With the NHL season coming to a close and the playoffs on the horizon, fighting will soon be making a quick exit from the game as goons will retreat to their respective spots in the press box in favour of skilled scorers.
Before making the transition to fight-free hockey, TSJ decided to compile and rank the 10 biggest and best fights from this past NHL Season – with the help from the ultimate hockey fighting website and database, hockeyfights.com.
1. CAM JANSSEN (STL) VS. PIERRE-LUC LETOURNEAU-LEBLANC (NJ) – MARCH 20, 2010
Fresh off a 5-game suspension, an energized Janssen went toe-to-toe with fellow heavyweight PL-3 in one of the longest fights in NHL history. This fight had it all – from big rights to quick jabs and constant back and forth action for 2 minutes & 34 seconds – almost as long as a full boxing round.
2. BRIAN McGRATTAN (CGY) VS. DAVID KOCI (COL) – JANUARY 11, 2010
It’s hard to determine what the best part of this tussle is – the furious action displayed by both men, or the announcer freakin’ out while giving his play-by-play of the fight – “Another right by McGrattan, and another right by McGrattan, and another right by McGrattan…”.
3. D.J. KING (STL) VS. DEREK BOOGAARD (MIN) – MARCH 14, 2010
Nothing like a cheapshot after the whistle to get a goon’s blood boiling. After Blues’ F Mike Weaver is decked into the boards by the Wild’s John Scott, Ultra-Heavyweights King and “The Boogey Man” decide to square off in what turns out to be an epic tilt. While King left Boogaard bloodied, Minny’s enforcer unleashed one of the best right hands ever seen this season, sending DJ’s helmet flying.
4. RICK RYPIEN (VAN) VS. CAM JANSSEN (STL) – DECEMBER 31, 2009
Happy New Year, Hockey Fans! While Rypien gave away nearly 25 pounds in size to his opponent, the Canucks D-Man made up for it in speed. This exciting fight saw both combatants throw a furious flurry of punches, with Rypien gaining the upper hand and leaving Janssen bloodied. Sidenote: Rypien received a match penalty for intent to injure after refs determined he had his right hand taped up. That’s likely the closest we’ll get to seeing foiled knuckles in today’s game.
5. COLTON ORR (TOR) VS. MATT CARKNER (OTT) – FEBRUARY 6, 2010
This year’s Battle of Ontario basically came down to these two fighters all season long. This particular scrap was the trilogy fight – the third and final meeting between these two enforcers this season – with each guy entering Round 3 having won a previous fight. Regardless of their head-to-head record, after this scrap, it’s fair to say the Leafs still own their provincial counterpart for at least one more year.
6. STEVE MacINTYRE (EDM) VS. BRIAN McGRATTAN (CGY) – OCTOBER 24, 2009
From the Battle of Ontario to this Battle in Alberta. CBC commentator Mark Lee summed up this showdown best, when he matter-of-factly described the action just as the two fighters dropped their gloves – “Two big nuclear warheads are squaring off”. Kaboom!
7. ZENON KONOPKA (TB) VS. CHRIS THORBURN (ATL) – OCTOBER 3, 2009
Opening night in Atlanta certainly had its fair share of fireworks, thanks to these two pugilists. Ironically for Konopka – who’s leading the NHL currently with 28 fighting majors – his 1st fight of the season vs. Thorburn may very well turn out to be his best. Bonus points given to the Philips Arena Staff for piping in ‘Wild Thing’ during the scrap.
8. MATT COOKE (PIT) VS. SHAWN THORNTON (BOS) – MARCH 18, 2010
Revenge is a dish best served – period. In the teams’ first meeting following Cooke’s horrendous headshot on Boston’s Marc Savard, Thornton, the Bruins’ resident thug, wasted no time at all targeting public enemy #1 in this one-sided Beantown brawl. Although receiving no suspension from the league, Cooke endured his fair share of punishment at the hands of Thornton.
9. BRANDON PRUST (CGY) VS. RICK RYPIEN (VAN) – JANUARY 9, 2010
CBC analyst Kevin Weekes‘ provided his flair for the obvious while describing the action, “This is so tough to do folks… to fight on ice in the NHL, is such a tough thing.” Settle down, Kevin. These two guys actually made fighting look easy in this epic seesaw battle.
10. MAREK ZIDLICKY (MIN) VS. SIDNEY CROSBY (PIT), OCTOBER 31, 2009
This Halloween dust up was a rare ‘treat’ for hockey fans, as Sid the Kid got in a number of decent shots on the Minny defenceman before the refs finally jumped in. You gotta love seeing arguably the best player in the world taking matters into his own hands – literally.
What’s your #1 fight of this season? Feel free to berate and re-rank my choices or add your own selections below.
Awesome fights! A little anticlimactic having it go from 1 to 10 instead of the reverse order countdown but a great list nonetheless. Is this one for the fans TSJ? We all know you want fighting gone, what was the inspiration for this post?
I do not believe there should be any fighting in hockey..if you fight you get tossed from the game and are suspended for 3 more!
Good point – I have been advocating against fighting since the dawn of thesportsjunkie.ca – so what was the inspiration? I suppose on one hand, I have an appreciation for a great fight. Perhaps I’m a bit hypocritical with this post in that ultimately I do believe it should be eliminated from the game. Interestingly, in researching this particular top ten list, I learned that it is the same usual suspects – the goons – who comprise this list from top to bottom. Janssen, Konopka, McGrattan, Orr, Koci, Boogaard. Although providing an ‘entertaining’ bout every other game or so, does the league and their respective teams really need these guys to make the NHL better? The only purpose they serve is to arbitrarily fight each other whenever they meet. Seems a bit meaningless, no?
3 more? Maybe a bit unnecessary, as long as fighting is ‘legal’ in the game. But how fighting doesn’t come with an automatic game misconduct, I’ll never understand.
TSJ I will grant you the auto game misconduct. And in the playoffs these guys become bench warmers. But it’s an 82 game season to get there and if guys are taking cheap shots a la Marc Savard with no policemen on your bench will you even make the playoffs? Let’s not forget fighting can also inspire the bench or change the flow / momentum of the game the same way changing your goalie can. If the fans like it and the players don’t mind it as a job where is the harm? This is entertainment after all. And if we take it out of the game and then have a rash of stick swinging incidents instead what then? Play without sticks? Put fighting back in?