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The Flames’ best fights of 2024-25: Joel Hanley and Andrei Svechnikov fight because of a misunderstanding
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Photo credit: © Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Jul 18, 2025, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 17, 2025, 22:21 EDT
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By March, the Calgary Flames were in the thick of a playoff race.
Heading Mar. 2, the Flames sat a point out of a playoff spot while going 4-5-1 in their last 10 games. The road trip in particular hadn’t been going well, as they won their first game but proceeded to lose two consecutive games.
They played against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon, with Jaccob Slavin scoring late in the second period for a 1-0 lead. Just seven minutes into the final frame, Nazem Kadri scored his 21st of the season to tie the game.
The fight occurred with under five minutes left, and it all happened because of a miscommunication. As Dustin Wolf saved a shot, Blake Coleman missed a stick lift, hitting Jordan Martinook in the face and drawing blood. As Joel Hanley rounded the net, he bumped into the Hurricane forward.
Because Andrei Svechnikov’s back was turned, all he saw was Hanley shoving Martinook, which led to him dropping the gloves. Before engaging, it sounded like Hanley said “it wasn’t me”, but that wasn’t enough to stop this fight from happening.
Svechnikov got the upper hand early, ripping off Hanley’s helmet and throwing a few overhand rights as the linesmen attempted to get involved. It took a few seconds, but Hanley eventually found his balance and the two started trading punches.
Hanley attempted to take off Svechnikov’s helmet by putting him in a Muay Thai clinch, and when that failed, Hanley fed him with two upper cuts and a few overhand rights before the Hurricanes stood upright. No more punches were exchanged as the two grappled for another few seconds before the linemen broke up the fight.
Overall, it was a rather even fight, with Svechnikov getting the upper hand early, but Hanley finishing the fight strong. On hockeyfights.com, Hanley was declared the winner, as 66% of the 50 voters gave him the win. It was given a 5.86 rating, the fourth-highest rated Flames fight this season. 
In the end, the two players got a five-minute major, but Coleman received a four-minute minor for the high stick. The Flames were able to kill off the rest of the penalty kill, but ultimately fell in overtime to extend their losing streak to three games. It was one of many overtime or shootout losses where you say, “hey, if they won that game, they’d be in the playoffs.”
Still, it was a highly entertaining fight that probably shouldn’t have happened had the players talked it out.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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