Ranking the Most Gruesome Fights On Ice from Recent Times

Published 01/27/2023, 5:45 PM EST

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Being one of the fastest and most dangerous sports in the world, Ice Hockey needs guts. Guts, to face injury, and to get ready for a punch in the face. While other sports banned physical fights, hockey deliberately adores it. Recently, a YouTube page compiled the most gruesome fights in the sport’s history and uploaded it to their channel.

With an increasing number of brawls, hockey is becoming the home of some of the nastiest sports fights in history. Although not a combat sport, let’s rank the fights based on the gore.

Arron Asham and Jay Beagle played nasty ice hockey

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In 2014, it was a game between Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals and the Capitals were leading the game by 2-1. With only 14 minutes left in the game, Penguins’ Arron Asham and Capitals’ Jay Beagle engaged in a physical fight. Not only did they punch each other’s face vigorously, but Asham also took off his gloves to beat the latter barehanded.

 

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Beagle took a punch on the left side of his face and was unconscious as a result of the fistfight. Without showing any repercussion, Asham celebrated his victory in the fight with gestures that meant ‘go to sleep’ and skated away.

Joe Thornton vs Jamie Benn, battle to the ground

Hockey fans were subjected to a heated brawl between players of the San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars. Joe Thornton, Sharks’ center forward got involved in combat when Benn tried to corner him. Thornton threw the first punch and they beat each other aiming at the left side of their face. The intensity of their fight was so high that they didn’t even stop even after falling to the ground.

Though Thornton twisted Benn to the ground, they didn’t stop fighting till the referees snatched them from each other.

Dallas Stars vs St. Louis Blues resulted in wrestling

If one does not follow hockey then definitely they would confuse the hockey game of the Dallas Stars with St. Louis Blues as a wrestling match. In 2013, Ryan Reaves, the right winger of the Blues engaged in a gruesome fistfight with Stars’ Brenden Dillon. They started with small hops and closed fists ready to punch, just like UFC fighters do. The proceedings of their confrontation would easily leave any fighters speechless.

After getting one jab and two uppercuts, Reaves’s face was bloodied. Well, if you think they stopped there, you’re sadly mistaken. They continued punching until the referees interfered.

Deslauriers vs Oleksiak, beef on-ice

Anaheim Ducks forward Nicolas Deslauriers and Seattle Kraken defenceman Jamie Oleksiak traded heavy punches in a heated fight that got the crowd pumped up. Evidently, the pressure of the game gets the best of them.

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Well, Deslauriers seemed to finish the fight with a grim smile on his face, dripping with blood.

Chara vs Koci battle on the field

NHL fans witnessed a spine-chilling fight between David Koci and Zdeno Chara in a game between the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins. The horrifying incident took place in 2007 as almost every player of the game got involved in physical combat, beating each other ruthlessly.

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One cannot contend with the fact that the fights contribute to a large number of viewers of ice hockey. Given the nature of the game, it does not look like the audience is going to get bored anytime soon. What are your thoughts on the NHL’s history of brutal brawls?

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Written by:

Soumili Chatterjee

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Soumili Chatterjee is a US Sports author for EssentiallySports. She secured her bachelor’s and master's degree in English literature from the University of Calcutta. After being a technical and blog writer for nearly three years, it was her ardent love for sports that steered her career toward the sports industry.
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Edited by:

Anupama Ghosh