NHL outliers: Players who like to fight, hit or keep their noses clean

This series will shine a light on the most unusual NHL players — the guys who stand out from their peers in one way or another. Part 3 looks at the most and least physical players in the league.

Previous articles: Size and Nationality

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There is an absolutely massive range in physicality among NHL players as some make their living by throwing their body around and others see hard contact as an obstacle rather than a goal.

Although the game has become more and more dominated by skill in recent years, there are still plenty of guys who earn their salaries by making life painful and difficult for opponents, while leaving the scoring to others.

The players highlighted below either embrace the physical aspect of the sport more than any of their peers, or opt to rarely — if ever — engage with it.

The most prolific hitter: Michael Pezzetta, LW, Montreal Canadiens

Laying out opponents is Pezzetta's calling card, as he offers limited offensive value and has an average ice time of 8:39 in his brief NHL career.

Over the last two seasons, the 25-year-old has delivered 24.01 hits per 60 minutes — significantly more than the man who ranks second by that metric (Ryan Reaves at 20.13).

The winger has never had much of a role beyond tone-setting in his professional career. He's produced 26 points in 114 NHL games and 25 points in 115 AHL games. Even in the OHL, he managed just 0.46 points per game.

Listed at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, Pezzetta isn't a massive wrecking ball of a human being, but he has a knack for making his presence felt.

It's difficult to quantify the utility of a guy like Pezzetta, but clearly the Canadiens think he's an asset as Montreal signed him to a two-year extension in June.

The least prolific hitter: Johnny Gaudreau, LW, Columbus Blue Jackets

It makes sense that a 5-foot-9 offensive winger listed at 165 pounds wouldn't be among the NHL's top hitters, but Gaudreau's total avoidance of hitting sets him apart.

The 29-year-old delivered just five hits in 2022-23 despite playing in 80 games and skating 19:25 per night.

Over the last three seasons, his hits per 60 minutes ranks dead last among players with at least 100 games played (0.33) with a solid gap to Troy Terry (0.40).

Gaudreau's effectiveness isn't predicated on his ability to get physical, and he's at his best when he's going around his opposition rather than through it. There are some players who would take criticism for not delivering any hits, but based on the American's size and style it's hard to fault him.

For what it's worth, the winger's hits per game average is nearly twice as high in the playoffs (0.28) as the regular season (0.14) — and Erik Haula can attest to the fact that he's literally capable of knocking an opponent down.

The biggest penalty taker: Liam O'Brien, LW, Arizona Coyotes

This is a tough category to crown a champion in as a number of enforcers have logged limited minutes in recent seasons and earned massive PIM totals relative to their ice time.

We're giving O'Brien the nod because he stands out over the last three seasons among players with at least 100 games played. In that pool of NHLers, his PIM per game (2:25) is by far the highest with Tom Wilson coming in second at 1:43. Unsurprisingly, his penalties taken per 60 (3.69) also tops the league with Pezzetta's 2.98 trailing by a solid margin.

O'Brien is far from a household name, but he's a prolific fighter and perpetual line-crosser. In the last three seasons he ranks 661st among all NHL players in ice time, but he's tied for eighth in major penalties (20) and second in game misconducts (eight).

Like Pezzetta, O'Brien has almost exclusively played the role he has now since he was a teenager. He never topped 35 points in a QMJHL season before going undrafted. In his AHL career he produced 653 penalty minutes but just 145 points in 382 games.

O'Brien has just six goals in his brief NHL career, but two of them came in the final game of 2022-23, so he has some momentum to build on next season.

The most successful penalty avoider: Simon Holmström, RW, New York Islanders

No player appeared in more NHL games without getting a penalty in 2022-23 than Holmström, who dressed 50 times in his rookie season.

While the 22-year-old Swede had a relatively quiet first taste of the NHL, his ability to stay out of the box was handy for the Islanders — especially considering he was able to draw five penalties.

It's too early to know what the 23rd overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft has to offer at the game's highest level, but he's always played a clean game.

Combining his statistics from Sweden and the AHL, he's appeared in 211 non-NHL games since 2017-18. He's logged just 40 total penalty minutes in that time without spending more than 10 minutes in the box in any individual season.

Unlike Gaudreau, Holmström isn't a tiny player who needs to avoid contact to thrive. He's listed at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, and is capable of using physicality to his advantage on occasion.

It will be interesting to see how Holmström develops, and if he's able to use his frame to win puck battles in the years to come while avoiding the sin bin.

The biggest fighter: Nicolas Deslauriers, LW, Philadelphia Flyers

Deslauriers wasn't always as much of an enforcer as he is today, as he averaged less than a penalty minute per game over the first seven years of his NHL career.

The winger has become far more pugilistic lately, though, with 32 fights in the last three seasons — six more than any other player. The veteran's 14 fighting majors led the NHL in 2022-23 as well, showing that there's no sign of slowing down for the 32-year-old.

Deslauriers isn't just a prolific fighter, he's an effective one — at least by the less-than-scientific standards of hockeyfights.com. The burly vet was voted the victor in all but two of his 2022-23 bouts.

Although Deslauriers is primarily known for his fighting, he chipped in 12 points for the Flyers last season and ranked fifth among the team's forwards in short-handed ice time.

His tangible on-ice contributions unrelated to punching faces are modest, but not insignificant.

The biggest fight avoider: Nicklas Bäckström, C, Washington Capitals

There are plenty of NHLers who have no interest in fighting, but Bäckström has the most games played among active players (1,236 including the playoffs) without ever getting in a scrap — or taking any five-minute penalty.

Bäckström's only non-minor was a cross-check at the end of a playoff game against the Boston Bruins that earned him a game misconduct way back in 2012.

That's not entirely unsurprising considering the center is known as a playmaker first, and he's earned Lady Byng Memorial Trophy votes in 10 of his 16 seasons in the NHL.

If he hasn't found his way into a fight by now it seems unlikely one will come his way as he approaches his 36th birthday.