Hockey is one of the toughest and most physical sports out there, but back in the day when fighting played a major role in the game and players made careers based on their toughness players finished with a lot more penalty minutes during the season.
For the past two seasons, Evander Kane has finished atop the NHL when it comes to penalty minutes (153 PIM last season and 122 PIM this season), but those numbers don’t even come close to the top 10 when it comes to most penalty minutes in a single season in NHL history.
Donald Brashear’s 1997-98 campaign just cracked the top 10 as his 372 penalty minutes in 77 games put him one penalty minute ahead of Gino Odjick on the all-time list. That season Brashear dropped the gloves 26 times, which only equals 130 PIM, so he must have found a lot of ways to get the rest of those numbers.
Tim Hunter comes in at No. 9 on the list with 375 penalty minutes in 75 games during the 1988-89 season, and right ahead of him is Joey Kocur who finished with 377 penalty minutes during the 1985-86 season. Kocur played just 59 games that year and dropped the gloves 36 times.
There were a lot of heavyweights in the league back in the day and the 1987-88 had two of the fiercest competitors battle it out for PIM leader that year. Bob Probert ended up taking the title, finishing with 398 penalty minutes in 74 games, while also putting up 29 goals and 62 points, while Basil McRae finished right behind him with 382 penalty minutes in 80 games.
Marty McSorley is one of two defencemen on the list and they both put up incredible seasons both point wise and through their toughness. In 1992-93, McSorley finished the season with 399 penalty minutes in 81 games, and also scored 15 goals and 41 points in that span.
Mike Peluso is one of two Americans on this list and they both had their big years - penalty minutes wise - in the 1990’s. In 1991-92, Mike Peluso recorded 408 penalty minutes in 63 games, good for third all-time.
Just one penalty minute ahead of Peluso is the other defenceman on the list, Paul Baxter. In 1981-82, Baxter accumulated 409 penalty minutes in 76 games, while putting up 9 goals and 43 points in that span.
Only three players in NHL history have finished a season with 400 penalty minutes or more and Dave Schultz has done it twice. In 1977-78, The Hammer recorded 405 penalty minutes in 74 games, while also scoring 11 goals and 36 points. Schultz also owns the NHL record for most penalty minutes in a season, as he sits No. 1 with 472 penalty minutes, accomplished a few years earlier in 1974-75.
(Fight totals courtesy of hockeyfights.com, stats courtesy of quanthockey.com)
