NHL Fights 2025-26
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.
Curtis Douglas (VAN) and Mark Kastelic (BOS) lead NHL players with 10 fights in the 2025-26 regular season, 1 more than Sam Carrick (BUF), Mathieu Olivier (CBJ) and Ross Johnston (ANA).
Most fights, 2025-26
Curtis DouglasVAN10last Apr 12
Mark KastelicBOS10last Mar 29
Sam CarrickBUF9last Mar 31
Mathieu OlivierCBJ9last Mar 29
Ross JohnstonANA9last Mar 8
Brandon DuhaimeWSH8last Apr 5
Tampa Bay Lightning0.5444 in 82 GP
Boston Bruins0.4033 in 82 GP
Anaheim Ducks0.3226 in 82 GP
When fights happen
Of 306 regular-season fights in 2025-26, 134 came in period 1, 97 came in period 2, 75 came in period 3. 35 started in the first five minutes of a game, often a scheduled bout off the opening faceoff; 56 came with one team ahead by three or more goals and 94 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, 2025-26
| # | Player | Fights | Inst. | Opponents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curtis DouglasVAN | 10 | 1 | Jeffrey Viel, Adam Klapka, Niko Mikkola, Luke Kunin +6 |
| 2 | Mark KastelicBOS | 10 | – | Mathieu Olivier, Michael McCarron, Johnathan Kovacevic, Brenden Dillon +6 |
| 3 | Sam CarrickBUF | 9 | – | Anders Lee, Scott Sabourin, Garnet Hathaway, Mark Kastelic +5 |
| 4 | Mathieu OlivierCBJ | 9 | 1 | Mark Kastelic, Nicolas Deslauriers, Ian Cole, Ryan Reaves +5 |
| 5 | Ross JohnstonANA | 9 | – | Tyler Tucker, Luke Schenn, Dylan McIlrath, Liam O'Brien +5 |
| 6 | Brandon DuhaimeWSH | 8 | – | Tye Kartye, Brandon Tanev, Jacob Melanson, Ilya Lyubushkin +4 |
| 7 |  Logan StanleyBUF | 8 | – | Brady Tkachuk, Jamie Oleksiak, Zack Ostapchuk, Trent Frederic +3 |
| 8 |  Tanner JeannotBOS | 8 | – | Erik Gudbranson, Nicolas Deslauriers, A.J. Greer, Josh Anderson +3 |
| 9 |  Arber XhekajMTL | 8 | 1 | Dylan McIlrath, Scott Sabourin, Nikita Zadorov, Adam Lowry +4 |
| 10 |  Connor MurphyEDM | 7 | – | Drew O'Connor, Cole Smith, Pontus Holmberg, Joel Farabee +3 |
| 11 |  Jeffrey VielANA | 7 | 1 | Curtis Douglas, Zack Ostapchuk, Jack McBain, Michael Pezzetta +3 |
| 12 |  Michael McCarronMIN | 7 | – | Mark Kastelic, Corey Perry, Darnell Nurse, Tyler Tucker +2 |
| 13 |  Jeremy LauzonVGK | 7 | – | Lawson Crouse, Brock Faber, Corey Perry, Mark Kastelic +3 |
| 14 |  Tyler TuckerSTL | 7 | 1 | Ross Johnston, A.J. Greer, Michael McCarron, Josh Dunne +3 |
| 15 |  Samuel HeleniusLAK | 6 | – | Jacob Melanson, Nikita Zadorov, Kai Uchacz, Nick Bjugstad +2 |
| 16 |  Adam KlapkaCGY | 6 | – | Curtis Douglas, Marcus Foligno, Samuel Helenius, Logan Stanley +2 |
| 17 |  Jack McBainUTA | 6 | – | Jeffrey Viel, Lian Bichsel, Noah Juulsen, Alexey Toropchenko +2 |
| 18 |  Brayden SchennNYI | 6 | – | Ridly Greig, Mark Stone, Brandon Tanev, Nicolas Hague +2 |
| 19 |  Nicolas DeslauriersCAR | 6 | – | Mathieu Olivier, Tanner Jeannot, Brennan Othmann, Curtis Douglas +2 |
| 20 |  Jake MiddletonMIN | 6 | – | Keegan Kolesar, A.J. Greer, Logan Stanley, Colton Dach +2 |
Regular season. 287 players have fought.
More fighters, 2025-26
- A.J. Greer FLA6
- Marcus Foligno MIN5
- Brenden Dillon NJD5
- Max Domi TOR5
- Josh Manson COL5
- Tom Wilson WSH5
- Corey Perry TBL5
- Nikita Zadorov BOS5
- Scott Sabourin TBL5
- Ryan Reaves SJS5
- Vasily Podkolzin EDM5
- Luke Schenn BUF5
- Keegan Kolesar VGK5
- Garnet Hathaway PHI5
- Ryan Lomberg CGY5
- Kurtis MacDermid OTT5
- Colton Dach EDM4
- Radko Gudas ANA4
- Anders Lee NYI4
- Josh Anderson MTL4
- Connor Clifton PIT4
- Adam Lowry WPG4
- Brandon Tanev UTA4
- Nick Foligno MIN4
- Trent Frederic EDM4
- Peyton Krebs BUF4
- Darnell Nurse EDM4
- Donovan Sebrango FLA4
- Brady Tkachuk OTT3
- Jamie Benn DAL3
- Will Cuylle NYR3
- Luke Kunin FLA3
- Zack Ostapchuk SJS3
- Scott Mayfield NYI3
- J.J. Moser TBL3
- Dakota Joshua TOR3
- Barclay Goodrow SJS3
- Ridly Greig OTT3
- Nicolas Hague NSH3
- Justin Hryckowian DAL3
227 more players fought one to a few times each.
Teams that fight the most, 2025-26
| Team | Fights | GP | Per game | Per 82 | Fighters | Most vs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 44 | 82 | 0.54 | 44.0 | 19 | BUF (5) |
| Boston Bruins | 33 | 82 | 0.40 | 33.0 | 9 | MTL (5) |
| Anaheim Ducks | 26 | 82 | 0.32 | 26.0 | 9 | TOR (4) |
 Philadelphia Flyers | 25 | 82 | 0.30 | 25.0 | 13 | TBL (4) |
 Calgary Flames | 23 | 82 | 0.28 | 23.0 | 12 | CHI (4) |
 Buffalo Sabres | 22 | 82 | 0.27 | 22.0 | 13 | TBL (5) |
 Edmonton Oilers | 22 | 82 | 0.27 | 22.0 | 10 | TBL (3) |
 St. Louis Blues | 22 | 82 | 0.27 | 22.0 | 10 | LAK (3) |
 Washington Capitals | 22 | 82 | 0.27 | 22.0 | 9 | NYR (4) |
 Columbus Blue Jackets | 21 | 82 | 0.26 | 21.0 | 9 | NJD (5) |
 Florida Panthers | 21 | 82 | 0.26 | 21.0 | 10 | TBL (5) |
 Minnesota Wild | 21 | 82 | 0.26 | 21.0 | 9 | WPG (3) |
 Ottawa Senators | 21 | 82 | 0.26 | 21.0 | 11 | BOS (3) |
 Utah Mammoth | 20 | 82 | 0.24 | 20.0 | 8 | ANA (2) |
 Vegas Golden Knights | 20 | 82 | 0.24 | 20.0 | 9 | CGY (3) |
 Montreal Canadiens | 19 | 82 | 0.23 | 19.0 | 8 | BOS (5) |
 New York Rangers | 19 | 82 | 0.23 | 19.0 | 11 | WSH (4) |
 Toronto Maple Leafs | 19 | 82 | 0.23 | 19.0 | 12 | ANA (4) |
 New Jersey Devils | 18 | 82 | 0.22 | 18.0 | 10 | CBJ (5) |
 Winnipeg Jets | 17 | 82 | 0.21 | 17.0 | 7 | MIN (3) |
 Los Angeles Kings | 16 | 82 | 0.20 | 16.0 | 7 | STL (3) |
 Seattle Kraken | 16 | 82 | 0.20 | 16.0 | 12 | EDM (2) |
 Nashville Predators | 15 | 82 | 0.18 | 15.0 | 8 | CGY (4) |
 Vancouver Canucks | 15 | 82 | 0.18 | 15.0 | 10 | ANA (2) |
 Chicago Blackhawks | 14 | 82 | 0.17 | 14.0 | 7 | CGY (4) |
 Pittsburgh Penguins | 14 | 82 | 0.17 | 14.0 | 10 | FLA (2) |
 San Jose Sharks | 14 | 82 | 0.17 | 14.0 | 6 | STL (3) |
 Dallas Stars | 13 | 82 | 0.16 | 13.0 | 8 | UTA (2) |
 Detroit Red Wings | 11 | 82 | 0.13 | 11.0 | 9 | NYR (2) |
 New York Islanders | 11 | 82 | 0.13 | 11.0 | 5 | OTT (3) |
 Colorado Avalanche | 10 | 82 | 0.12 | 10.0 | 6 | OTT (2) |
 Carolina Hurricanes | 8 | 82 | 0.10 | 8.0 | 8 | WSH (2) |
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 2025-26
| Date | Fight | When | Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 24 | Vasily Podkolzin EDM vs Jeffrey Viel ANA | P3 19:35 · 4-7 · playoffs | EDM at ANA |
| Apr 21 | Juraj Slafkovský MTL vs Brandon Hagel TBL | P2 5:14 · 1-1 · playoffs | MTL at TBL |
| Apr 21 | Logan Stanley BUF vs Mark Kastelic BOS | P3 2:26 · 4-0 · playoffs | BOS at BUF |
| Apr 18 | Brady Tkachuk OTT vs Jordan Staal CAR | P1 0:03 · 0-0 · playoffs | OTT at CAR |
| Apr 16 | Drew O'Connor VAN vs Connor Murphy EDM | P2 7:21 · 1-4 | VAN at EDM |
| Apr 16 | Colton Dach EDM vs Elias Pettersson VAN | P1 7:46 · 0-2 | VAN at EDM |
| Apr 14 | Filip Hronek VAN vs Mathieu Joseph LAK | P3 7:31 · 3-3 | LAK at VAN |
| Apr 13 | Samuel Helenius LAK vs Jacob Melanson SEA | P1 12:03 · 1-0 | LAK at SEA |
| Apr 13 | Colton Parayko STL vs Yakov Trenin MIN | P1 18:00 · 1-1 | MIN at STL |
| Apr 12 | Curtis Douglas VAN vs Jeffrey Viel ANA | P1 14:44 · 2-1 | VAN at ANA |
| Apr 12 | Teddy Blueger VAN vs Radko Gudas ANA | P1 11:53 · 1-1 | VAN at ANA |
| Apr 11 | Dmitri Simashev UTA vs Charles Alexis Legault CAR | P3 14:48 · 2-1 | CAR at UTA |
| Apr 11 | Jamie Benn DAL vs J.T. Miller NYR | P2 18:17 · 0-0 | NYR at DAL |
| Apr 11 | Brady Tkachuk OTT vs Anders Lee NYI | P1 0:01 · 0-0 | OTT at NYI |
| Apr 9 | Josh Anderson MTL vs Declan Carlile TBL | P2 15:00 · 0-1 | TBL at MTL |
| Apr 7 | Marcus Foligno MIN vs Jamie Oleksiak SEA | P1 14:24 · 2-1 | SEA at MIN |
| Apr 5 | Noah Laba NYR vs Hendrix Lapierre WSH | P3 15:36 · 1-7 | WSH at NYR |
| Apr 5 | Tye Kartye NYR vs Brandon Duhaime WSH | P2 17:55 · 1-5 | WSH at NYR |
| Apr 5 | Jakob Chychrun WSH vs Will Cuylle NYR | P2 17:12 · 1-5 | WSH at NYR |
| Apr 5 | Brenden Dillon NJD vs Josh Anderson MTL | P3 13:00 · 2-0 | NJD at MTL |
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 2025-26 the league had 306 regular-season fights in 1312 games (0.23 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 2025-26?
Curtis Douglas had the most fights in the 2025-26 regular season, 10; Mark Kastelic is next with 10.
Which NHL team fights the most in 2025-26?
TBL had 44 fights in 82 regular-season games (44.0 per 82 games), the most per game in the league in 2025-26.
How many fights are there per NHL game?
In 2025-26 there were 306 fights in 1312 regular-season games, or 0.23 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 306 regular-season fights in 2025-26, 44% came in the first period and 18% with one team ahead by three goals or more.