NHL Fighting On Ice: A Look at Some of This Season’s Heavy Hitters

From newcomer Matt Rempe to veteran guardian Ryan Reaves, here are five NHL enforcers who have been busy this season.

As the season winds down, here’s a look at some of the NHL’s most feared fighters this season with fight numbers from hockeyfights.com. With some of these teams moving on to the playoffs, fighting tends to drop, but they may still insert their tough guys to stand up for their stars.

At only 21 years old, the Rangers’ Rempe is literally one of the biggest fighters in the NHL. Standing 6-foot-7 and weighing in at 241 pounds, he’s definitely able to hold his ground. 

Just 17 games into his NHL career, Rempe has been in five fights, and he’s taken on some of the league’s toughest customers – including Ryan Reaves, Nicolas Deslauriers and Matt Martin. After undergoing a four-game suspension for elbowing New Jersey’s Jonas Siegenthaler in the head on March 11, Rempe seems intent to leave a bruising reminder on every game he plays. If the Rangers feel they need some aggression to light a spark in the playoffs, Rempe will be their go-to guy.

At 37, Reaves remains the NHL’s heavyweight champion until someone – Rempe, perhaps – comes along and knocks him off. The 6-foot-2, 226-pound forward is notorious for chirping opponents, instigating fights and getting a rise out of the opposing team. 

He’s only fought seven times in 49 games this season, but that’s largely because few opponents are foolish enough to take him on. Reaves recently fought Rempe, while earlier in the season, he squared off against Arizona’s Liam O’Brien, Minnesota’s Marcus Foligno and Montreal’s Arber Xhekaj.

The Flyers’ Nicolas Deslauriers has been a frequent fighter in 2023-24. At 6-foot-1 and 218 pounds, he’s been in 11 fights this season. He’s fought the likes of Rempe (of course), Tampa Bay’s Austin Watson, Toronto’s Simon Benoit, and Patrick Maroon – twice. And according to hockeyfights.com, Deslauriers has won or at least tied every fight he's been in this season. This is something that fans of hockey fights can appreciate, especially fans of the Broad Street Bullies.

At 6-foot-2 and 209 pounds, Gadjovich has been in 10 fights in 39 games this season. On Feb. 17, Gadjovich fought against two members of the Tampa Bay Lightning, dropping the gloves with fellow tough guys Watson and Erik Cernak. He's also fought O’Brien, then-Nashville’s Yakov Trenin and Minnesota’s Foligno, among others.

Last but not least, we have the Coyotes’ O’Brien. At 6-foot-1 and 213 pounds, he’s lean and mean with nine fights this season. Things can get ugly once he’s on the ice, fighting with Reaves, Gadjovich and Vancouver's Nikita Zadorov. That said, he also has the most points of the bunch, with 14.