10 times where NHL teammates went at it in practice

No surprise that Subban is involved in almost half of these.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
10 times where NHL teammates went at it in practice

Don’t kid yourself, as much as NHL players are “team first” type individuals, they can let their tempers get the best of them and lash out against teammates from time to time. After all, these are high trained competitive athletes playing an extremely physical and demanding sport. For some, when your job and your livelihood is on the line it doesn’t matter who’s standing in your way. They’re going down. If they just so happen to be wearing the same jersey as you, well… so be it.

So while the NFL, NBA and MLB might grab most of the headlines when it comes to team infighting and dissension, no other spot comes close to hockey in terms of REALLY hashing it out. Hockey players don’t just call each other names on social media, they settle it man to man out on the ice. Hockey players aren’t the type to point fingers, they’re more the type to drop the gloves and let their fists settle the score. And frankly, that’s why we love this game.

In this article, we’ll take a look at 10 times when NHL teammates were pushed so far that they just had to drop the gloves in practice.

 1. Bobby Ryan vs Patrick Sieloff

This one was UGLY. Back in September, 2016 Ottawa Senators forward Clarke MacArthur was attempting to come back from career threatening head injuries when he was lined up and ROCKED by Sens rookie Patrick Sieloff during a training camp scrimmage game. MacArthur went down hard and was clearly rattled, which led teammate Bobby Ryan to come to his aid and drop the gloves with Sieloff. The two squared off and went at it with Ryan screaming, “What the (bleep) was that!?” afterward.

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Ryan, who is one of MacArthur’s closest friends, said the fight wasn’t anything personal, he was just sticking up for his friend and teammate in MacArthur. Despite being enraged in the moment, there’s no beef between Ryan and Sieloff.

“That’s the beauty of hockey,” said Ryan afterwards. “There would have been no ill will from either one of us. I would have said I had an issue with the hit and he would have said he didn’t. We would have agreed to disagree but we would have been fine.”

2. Phil Kessel vs David Booth

Back in 2015, when superstar Phil Kessel was still a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he and free-agent acquisition David Booth got into a shoving match in practice that escalated to the point of punches being thrown.

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A full on fight? Probably not? A tussle? Most definitely. It took roughly five teammates to get in between the two and break things up after it was clear that Phil took exception with Booth’s tenacity during a PP vs PK drill in practice.

3. Brian Boyle vs Brandon Dubinsky

Here’s a bit of life advice: never piss off a giant. Evidently former New York Rangers forward Brandon Dubinsky hasn’t ever received this advice.

Back in 2009, when both Dubinsky and the 6’6”, 245 lb Brian Boyle were teammates on the Rangers, the pair duked it out during an optional practice. Teammates Aaron Voros stepped in to try to separate the two when he ended up receiving some shots of his own, turning the scrap into a Rangers triangle match.

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Eventually the boys would separate and cooler heads would prevail. Both Dubinsky and Boyle would patch things up and remain teammates with the Rangers for several seasons after their blow up. Boys will be boys, I guess.

4. P.K. Subban vs Brandon Prust

This is a two parter… in fact we could do a whole series on times that P.K. Subban fought his teammates in practice.

Back in December of 2014, Subban and teammate Brandon Prust squared off in a bit of a friendly fight during a practice, in which Prust makes Subban look pretty foolish. 

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Just weeks later, Subban, ever the agitator, would challenge Prust to a rematch. Things go about as you might expect…

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Oh.. P.K…. you might want to reconsider picking fights with teammates during practice. Then again…

5. P.K. Subban vs Brendan Gallagher

Just months before being shipped to the Nashville Predators for Shea Weber, P.K. Subban and Montreal Canadiens teammate Brendan Gallagher got into a much publicized altercation during a team practice prior to the start of the 2015-16 season.

The two were clearly getting under each other’s skin during practice and checking each other with a little extra enthusiasm during a team scrimmage.

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Ultimately teammates Alexei Emelin and Carey Price would have a word with Gallagher and cooler heads would prevail. Make you wonder what was said though?

In 2018, when Subban returned to Montreal with the Predators for a game against the Habs, Gallagher didn’t hold back when discussing his former teammate.

“He came in here and tried to make it about P.K. Subban, which is what he does,” he said. “We’re going to focus on our team. We lost the game. Try and regroup and go from there…Like I said, I don’t know why we’re talking about him. That’s what he wants. You can let him talk about himself all night. I’m sure he’ll give you guys enough lines. I’m not going to help that out.”

Ouch. Fair to say there’s no love lost between these two.

6. P.K. Subban vs Max Pacioretty

Noticing a trend here? Back in training camp prior to the Montreal Canadiens’ 2011-12 season, P.K. Subban and future Habs captain Max Pacioretty would get into an altercation behind the team’s net during a scrimmage.

Montreal media and fans have long suspected that the two have had a bit of a beef, could this be the genesis of it all?

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In Montreal either you’re Team P.K. or Team Patches, but regardless of which team you’re on… this isn’t a good look for the Habs franchise. It’s no wonder that Subban would eventually be run out of town.

7. P.K. Subban vs Tomas Plekanec

More frustrations boiling over during a Montreal Canadiens practice and, surprise, surprise… look who’s in the middle of things: P.K. Subban. This time Subban got under the skin of veteran Tomas Plekanec, forcing an altercation down in the corner.

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“Those things happen and it’s not the first time that it’s happened. It’s happened with other guys before and that’s what happens during the course of the year when things aren’t going well,” said Plekanec before adding, “We have to be on the same page. It’s not just about P.K. and it’s not just about me, it’s about the team.”

8. P.K. Subban vs David Desharnais

Okay, okay… we get it already. P.K. Subban wasn’t the most popular teammate during his time with the Montreal Canadiens, right? Well, that certainly seems to be the case as evidenced by ANOTHER altercation involving the former Habs blue liner in practice, this time with former teammate David Desharnais.

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Subban and Desharnais both chase a puck into the corner and get tangled up before Subban takes Desharnais down with an MMA style body slam. For better or worse, are we all beginning now to see why Subban was traded?

9. Andrew Shaw vs Joe Morrow

Moving on from P.K. Subban, but sticking with the Montreal Canadiens veteran forward Andrew Shaw was clearly upset with defenseman Joe Morrow during a team practice back in December of 2017. So much so that Shaw viciously whacks Morrow with a two-handed slash before clinching up and throwing punches.

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Teammate Alex Galchenyuk would step in between the two to separate things, but Morrow would be traded to the Winnipeg Jets just weeks later. Again… one of those things with the Habs that just makes you go, “Hmmmmmm”.

10. Tyler Bertuzzi vs Nick Jensen

Back in the summer of 2013 when Detroit Red Wings teammates Tyler Bertuzzi and Nick Jensen were two prospects trying to make an impression during the team’s development camp, the two came to blows after clearly taking exception with one another’s play.

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You can clearly see that Bertuzzi is not happy after being stuck by Jensen after a shot on goal, when Jensen doesn’t back down things escalate. Play continues and Jensen takes a puck hard to the net, but when he gets up from the play Bertuzzi is ready to throw down and the pair drop the gloves and go at it.

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