Chris Neil is the easy number one, but the battle for Bytown's best brawlers – two through five – is as tough as they were.

When it comes to the greatest fighters in Ottawa Senators history, the conversation begins and ends with Chris Neil. No spoiler alert required. After all, how many NHL enforcers have ever played their entire careers with one team, cracked the 1000 game plateau, and had their numbers retired? It's a pretty short list.

So let's get ready to rumble with our top five – with a tip of the cap to hockeyfights.com for our fight counter. Fight numbers include playoffs and games played are regular season only.

1. Chris Neil (2001-17, 176 fights in 1026 games)

Neil's 176 fights make him the all-time leader among Senator fighters. That's more scraps than the next three guys on the list combined. 

And Neil didn't just fight a lot, he fought well. George Laraque, who might have been the best fighter in NHL history, once called Neil – pound for pound – one of the toughest guys he'd ever faced.

Here's Neil sorting out Tanner Glass, the former Rangers' tough guy who'd been running around in their second round playoff series in 2017. The Senators were a different team after this and went on to win the series. 

Did this change the tone of the series? That polarizing discussion will live on as part of the great debate about the value of fighting and enforcers.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpsoLGhQvsw[/embed]

At 6-foot-1, 209 pounds, Neil took on anyone, frequently punching above his weight class, and often did it with that maniacal, gap-toothed grin. He may not have been the biggest, strongest fighter in Ottawa history, but his longevity, along with the quality and quantity of fights, easily makes him the club's greatest fighter of all time.

And that's how we're handling this list, by the way. For example, Rob Ray might make the top 5 for toughness and fighting ability, but he only played 11 games for Ottawa. So for our purposes, when defining "greatness," games played and number of fights is also part of it. 

And it will surely set up some interesting debates as we punch our way to numbers two through five.

2. Dennis Vial (1993-98, 71 fights in 176 games)

Drake Batherson's uncle was one of the original "tarps off" guys, often squirming out of his shoulder pads and sweater during fights so his opponents would have nothing to hang on to. Built a lot like Neil, Vial was just as willing, taking on some of the finest heavyweights of his era. And his fights per game ratio is pretty wild, rarely going 2 or 3 games without a brawl.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPe9dBT5wQE[/embed]

3. Zdeno Chara (2001-06, 26 fights in 299 games)

At an incredible 6-foot-9, 250 pounds, Chara was always the strongest guy in any fight and often showed mercy on his opponent, perhaps knowing how badly he could hurt them if he really let loose. 

Chara would get everyone's vote as the former Senator they'd least like to mess with, which would put him as number one on of a lot of people's lists. But as mentioned, we're factoring in quantity also. And the Sens wanted Chara on the ice and not in the penalty box.

Chara's rag dolling of Leafs defenceman Bryan McCabe remains a truly special memory for a lot of Senators fans, who play this video at Christmas, weddings and other special occasions.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=317UxnIXvTw[/embed]

Many years later, Marvel Studios attempted to reenact the Chara-McCabe spat in The Avengers. That's my assumption, at least.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtmY0hedXxY[/embed]

4. Brian McGrattan (2005-2008, 37 fights in 143 games)

At 6-foot-4, 235 pounds, McGrattan was a hard man to handle. In 2004-05, he put up a remarkable 551 penalty minutes in a single season with Binghamton. But the Senators had Neil in their lineup so the more one dimensional McGrattan didn't see as much as ice time or draw as many fighting assignments as he otherwise might have. 

He's one of the few Senators who ever truly got the best of rival Tie Domi.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvqRj6Z2raA[/embed]

5. Matt Carkner (2009-12, 39 fights in 161 games)

Also at 6-foot-4, 235 pounds, the Winchester native was the local boy made good, and was a pretty decent defenceman from 2009-12. Carkner spent eight years in the minors before getting a full-time opportunity. And when players like Brian Boyle took liberties with star players like Erik Karlsson, Carkner was there to settle up their tab.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94r8eauXqkU[/embed]

Honourable mentions to Mark Borowiecki (51 fights), Denny Lambert (41), Andre Roy (40), and Mike Peluso (24). 

There it is. We're sure there will be some differences of opinion... but let's try our best not to fight.