get somebody.

Not here. As this one goes, these guys both land a ton of hay-makers and connect.

Awesome fight.

I miss the Hartford Whalers.

McSorley vs. Clark

What's a Western Conference Final without an awesome fight, right?

Actually, at this point, I believe it was still the Campbell Conference, but that doesn't change things.

After McSorley smoked Doug Gilmour, Wendel Clark came over for some retribution.

A pretty darn good fight ensued. 

If the refs didn't jump in right after McSorley lost his shirt, then this could have gone a while longer.

Oh yeah, there was another fight going on during this as well, but Clark and McSorley were definitely the main event.

Bob Probert vs. Dave Semenko

Bob Probert has had more fights than most boxers.

He's also probably a better fighter than most boxers as well.

This fight with Semenko, who was an incredibly good fighter in his own right, shows his ability to feel his opponent out, wait for his spot and take it.

Semenko clearly thought he had him, until Probert just suddenly turns the tide.

This type of fight was the thing that made Probert such an incredibly gifted fighter.

Mark Tinordi vs. Jason Smith

This is a fantastic fight.

A couple of guys who just plain go at it and never stop.

Based off how the ref is standing in the back, arms just crossed and watching, the words "Let them go" were clearly spoken.

Funny parts, Jason Smith stepped in for Tie Domi!  What?  I bet Domi was upset that he didn't get to be a part of this awesome fight!

I also love how the announcer takes a minute to point out, for the benefit of those who might be a bit more squeamish, that Mark Tinordi has a broken nose and is still fighting.

Several times, the announcers are clearly impressed with the fight, and rightly so.

This one was almost worthy of its own pay-per-view!

Stephen Peat vs. P.J. Stock

This is a great fight, plain and simple.

These guys just stand straight up, face each other down and start tossing them.

There are a couple of pauses in there, but by and large, the just start and don't stop until the refs come in to get them.

Hard to hate on either of these guys when they just go at it like this.

Great fight.

Felix Potvin vs. Ron Hextall

Ron Hextall has the most penalty minutes for a goalie in a career for the Philadelphia franchise.

This particular fight of his was not one of his best.

Felix Potvin, who was much smaller, actually managed to cut Hextall over the eye, and the two goalies just kept throwing them.

I love the way this one ended.  It's like both guys just, at the exact same moment, decided that the only thing that they could keep doing was holding on to the other guy's equipment.

Goalie equipment is just so heavy that to get into any type of a long fight wearing it just has to be exhausting.

One of the best goalie fights that I've seen.

Bob Probert vs. Craig Coxe

A return to the epic fail that was those Vancouver jerseys, but there is no fail about the way that Craig Coxe went after Bob Probert in this one.

I have never seen Probert take that many hits in one fight.

This is definitely in some of Probert's younger days, as he seemed to almost enjoy getting all those rights straight to his face.

Probert got the last swing in, as Coxe fell, but wow, Coxe clearly won this fight on points alone. 

Brawl: Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins

This one gives a brand new meaning to the term, "Bench Brawl." 

I'll just let you take a look and see for yourselves.

WOW!

Bob Probert vs. Marty McSorley

Bob Probert was definitely one of the best fighters in the history of the game.

This gem was against another great heavyweight, Marty McSorely.

Just as Gary Thorne says in the highlight, this is easily one of the longest hockey fights that I have ever seen, and both of these guys just keep tossing bombs at each other.

Enjoy this one, I really did.

Brawl: 1987 Canada vs. Soviet Union World Junior Hockey Fight

Fights in junior hockey are definitely not out of the ordinary.

Those kids are always looking to show somebody how tough and intense they are, and there's not much of a better way to do it than getting in a fight.

The thing that is really unusual about this is that it happened during an international competition.

Fights almost never happen in international play, and bench clearing brawls are certainly not something that comes around.

Things started off when Theo Fleury scored a goal and made a "machine gun" firing motion at the Soviet bench. 

Later, a Soviet player took a two handed slash right at Fleury, which sparked the bench clearing brawl.

As a result, all players that were involved in the brawl were suspended from international play for 18 months.

This was a huge deal because Canada was essentially cost the gold medal because of this brawl.

I have never actually seen a fight where the arena crew shut out the lights in order to curb the melee.

The global scale of this massive brawl, and the fact that it was a junior brawl in international play, which almost never happens, makes this my number one fight of all-time!