Who Is The Best Fighter In The NHL?
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NHL fans are always debating who the best fighter in the league is. There are a lot of tough guys in the NHL, but who is the best?
The NHL’s best fighters
Milan Lucic
Milan Lucic is one of the NHL’s best fighters. He has been in the league for eleven seasons and has racked up over 1,000 penalty minutes. He is also a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Boston Bruins. Lucic is a big guy at 6’3″ and 235 pounds, and he knows how to use his size to his advantage on the ice. He is a feared fighter who is not afraid to drop the gloves with anyone.
John Scott
John Scott is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He was most recently a member of the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also played for the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers. Scott is known primarily for his role as an enforcer and have been involved in many on-ice fights throughout his career.
George Parros
In a sport where the men are bigger, stronger and faster than ever before, one enforcer still reigns supreme as the NHL’s top fighter. That man is George Parros, and he has held the title for several years now.
Parros is a 6’5”, 240-pound behemoth who currently plays for the Florida Panthers. He is also one of the most popular players in the league, thanks in large part to his willingness to drop the gloves and fight anyone who challenges him.
In his 12-year NHL career, Parros has racked up 1,092 penalty minutes, which is good for sixth all-time among active players. He has also fought some of the biggest and baddest hitters in the game, including Shawn Thornton, Tie Domi and Dave Semenko.
There is no doubt that Parros is the best fighter in the NHL today, and he shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
The NHL’s best fighters of all time
Bob Probert
Born in Windsor, Ontario, Probert was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings. He quickly established himself as a tough customer, protecting fellow young stars like Steve Yzerman and Bob Errey. In 1985-86, he scored 29 goals and amassed 398 penalty minutes, which was an NHL record at the time for most penalty minutes in a season by a right winger. He would go on to lead the league in penalty minutes four times.
Probert’s most famous fight may have been against Kevin Sutton of the Tampa Bay Lightning on December 31, 1987. The two were each given a game misconduct and 89 penalty minutes apiece for their efforts.
Probert retired in 2002 after playing 16 seasons in the NHL, compiling bar fight stats of 163 goals, 221 assists and 3265 penalty minutes. He currently ranks fourth all-time in career penalty minutes.
Tie Domi
Tie Domi was one of the most popular players in New York during his eight seasons with the Rangers. He was also one of the NHL’s best fighters, regularly taking on all comers.
Domi racked up 2,265 penalty minutes in his career, which is the sixth-highest total in NHL history. He also had 39 fights in the regular season and another seven in the playoffs.
Domi’s most famous fight came against New Jersey’s Scott Niedermayer in 1992. The two went at it for nearly a minute, with Domi getting the better of Niedermayer. The fight sparked a massive brawl between the two teams that led to nine players being ejected.
Chris Nilan
Most people know Chris Nilan as the tough guy from the 1986 Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup team. But he was much more than that. He was one of the NHL’s best fighters of all time.
Nilan didn’t just fight anybody. He fought some of the toughest guys in the NHL, including Bob Probert, Stu Grimson, and Craig Berube. He even once took on two guys at the same time.
And he didn’t just win his fights, he won them convincingly. He was always ready to drop the gloves and go toe-to-toe with anyone who dared challenge him.
So it’s no surprise that Nilan is considered one of the best fighters in NHL history.
The best fights in the NHL
John Scott vs. Phil Kessel
In January of 2012, John Scott of the Chicago Blackhawks and Phil Kessel of the Toronto Maple Leafs got into one of the most memorable fights in recent NHL history.
The two players were jawing at each other for most of the game, but things really came to a head late in the third period. Scott and Kessel ended up dropping the gloves and went at it in a wild brawl that saw both players throw some big punches.
In the end, Scott got the better of Kessel and won the fight convincingly. It was a defining moment for both players and is still considered one of the best fights in recent NHL history.
Milan Lucic vs. Ryan Miller
In November 2011, Milan Lucic of the Boston Bruins was coming down the ice when he was cross-checked from behind by Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres. Lucic retaliated with a blind-side punch that landed right on Miller’s jaw, knocking him down.
Both players were given fighting majors and game misconducts, and Lucic was suspended for one game.
The fight itself was not particularly noteworthy, but it did cause a lot of controversy because it happened during a scrum after the play was already over.
George Parros vs. Colton Orr
George Parros and Colton Orr were two of the best fighters in the NHL. They had a lot of fights during their careers, but their most famous fight was in 2013. It was a wild fight, and both men landed some big punches.