Red Wings Named The NHL's Least Aggressive Team in New Ranking

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The days of the NHL’s traditional “goon” serving as the team’s on-ice enforcer are long gone, but the league still features plenty of players willing to drop the gloves.

During the heyday of the postseason streak for the Detroit Red Wings, fans at Joe Louis Arena regularly watched players like Darren McCarty, Joe Kocur, Brendan Shanahan, and Martin Lapointe settle scores with their fists.

Older fans also fondly remember the legendary fights involving the late Bob Probert, one of the most feared enforcers of his era.

Today’s NHL, however, is built far more on speed and skill than intimidation, with fighting down nearly 70 percent compared to just 20 years ago.

In 2025-26, not only did the Red Wings miss the playoffs for the 10th straight campaign, but they were also revealed as the least aggressive team in the NHL according to a study commissioned and collected by Casino Guru.

The rankings were based on a custom aggression rating that measured several aspects of physical play. Weighted values were assigned to categories including penalty minutes, fighting majors, total hits, major penalties, and any league-issued fines or suspensions, with each player’s final score calculated on a 100-point scale.

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In Casino Guru’s Aggression Index for 2025-26, Detroit finished 32nd overall with a 6.80 score out of 100, behind the 31st-place Colorado Avalanche (10.71) and 30th-place Seattle Kraken (10.87).

Meanwhile, the divisional rival Tampa Bay Lightning were first overall with an 87.89 score out of 100.

As a team, Detroit registered 1,480 hits, ranking 29th in the NHL. Only the Chicago Blackhawks (1,346), New Jersey Devils (1,514), and Seattle Kraken (1,517) finished with fewer hits.

The Red Wings also recorded just 11 fighting majors, the second-fewest total in the league, just ahead of Colorado’s 10.

“Really Excited”: Keegan Kolesar Ready To Bring Physical Presence To Red Wings Newly acquired Detroit Red Wings forward Keegan Kolesar, who has twice played in the Stanley Cup Final, wants to use his playoff experience to help his new team get over the hump.

Newly acquired Red Wings forward Keegan Kolesar, who arrived from the Vegas Golden Knights, dropped the gloves five times alone last season – more than double the combined totals of Ben Chiarot and Travis Hamonic, who had two fights each.

Meanwhile, Alex DeBrincat, Moritz Seider, Marco Kasper, Simon Edvinsson, J.T. Compher, Jacob Bernard-Docker, and Dominik Shine each recorded one fighting major during the season.

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