Hockey is the only major team sport where two athletes can square up, trade punches, sit for five, and then get a shift change. Since the early 1920s the NHL has chosen to regulate hockey fights rather than erase it, writing “fisticuffs” into the rulebook instead of pretending it doesn’t happen. With it comes an unwritten code that players treat almost like a martial art on ice. Let’s break down the martial arts of hockey fights.
Hockey fights exist for a reason, and usually several at once. The most common trigger is retaliation, someone takes a cheap shot at a team’s skilled player, and an enforcer steps in to settle the account. Fights also serve as momentum swings, a way to fire up a bench and a building when the scoreboard isn’t cooperating. Intimidation plays a role too. Gordie Howe famously broke Lou Fontinato’s nose in a fight in the late 1950s and got a lot more room on the ice for the rest of his career because of it. Wayne Gretzky had Dave Semenko and Marty McSorley keeping the wolves away. Brett Hull had Kelly Chase. The enforcer’s job, unofficial as it is on the roster, has always been a form of on-ice insurance.
Defenders of fighting also argue it works as a pressure valve. Games can get dangerously chippy, and a scrap between two willing participants lets the steam out so the rest of the game stays safer for everyone. It is, in hockey terms, policing from within.
There is an entire etiquette to hockey fighting that never appears in the rulebook. Two players have to agree to it, usually through a nod, a few words, or squaring up face to face, before it kicks off. This mutual consent helps both avoid the instigator penalty and keeps unwilling participants out of harm’s way. Enforcers typically fight other enforcers. If a rival declines because he’s banged up, that gets respected, winning against an injured opponent is considered an empty victory. Fighters are also divided informally into “heavyweights” and “light heavyweights,” with the understanding that crossing weight classes can end careers.
The ritual starts with dropping the sticks, which is mandatory, using one as a weapon earns an automatic ejection and suspension. The gloves come off next because the hard leather and plastic would turn every punch into something far more damaging. Fighting bare-knuckled is the standard.
Helmets are where it gets interesting. Players used to remove their own helmets before fights because punching a hard shell hurts the hands. Since the 2013–14 season, however, the NHL introduced a rule assessing a minor penalty to any player who removes his helmet before engaging in a fight. The rule came partly in response to George Parros slamming his head on the ice during a bout, and the league’s growing concern over head injuries. Some players have found creative workarounds, there have been instances where two fighters gently removed each other’s helmets to avoid the extra two minutes and then started swinging. For the most part, though, helmets stay on now.
Then there’s the jersey. Pulling an opponent’s sweater over his head immobilizes his arms and leaves him defenseless, which is why the NHL mandated fight straps, tie-down straps that keep jerseys secured to the pants. The rule exists largely because of Buffalo Sabres enforcer Rob Ray, who routinely stripped off his own jersey before fights so opponents had nothing to grab. With no jersey to grip, the other guy couldn’t control distance or land anything meaningful. The “Rob Ray Rule” forced all NHL jerseys to include the strap, and a player whose jersey comes undone because it isn’t properly secured can be ejected.
A post shared by Timothy Wheaton MMA (@timwheatonmma)
When a player goes down, the fight is done. Linesmen, not referees, are responsible for breaking up fights, and they typically allow a bout to play out until one or both players fall, or until one fighter has gained a dangerous advantage. They approach from the sides, never from behind, wrap arms over the combatants, and push downward to separate them. The referees, meanwhile, stand back and watch for additional infractions, third men jumping in, equipment violations, or anything else that warrants extra penalties.
Both fighters receive a five-minute major penalty and head to the box. Additional penalties can stack on top. An instigator gets an extra two-minute minor and a ten-minute misconduct. An aggressor could earn a game misconduct on top of the five minutes. Three fighting majors in one game means automatic ejection, suspension, and a fine. The league also cracks down on fights in the final five minutes of the third period or overtime, an instigator there draws an ejection, a fine, and a suspension, plus the coach gets fined $10,000.
Here is where it gets technically interesting. Hockey fights look wild, but there is a craft to them, one shaped entirely by the fact that you’re standing on knife-edge blades on a sheet of ice. “The biggest challenge to fighting on ice is that it’s very hard to plant your feet,” explained Hall of Fame martial artist Eli Collier, who analyzed NHL fights alongside writer Christine Wichman. “You lose a lot of the force of the strike if you don’t have a solid base that won’t move.”
A proper punch starts in the hips and requires a stable stance, back foot pushing into a jab, pivoting on a cross. That’s nearly impossible on ice. So hockey fighters compensate by grabbing their opponent’s jersey with one hand for balance and leverage, then punching with the other. This produces the signature “jerk and jab” move, yanking the opponent forward into the punching hand. It won’t generate knockout power, but it creates instability. Fights often migrate to the boards for exactly this reason, the wall provides something to push against, and punches land harder when both guys can brace.
The most common punch thrown in a hockey fight is the swinging haymaker, wide, looping, and slow enough that any trained boxer would slip it easily. But on ice, with limited footwork and one hand locked on a jersey, combination punching is extremely difficult. Jabs, crosses, and uppercuts require weight shifts and pivots that skates on ice simply don’t allow in quick succession. Fighters who manage variety, like Nicolas Deslauriers, who has been known to work in crosses and uppercuts when positioning allows, tend to dominate.
Enforcers drill this stuff after practice, and some go much further. Georges Laraque trained Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and used the grip-fighting principles in his scraps. Zdeno Chara studied Judo, which translated to his ability to off-balance opponents using leverage rather than pure strength. Trevor Gillies of the New York Islanders trained at an MMA gym during the offseason specifically to improve his fight game, working Muay Thai and grappling concepts. Several modern players cross-train in Muay Thai to improve balance on skates and MMA to sharpen reflexes. Some enforcers have practiced removing an opponent’s helmet one-handed, and trained the instinct to duck their head against incoming punches, a sport-specific skill that no traditional martial art teaches.
Bob Probert, widely considered the greatest enforcer in NHL history, showed genuine technical fighting skill alongside his power and toughness. He was known for letting opponents punch themselves tired, then taking over and dominating. Gordie Howe’s signature tactic was grabbing the sweater right at the opponent’s armpit on the punching arm, effectively shutting down their offense.
Fighting in the NHL has dropped significantly over the past two decades. In 2008–09, 41.38% of games featured a fight with 734 total bouts across the season. By the mid-2010s, that had fallen to around 0.32 fights per game. The enforcer role has shrunk as the league has prioritized speed and skill, and young players are less likely to carve out a career based on fists alone. Still, the fights that do happen tend to generate some of the loudest crowd reactions of the night. The NHL has no plans to ban fighting outright, most players and fans want it to stay.
Hockey fights sit in a weird spot: less common, still essential to how the sport sees itself. The pure enforcer is fading out, but the need for players who can handle the rough stuff hasn’t disappeared, just shifted into guys who can play real minutes and still answer a challenge when someone runs a star.
If you watch closely, the martial arts of hockey fights tell you who understands that balance. The jersey grips, the balance battle, the way a veteran eases up when a rival is hurt, that’s all technique and code at work rather than mindless violence. As long as the sport keeps that code alive, and the crowd still rises for two players squaring up at center ice, fighting will remain hockey’s strangest, most controlled form of controlled danger.
Timothy Wheaton is a combat sports writer who covers MMA, Kickboxing, and Muay Thai. He has been a dedicated follower of these sports for decades. Tim has covered the UFC, GLORY, PFL, Bellator, and more, in person at live events as an on camera personality.
Tim also works with a host of other media outlets such as Calf Kick Sports, DAZN, Sportskeeda MMA, Combat Press, Fighters Only, MMA Sucka, Vecht Sport Info, MMA News, and Beyond Kickboxing. Tim is the authority on kickboxing and an MMA journalist who has covered K-1, PRIDE FC, UFC, GLORY Kickboxing, PFL, ONE Championship, and plenty more.
Whether you are new to MMA or a veteran fan, LowKick MMA is open to everyone. Check us out for the latest MMA News, UFC News, Bellator News, Rizin News, Boxing News, Muay Thai, Jiu Jitsu, betting sites not on Gamstop, bitcoin casino, casino sites not on gamstop, non gamstop casino, non gamstop casino, UK casinos not on Gamstop, non gamstop casino, betting sites not on gamstop UK, betting sites UK and mixed martial arts from around the globe.
Contact us: hi @ lowkickmma.com
© 2003 – 2026 LowKickMMA.com
Hockey News