Greg WyshynskiOct 22, 2026, 08:00 AM ETCloseGreg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.Multiple AuthorsOpen Extended ReactionsThe boys are fighting.According to the NHL, there has been an uptick in on-ice fisticuffs this season. Through 120 games, there were 34 games with one or more fights. That’s up over last season (25) and the 2024-25 season (26).”Definitely way more fights,” one NHL veteran player told ESPN. “Way more physicality and competitiveness.
Which I think is great for the league, because it’s something that sets the NHL apart from all the other major sports leagues.”This is true. I’m not sure how many people tuned into NBA opening night to see if LeBron was going to throw hands with Karl-Anthony Towns to make an impression on his new teammates in Philly. The NHL’s biggest stars will, however, punch people in the face.Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche led the NHL with 53 goals last season and was second in ESPN’s top 100 player ranking for this season. Last Tuesday, he sat in the Colorado dressing room with stitches across his bloody nose and a throbbing bruise under his left eye after a fight with Dallas Stars center Roope Hintz.”That was crazy,” said Matt Rempe of the New York Rangers, a noted pugilist that was in awe of MacKinnon-Hintz I.
“They were both just chucking there, they were both just throwing bombs. Two skilled guys who were throwing, so it was pretty awesome.”It was MacKinnon’s second fight of the season, having previously traded blows with Los Angeles Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke.”The way we all grow up in the Maritimes is pretty gritty, Most guys from that area are feisty. I think it’s good to do it sometimes. I might be done for the year, but I guess you never know,” MacKinnon said after his second bout.
“Getting punched is not that fun. But the guys seemed to like it, so maybe I’ll do it a couple more times.”ESPN analyst Erik Johnson played with MacKinnon for 11 seasons and won the Stanley Cup with him in 2022.”I’m actually surprised he doesn’t fight more. He’s so intense and he’d be the first to admit he has a screw loose. When that screw wiggles loose, you don’t want to be in his path,” Johnson said.As Johnson noted, MacKinnon added Muay Thai to his training regimen, which may be a factor in his recent pugilism.
He also thinks Nate’s two fights might have created a copycat effect in the NHL this season.”When you see a guy like MacKinnon do it, maybe that has a trickle-down effect to other players being like, ‘Oh, I can do this too,'” he said.There are a lot of theories why fighting might be on the rise in the NHL this season. One veteran player said that it’s a surefire way to instantly create chemistry with teammates.”When you’re on a new team and you’re trying to establish yourself with that team, you want to show that you’re all-in,” he said. “You want to have your teammates appreciate you and standing up for your buddy or for the big hits. I think that’s part of it, the camaraderie.”Another player told ESPN that fights help snap some players into a more competitive mindset.”I know there’s a few guys around the league that want to make sure they get a fight in early in the season, just to remind them of the physicality.
Sort of an, ‘I can still do this,'” the player said. “Nobody wants to fight in preseason, because it’s pointless. But in your first early regular-season games, if something happens and there’s an opportunity, there’s a fight.”About that preseason: Daniel Gallant, who runs HockeyFights.com, believes the league’s truncated training camps — thanks to a move to an 84-game season — could be an influence.”I think that opened the door for some players to want to make an impact and impression,” he said.According to HockeyFights, last season saw the most unique players register a fight (288) since the 2013-14 campaign. Gallant’s theory is that teams are finding talent to fill their lineup that can skate well and set the tone physically.”To me, fighting in hockey sits at a bit of a tipping point,” he said.
“With the aforementioned increase in players willing to drop the gloves, the chance for more exciting fights coming on any given night increases.”Of course, the most frequent fighters don’t have the ice time or accolades of a Nathan MacKinnon. Players such as Columbus Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier and Boston Bruins forward Mark Kastelic (tied for the league lead with 10 fights last season) drop the gloves with frequency. Gallant cites Arber Xhekaj (Montreal Canadiens), Scott Sabourin (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Jack McBain (Utah Mammoth) as fighters worth watching.McBain already had a fight of the year candidate with Edmonton Oilers forward Trent Frederic, with both players absolutely unloading haymakers before leaving for their dressing rooms. Oilers star Connor McDavid could be seen smiling widely as he tapped his stick on the boards in appreciation.It’s worth asking: Is hockey fighting having a moment after years of decline?Maybe for fans outside of the hockey bubble.Consider that McBain vs.
Frederic was the No. 2 TikTok video across all ESPN accounts last week. Not just hockey — everything, with the NFL, college football and the MLB playoffs in full swing.The greatest evidence of this uptick in popularity was back in 2025, when three fights in nine seconds between the USA and Canada launched the 4 Nations Face-Off into becoming a massive success … while launching the Tkachuk brothers into a successful podcasting side hustle. Of course, it helps that the Tkachuks are both stars and among the best offensive players in the NHL.It’s an interesting dynamic when goal scorers fight. The 2004 Stanley Cup Final is known for two things: Existing on the precipice of the lockout, and having been the series where Calgary’s Jarome Iginla and Tampa Bay’s Vincent Lecavalier had an unexpected and epic throwdown.I remember talking to San Jose Sharks players about watching Joe Thornton fight, as he averaged one or two annually for his first dozen seasons.
They’d get up on the bench and understand that Jumbo had set the tone.”I think it surprises you when you see guys that you wouldn’t expect to fight end up fighting. That would definitely get you fired up,” Johnson said. “Don’t get me wrong: You’re equally pumped when you have a guy on your team known for fighting that does his job. But I think it gives you a little boost seeing one of your best players do it, for sure.”MacKinnon is the unquestioned tone-setter in Colorado.
Watching him fight — twice! — was as much for the Avalanche as it was for his own catharsis.I asked one NHL player, who has never been MacKinnon’s teammate, about his fights.”If I’m on Colorado, I’m like, ‘Wow, this guy is setting the tone,'” the player said. “He lost in the Olympics last year. [The Avs] lost in the playoffs. It looks like he’s a man on a mission and willing to do whatever it takes. It’s not like he’s just doing it for dumb reasons.”Gallant likes a good superstar hockey fight.
“It reminds you of the pure emotion some of these games carry. A guy like Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres has had eight spirited bouts and he doesn’t hold back. I imagine he’ll have a few more as the years roll on,” he said.As far as stars that haven’t fought yet, Gallant would like see what Oilers center Leon Draisaitl can do. His teammate, McDavid, hasn’t had an NHL fight — his last recorded bout on HockeyFights happened in 2014 while with the OHL Erie Otters.
Macklin Celebrini, the consensus choice for the next face of the NHL, doesn’t have an entry on his HockeyFights page while playing in his third NHL season. When he has his first fight, that clip probably goes supernova, given Mack’s popularity.OK, let’s make that if he has his first fight. Or ever fights at all.Teams by and large don’t want their star players throwing punches. That goes for MacKinnon, too.
“I think as the season goes on, you would see him do it less and less, just because it’s very important to be healthy go
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