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Trent Frederic vs Mathieu Olivier: Top Edmonton Oilers fights of 2025-26

Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

By Ryley Delaney

Jul 25, 2026, 15:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 24, 2026, 22:28 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.

The Edmonton Oilers didn’t have a fun night on Nov. 8, 2025. While the start of their season wasn’t as bad as the last two seasons, the Oilers entered that game 6-5-4 in the midst of a two-game losing streak. Matters were not helped when the 8-1-5 Colorado Avalanche rolled into town, steamrolling the Oilers by a score of 9-1.

Down big, you usually want to see some chippiness, some passion, but the Oilers had none of that. To this point, they still hadn’t dropped the mitts, the last remaining team without a fight.

The next game, it finally happened. Let’s take a look at what led up to that fight, which ranks as hockeyfights.com’s second-highest rated Oilers fight of the season.

How did Trent Frederic answer the call against Columbus?

Following the game, then-head coach Kris Knoblauch took time to call out Trent Frederic, noting his lack of physicality. After all, the Oilers were the lone team at that point who hadn’t fought yet. It just so happened that next on the calendar were the Columbus Blue Jackets.

On a Monday night in Edmonton, Frederic found the meanest, toughest guy not just on the Blue Jackets, but in the league. Less than two minutes into the game, Frederic dropped the mitts with Mathieu Olivier. Courage.

It went as one would expect.

Frederic landed a good punch, but it did not faze the toughest player in the league. Olivier then landed eight or nine unanswered shots while Frederic was trying to protect himself. Eventually, the linesmen stepped in, and Frederic was bloodied with a black eye.

Of the 75 hockeyfights.com voters, only two didn’t award the fight to Frederic. One actually gave him the fight. The other one voted a draw. The other 73 people who actually watched the fight rightfully gave it to Olivier, as the fight itself earned a 6.49 rating on the site.

But in a way, Frederic did win. This was the first time all season that an Oiler fought, and they ended up winning this game, which featured a late rally and one of the best Oilers goals of the season. A little spunk and response from the group.

Frederic went on to fight three more times during the 2025-26 season, winning two of them, while losing a competitive tilt with Logan Stanley. None of them rank on this list, but this fight opened the floodgates for 21 more regular-season tilts, tied for sixth-most in the NHL.

Top Edmonton Oilers fights of 2025-26

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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