NHL Fights 2021-22
Every NHL fight of the season from the official play-by-play: the players and teams who fight most, the latest fights with links to each game, and how fighting has changed since 2017-18.
Tanner Jeannot (NSH) leads NHL players with 14 fights in the 2021-22 regular season, 1 more than Mark Borowiecki (NSH) and Nicolas Deslauriers (MIN).
Most fights, 2021-22
Tanner JeannotNSH14last Apr 26
Mark BorowieckiNSH13last Apr 29
Nicolas DeslauriersMIN13last Apr 21
Zack MacEwenPHI12last Apr 19
Brandon DuhaimeMIN11last Apr 29
Sam CarrickANA11last Apr 1
Nashville Predators0.7360 in 82 GP
Anaheim Ducks0.4436 in 82 GP
Minnesota Wild0.4335 in 82 GP
When fights happen
Of 330 regular-season fights in 2021-22, 124 came in period 1, 119 came in period 2, 87 came in period 3. 42 started in the first five minutes of a game, often a scheduled bout off the opening faceoff; 71 came with one team ahead by three or more goals and 105 with the score tied.
Fights per game by season
| Season | Games | Fights | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | 151 | 44 | 0.29 |
| 2025-26 | 1,312 | 306 | 0.23 |
| 2024-25 | 1,312 | 297 | 0.23 |
| 2023-24 | 1,312 | 311 | 0.24 |
| 2022-23 | 1,312 | 334 | 0.25 |
| 2021-22 | 1,312 | 330 | 0.25 |
| 2020-21 | 868 | 197 | 0.23 |
| 2019-20 | 1,082 | 194 | 0.18 |
| 2018-19 | 1,271 | 226 | 0.18 |
| 2017-18 | 1,271 | 279 | 0.22 |
Regular-season games we have play-by-play for. The current season is partial.
Fight leaders, 2021-22
| # | Player | Fights | Inst. | Opponents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tanner JeannotNSH | 14 | – | Erik Gudbranson, Mike Matheson, Hayden Hodgson, Sam Carrick +10 |
| 2 | Mark BorowieckiNSH | 13 | 1 | Bokondji Imama, Milan Lucic, Jeffrey Viel, Nicolas Deslauriers +9 |
| 3 | Nicolas DeslauriersMIN | 13 | 1 | Luke Schenn, Mark Borowiecki, Nick Seeler, Radko Gudas +6 |
| 4 | Zack MacEwenPHI | 12 | – | Ilya Lyubushkin, Wayne Simmonds, Givani Smith, Michael McCarron +7 |
| 5 | Brandon DuhaimeMIN | 11 | 1 | Logan O'Connor, Will Borgen, Brendan Lemieux, Jeremy Lauzon +7 |
| 6 | Sam CarrickANA | 11 | – | Michael Carcone, Jonah Gadjovich, Mark Borowiecki, Tanner Jeannot +6 |
| 7 |  Jonah GadjovichSJS | 10 | 1 | Hunter Drew, Sam Carrick, Ben Harpur, Nicolas Deslauriers +6 |
| 8 |  Patrick MaroonTBL | 10 | 1 | Wayne Simmonds, Ross Johnston, Ryan Reaves, Joshua Brown +6 |
| 9 |  Jake MiddletonMIN | 10 | – | Michael McCarron, Kurtis MacDermid, Luke Kunin, Jeremy Lauzon +6 |
| 10 |  Marcus FolignoMIN | 10 | – | Mark Borowiecki, Luke Schenn, Luke Kunin, Adam Lowry +5 |
| 11 |  Liam O'BrienARI | 10 | – | Erik Gudbranson, Matt Martin, Mark Borowiecki, Nicolas Deslauriers +4 |
| 12 |  Givani SmithDET | 9 | 1 | Zack MacEwen, Milan Lucic, Mark Borowiecki, Jeffrey Viel +3 |
| 13 |  Jeffrey VielSJS | 8 | – | Riley Stillman, Mark Borowiecki, Sam Carrick, Zdeno Chara +4 |
| 14 |  Brendan LemieuxLAK | 8 | – | Brandon Duhaime, Trent Frederic, Gemel Smith, Jeffrey Viel +4 |
| 15 |  Michael McCarronNSH | 8 | – | Jake Middleton, Zack MacEwen, Buddy Robinson, Patrick Maroon +4 |
| 16 |  Keegan KolesarVGK | 8 | – | Jamie Oleksiak, Logan Stanley, Casey Fitzgerald, Tanner Jeannot +4 |
| 17 |  Milan LucicCGY | 7 | – | Mark Borowiecki, Givani Smith, Kurtis MacDermid, Nicolas Deslauriers +1 |
| 18 |  Luke SchennVAN | 7 | – | Nicolas Deslauriers, Jamie Benn, Marcus Foligno, Ross Johnston +3 |
| 19 |  Adam LowryWPG | 7 | – | Zach Bogosian, Tanner Jeannot, Marcus Foligno, Luke Schenn +2 |
| 20 |  Luke KuninNSH | 7 | 2 | Radko Gudas, Mark Kastelic, Patrick Brown, Marcus Foligno +3 |
Regular season. 262 players have fought.
More fighters, 2021-22
- Radko Gudas FLA7
- Jeremy Lauzon NSH7
- Austin Watson OTT7
- Erik Gudbranson CGY6
- Wayne Simmonds TOR6
- Matt Martin NYI6
- Tom Wilson WSH6
- Kurtis MacDermid COL6
- John Hayden BUF6
- Jacob Trouba NYR6
- Michael Pezzetta MTL5
- Brady Tkachuk OTT5
- Brenden Dillon WPG5
- Joshua Brown BOS5
- Mason Geertsen NJD5
- Nick Foligno BOS5
- Trent Frederic BOS5
- Zdeno Chara NYI5
- Jamie Benn DAL4
- Ross Johnston NYI4
- Zachary Sanford WPG4
- Riley Stillman CHI4
- Ben Hutton VGK4
- Jamie Oleksiak SEA4
- Michael McLeod NJD4
- Yakov Trenin NSH4
- Logan Stanley WPG4
- Casey Fitzgerald BUF4
- Lawson Crouse ARI4
- Gabriel Landeskog COL4
- Barclay Goodrow NYR3
- Mikhail Sergachev TBL3
- Ryan Lomberg FLA3
- Nick Cousins NSH3
- Sam Lafferty CHI3
- Alex Formenton OTT3
- Zach Bogosian TBL3
- Kyle Clifford TOR3
- Nick Paul TBL3
- Yanni Gourde SEA3
202 more players fought one to a few times each.
Teams that fight the most, 2021-22
| Team | Fights | GP | Per game | Per 82 | Fighters | Most vs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville Predators | 60 | 82 | 0.73 | 60.0 | 13 | ARI (5) |
| Anaheim Ducks | 36 | 82 | 0.44 | 36.0 | 11 | ARI (6) |
| Minnesota Wild | 35 | 82 | 0.43 | 35.0 | 10 | NSH (5) |
 Ottawa Senators | 31 | 82 | 0.38 | 31.0 | 12 | ANA (4) |
 San Jose Sharks | 31 | 82 | 0.38 | 31.0 | 7 | ANA (4) |
 Tampa Bay Lightning | 31 | 82 | 0.38 | 31.0 | 13 | CGY (3) |
 Arizona Coyotes | 28 | 82 | 0.34 | 28.0 | 12 | ANA (6) |
 Seattle Kraken | 26 | 82 | 0.32 | 26.0 | 13 | NJD (3) |
 New York Islanders | 24 | 82 | 0.29 | 24.0 | 9 | TBL (3) |
 Winnipeg Jets | 24 | 82 | 0.29 | 24.0 | 9 | MIN (4) |
 Philadelphia Flyers | 23 | 82 | 0.28 | 23.0 | 9 | NSH (3) |
 Boston Bruins | 21 | 82 | 0.26 | 21.0 | 10 | MIN (3) |
 Colorado Avalanche | 20 | 82 | 0.24 | 20.0 | 8 | MIN (3) |
 Calgary Flames | 19 | 82 | 0.23 | 19.0 | 7 | NSH (3) |
 Chicago Blackhawks | 19 | 82 | 0.23 | 19.0 | 14 | COL (2) |
 Detroit Red Wings | 19 | 82 | 0.23 | 19.0 | 9 | NSH (4) |
 Florida Panthers | 19 | 82 | 0.23 | 19.0 | 10 | OTT (3) |
 New Jersey Devils | 18 | 82 | 0.22 | 18.0 | 8 | SEA (3) |
 New York Rangers | 18 | 82 | 0.22 | 18.0 | 9 | COL (2) |
 Vegas Golden Knights | 18 | 82 | 0.22 | 18.0 | 7 | ANA (4) |
 Vancouver Canucks | 17 | 82 | 0.21 | 17.0 | 7 | NSH (3) |
 Buffalo Sabres | 16 | 82 | 0.20 | 16.0 | 8 | PIT (3) |
 Montreal Canadiens | 16 | 82 | 0.20 | 16.0 | 8 | NSH (3) |
 Los Angeles Kings | 13 | 82 | 0.16 | 13.0 | 3 | DET (3) |
 Pittsburgh Penguins | 12 | 82 | 0.15 | 12.0 | 8 | BUF (3) |
 Toronto Maple Leafs | 12 | 82 | 0.15 | 12.0 | 5 | PHI (2) |
 St. Louis Blues | 11 | 82 | 0.13 | 11.0 | 7 | COL (2) |
 Washington Capitals | 11 | 82 | 0.13 | 11.0 | 5 | PHI (2) |
 Carolina Hurricanes | 10 | 82 | 0.12 | 10.0 | 7 | BOS (1) |
 Dallas Stars | 8 | 82 | 0.10 | 8.0 | 4 | CAR (1) |
 Columbus Blue Jackets | 7 | 82 | 0.09 | 7.0 | 5 | ARI (3) |
 Edmonton Oilers | 7 | 82 | 0.09 | 7.0 | 4 | MTL (1) |
A fight counts once for each team in it. Early in a season a single rivalry game can top this table: per-team rates are noise until teams have played a few dozen games.
Last fights of 2021-22
| Date | Fight | When | Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 20 | Ross Colton TBL vs Logan O'Connor COL | P3 17:48 · 2-6 · playoffs | COL at TBL |
| Jun 9 | Alexis Lafrenière NYR vs Steven Stamkos TBL | P3 20:00 · 3-1 · playoffs | TBL at NYR |
| Jun 7 | Brandon Hagel TBL vs Frank Vatrano NYR | P2 11:23 · 0-1 · playoffs | NYR at TBL |
| May 24 | Steven Lorentz CAR vs Jacob Trouba NYR | P1 11:38 · 0-0 · playoffs | CAR at NYR |
| May 11 | Aaron Ekblad FLA vs Anthony Mantha WSH | P3 19:46 · 3-5 · playoffs | WSH at FLA |
| May 7 | John Klingberg DAL vs Matthew Tkachuk CGY | P1 1:22 · 0-0 · playoffs | CGY at DAL |
| May 3 | Michael Raffl DAL vs Matthew Tkachuk CGY | P1 20:00 · 0-1 · playoffs | DAL at CGY |
| May 3 | John Klingberg DAL vs Rasmus Andersson CGY | P1 20:00 · 0-1 · playoffs | DAL at CGY |
| May 2 | Morgan Rielly TOR vs Jan Rutta TBL | P3 10:09 · 0-5 · playoffs | TBL at TOR |
| Apr 29 | Bokondji Imama ARI vs Mark Borowiecki NSH | P1 13:21 · 4-1 | NSH at ARI |
| Apr 29 | Logan O'Connor COL vs Brandon Duhaime MIN | P1 2:14 · 0-1 | COL at MIN |
| Apr 28 | Noel Acciari FLA vs Parker Kelly OTT | P3 14:10 · 4-0 | FLA at OTT |
| Apr 26 | Hunter Drew ANA vs Jonah Gadjovich SJS | P3 4:01 · 3-2 | ANA at SJS |
| Apr 26 | Mark Borowiecki NSH vs Milan Lucic CGY | P1 18:38 · 1-0 | CGY at NSH |
| Apr 26 | Tanner Jeannot NSH vs Erik Gudbranson CGY | P1 16:53 · 1-0 | CGY at NSH |
| Apr 26 | Barclay Goodrow NYR vs Ian Cole CAR | P2 14:01 · 2-0 | CAR at NYR |
| Apr 24 | Erik Cernak TBL vs Ryan Lomberg FLA | P3 16:24 · 7-4 | TBL at FLA |
| Apr 24 | Sam Bennett FLA vs Mikhail Sergachev TBL | P2 13:42 · 5-3 | TBL at FLA |
| Apr 23 | Jan Rutta TBL vs Nick Cousins NSH | P3 7:24 · 2-6 | NSH at TBL |
| Apr 23 | Michael Pezzetta MTL vs Mark Kastelic OTT | P1 2:33 · 0-1 | MTL at OTT |
Score is away-home when the fight started.
How we count NHL fights
A fight is a fighting major in the NHL play-by-play. Both players usually get one at the same moment, so the pair counts as one fight and each fighter is credited once. When only one player gets the major, the opponent comes from the penalty's "drawn by" field. Instigator minors at the same moment are noted. Boards use the regular season; the recent list includes the playoffs.
Fight totals are small numbers. A team's fights per game move a lot on one rivalry night or one call-up, and a player's count depends on how many games his coach dresses him. In 2021-22 the league had 330 regular-season fights in 1312 games (0.25 a game); in 2017-18 it was 0.22 a game, in 2025-26 0.23.
For fantasy leagues that count penalty minutes, a fighting major is five PIM, so the leaders here are the players who swing a PIM category. Fights are not a betting edge here: we hold no prices for the occasional "fight in game" props some books post, and per-team rates this small are mostly noise from game to game.
Frequently asked questions
Who has the most fights in the NHL in 2021-22?
Tanner Jeannot had the most fights in the 2021-22 regular season, 14; Mark Borowiecki is next with 13.
Which NHL team fights the most in 2021-22?
NSH had 60 fights in 82 regular-season games (60.0 per 82 games), the most per game in the league in 2021-22.
How many fights are there per NHL game?
In 2021-22 there were 330 fights in 1312 regular-season games, or 0.25 a game. That compares with 0.22 a game in 2017-18 and 0.23 in 2025-26.
When do NHL fights happen?
Of the 330 regular-season fights in 2021-22, 38% came in the first period and 22% with one team ahead by three goals or more.