Unlike the other major North American sports leagues (MLB, NBA, and the NFL), the NHL has codified fighting into its game. Five-minute majors for fighting and two-minute minors for instigating are right there in the rulebook and have been for a long time.
While there has been endless debate about whether fighting belongs in the game, most hockey fans seem to enjoy a good tilt between a couple of heavyweights from time to time.
Even better? A goalie fight! The very thought of two netminders skating all the way out to center ice to “chuck the knucks” can send typical NHL crowds into a frenzy.
On March 23rd, Crypto.com Arena fans came very close to witnessing the very rare goalie fight when the Kings’ Darcy Kuemper and the Boston Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman left their creases and made their way to center ice.
However, to the disappointment of many, both players were separated by officials before anything could get started.
Jeremy Swayman and Darcy Kuemper were so close to fighting. 👀 pic.twitter.com/PjFhePaNh9
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 24, 2025
Sportsnet analyst Elliotte Friedman literally booed the decision on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, asking “why are you ruining our entertainment?”. To drive the point home even more, the title of the episode is “Let The Goalies Fight.”
LA Kings’ head coach Jim Hiller, on the other hand, seemed relieved that his number one goalie was stopped from trading blows with Swayman:
“I was thinking that somebody should have grabbed him (Kuemper). I’m glad it turned out the way it did,” remarked Hiller during the postgame media availability.
And who could blame him? Kuemper is having a Vezina Trophy type of season for the Kings. His GAA of 2.13 is good for second in the league and his SV% of .918 is tied for second as well. Losing him for any reason, let alone for an injury sustained in a goalie fight, would be catastrophic for a team intent on finally changing their playoff narrative this season. High performing number one goalies with Cup winning experience are hard to come by in this league, so one can understand why coaches and GMs are loath to see them fighting.
The last NHL goalie fight took place on February 1st, 2020, between Calgary's Cam Talbot (ex-King) and Edmonton's Mike Smith during the pandemic bubble. In recent LA Kings’ history, the last fight goes back to Felix “The Cat” Potvin and Ottawa goalie Jani Hurme on December 20th, 2001. As a testament to how much the league’s tolerance for goalie fights has changed, Potvin and Hurme were allowed to fight for close to two minutes that night. This would be unthinkable now in 2025.
In addition to the Kuemper near fight, Pheonix Copley left his crease to challenge Anaheim’s John Gibson on February 17th, 2023, but the guys in stripes once again deprived the fans of a goalie scrap.
Does the entertainment value of a goalie fight outweigh the injury risks? When cooler heads prevail, most NHL fans would probably prefer not to lose their starting goalie to some broken knuckles or a wrist sprain due to dropping the gloves.
Thus, it is probably the right decision for the league to crack down on goaltender brawls, but it will never stop the fans from wanting to see it. And that isn’t going to change any time soon.
We witnessed maybe the biggest hockey crime there is, breaking up a goalie fight.https://t.co/4NTDWVVXddpic.twitter.com/TbAphVxBMf
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) March 25, 2025