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The fights that didn’t make the cut: Top Edmonton Oilers fights of 2025-26

Edmonton Oilers Tampa Bay Lightning Connor Murphy

Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

By Ryley Delaney

Aug 1, 2026, 01:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 1, 2026, 15:41 EDT

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This summer, Oilersnation will recap the top five Edmonton Oilers goals, the top five fights, and the top five overall moments from the up-and-down 2025-26 season.

This past season, the Edmonton Oilers dropped the gloves 22 times, tied for sixth-most in the National Hockey League. Funnily enough, they were the final team to fight this season.

So far, we’ve looked at four of the five top-rated fights on hockeyfights.com, some the Oilers have won, another one they’ve lost, and in the other one, Trent Frederic had a rough day.

In this article, we’ll look at the honourable mentions that weren’t rated in the top five!

Which Vasily Podkolzin bouts earned honourable mentions among Oilers fights?

There is no Oiler who has two top-five rated fights on HockeyFights. Even more surprising is the fact that the player who dropped the gloves the most, Vasily Podkolzin, doesn’t have a top-five rated fight after having the highest-rated fight for the 2024-25 season.

The Russian winger dropped the gloves five times, with the next closest Oiler dropping the mitts four times. Podkolzin has a tendency to stick up for his teammates, and that was no different in his fight of the season. Earlier in the game, Peyton Krebs hit Connor McDavid into the boards, and Podkolzin sought him out at the end of the second period. Podkolzin was the clear victor in this fight.

In January, Jonathan Kovacevic hit McDavid on a zone entry, and Podkolzin took exception. It was a short fight, rated 4.17, but most hockeyfights voters gave it to the Oiler. The same thing happened when Ottawa Senators’ forward Ridly Greig laid a massive hit on Mattias Ekholm. Podkolzin stepped in and was the clear winner.

In March, Ozzy Wiesblatt hit Leon Draisaitl around the benches, forcing him to miss the remainder of the regular season. Podkolzin attempted to fight him, but Nicolas Hague stepped in and the two squared up in a rather even fight. Of the 67 HockeyFights voters, it was split down the middle, as both Podkolzin and Hague received 30 votes, and seven voted for a draw.

Podkolzin’s lone fight that wasn’t in retaliation for a fight came in the postseason. With the Oilers blown out late in Game 3, Podkolzin squared up with Jeffrey Viel, showing a bit of frustration. The Oiler was voted the winner, and HockeyFights voters gave it a 4 rating.

Podkolzin isn’t afraid to answer the bell when called upon either. His final fight of the regular season and his highest rating fight came against the Tampa Bay Lightning in late March. After delivering a tag team hit on Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli stood up for his teammate and promptly got his beaten up by Podkolzin. The Oiler was the decisive winner and HockeyFights voters gave it a 5.21 rating.

What other Oilers fights from 2025-26 were worth mentioning?

There were three games that featured two fights this past. That game against the Lightning was one of them, as Connor Murphy dropped the gloves with Pontus Holmberg. Like the hit on Hagel, Nurse and Murphy hit Holmberg at the same time, leading to the fight. HockeyFights voters rated it 4.98, with Murphy just eking out the victory in an even tilt.

Murphy was involved in another two-fight game, the final game of the season. Facing the Vancouver Canucks, Murphy levelled Marcus Pettersson, and Drew O’Connor stepped up. The short fight didn’t end well, with Murphy getting a few lefts off before they lost balance. Murphy was the decisive victor, and this fight earned a 4.48 rating on HockeyFights.

Earlier in the game, Colton Dach hit Zeev Buium and gave him an extra shot. Elias Pettersson (the defenceman) stood up for the young defenceman, and Dach obliged. It was another short wrestling match that ended after Dach lost balance. It earned a 3.42 rating on HockeyFights.

And who could forget Connor Clattenburg’s first NHL fight? Facing the Seattle Kraken in an already testy game (see Alec Regula vs Tye Kartye), Clattenburg hit a Kraken into the boards. Frédérick Gaudreau stepped in and clearly didn’t know much about Clattenburg because he was sitting on the ice five seconds later. Clattenburg easily won this fight, with the fight itself being given a 4.6 rating according to HockeyFights.

Clattenburg is one of the toughest players in the organization, but what’s important for the Oilers’ fifth-rounder in 2024 is to develop as a hockey player. The fighting is there, the agitation is there, but can he chip in with 10 goals a season? That’s what’ll determine if he’ll stick around in the NHL.

What were the Oilers’ top fights of the 2025-26 season?

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on X at @Ryley__Delaney.

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