Having already covered the top fighters in the Atlantic Division, let’s turn our attention to the Metropolitan Division. I wrote previously about the top fighters in the Atlantic Division (Atlantic Part 1, Atlantic Part 2,) and four fighters in the Metropolitan ( Metro Part 1) – Arron Asham from the New York Rangers, Matt Martin from the New York Islanders, Kevin Westgarth from the Carolina Hurricanes and Krys Barch from the New Jersey Devils. Today I will pick someone from the remaining teams – the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Deryk Engelland – Pittsburgh Penguins
Engelland recorded six fights with the Penguins in the shortened season; three of the fights were against other top fighters – Colton Orr from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Krys Barch from the New Jersey Devils and Kevin Westgarth from the Carolina Hurricanes. Also to add to his fight card, he took on Chris Thorburn from the Winnipeg Jets, Pierre-Cedric Labrie from the Tampa Bay Lightning and Ryane Clowe from the New York Rangers.
Next season I can see Engelland definitely being on top again. He is known for his fights and in 2011 he even received a three-game suspension on an illegal head check to Marcus Kruger from the Chicago Blackhawks. It will be interesting to see if he will remain a top fighter during the 2013-2014 season or if he will be careful to hope he will receive an extension.
Wayne Simmonds – Philadelphia Flyers
During the shortened season, Simmonds recorded six fights. His first one was on the 22nd of January against New Jersey Devils David Clarkson. He also went up against New York Islanders top fighter Matt Martin. He fought Tanner Glass from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Chris Thorburn from the Winnipeg Jets, Mike Weber from the Buffalo Sabres and Travis Moen of the Montreal Canadiens.
Wayne Simmonds will again be the top Flyers fighter. He has recorded anywhere from one to 10 fights during each of the previous seasons and in the OHL he fought on average five to eight times per season. Along with Simmonds I can see Zac Rinaldo and Jay Rosehill having a lot of fights, but they get more limited minutes as well.
Steve Olesky – Washington Capitals
I would have picked Matt Hendricks, who was the top fighter, but next season he is going to be playing for the Nashville Predators. Steve Oleksy only recorded three NHL fights last season. The first was Drayson Bowman from the Carolina Hurricanes, followed by James Wright from the Winnipeg Jets and Jakub Voracek from the Philadelphia Flyers. Along with his three NHL fights, he recorded 11 AHL fights. Last season was Oleksy’s first season with the NHL so it is hard to tell if he will be a top fighter next campaign. John Erskine is another tough defender on the Caps, as he gets in his share of fisticuffs.
Jarred Boll – Columbus Blue Jackets
In the 2012-2013 season, Boll recorded twelve fights. His first fight was on the 19th of January against Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators. He then went up against Detroit Red Wings top Fighter Jordin Tootoo and twice against Patrick Bordeleau from the Colorado Avalanche. As well he went up against Jamal Myers from the Chicago Blackhawks, Clayton Stoner from the Minnesota Wild, Ryan Reaves from the St. Louis Blues, Matt Pelech from the San Jose Sharks, Paul Bissonnette from the Phoenix Coyotes, Mike Brown from the Edmonton Oilers, Clayton Stoner from the Minnesota Wild and Lane MacDermid from the Dallas Stars.
Boll has always been a top fighter. The most fights in his regular NHL season were 27 and the least fights in a regular season were eighteen. He will be back on top next season without a doubt.
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