On January 19th, a fight between goalies occurred in the game between the San Jose Sharks and the Florida Panthers. It all started when the forward Evan Rodrigez charged a solid hit on the defenseman Vincent Deharnais. The Sharks’ goalie, Nedeljkovic, then went into the fight and started hitting Rodrigez.
It didn’t take long for the Panthers’ goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, to cross the entire arena and to engage in a fight with Nedalkovish. They exchanged many hits, with the support of the fans. The fight was pretty even, but the advantage lay with Nedalkovish. Their teammates and fans were hyped, this event being one of the rarest in hockey.” I felt it was a little bit too much over the line. I wanted to make sure to get in and let him know”, answered Bobrovsky after the game.
When a fight occurs, both fighters usually get a 5-minute major penalty. In that case, the goalies got that penalty and additionally 2 minutes for leaving their creases.
From the 1970s to the 1990s, goalie fights were usual. High-intensity fights and brawls were very common, featuring goalies Ron Hextall, Patrick Roy, and Billy Smith. Referees were less strict, so they could fight a lot more than now in our days. In 1996, they changed the rules for safety concerns, which is why goalie fights have almost disappeared from the NHL. It’s so rare it barely happens once every 5 seasons.
In his career, Sergei Bobrovsky won two Vezina Trophies, the award for the league’s best goalie, in 2013 and 2017. He also led his team to the last 2 cups with the Panthers in 2024 and 2025. Sergei has approximately 450 regular-season wins, placing him in 8th place all-time. It was his first fight in 16 years of playing. ” It’s exciting. But it’s obvious it’s not a thing I’m doing for a living,” responded the star goalie to the media.
On the other side, Alex Nedeljkovic didn’t win big awards like Bobrovsky, but still was a finalist for the Calder trophy in 2020-21. He earned a maximum of 14 to 15M$ in his career.
