The NHL’s Shortest Player Won a Fight Against a Guy 11 Inches Taller Than Him

In Friday’s Hot Clicks: The smallest player in the NHL sticks up for himself, J.J. Watt leads the NFL players balking at the new CBA and more.

He’s only 5'4" but he doesn’t play like it

Nathan Gerbe is not only the shortest player in the NHL, he’s very nearly the shortest in the history of the league. At 5'4", Gerbe is listed at one inch taller than former Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Americans goalie Roy Worters, who played his final game more than two decades before goaltenders started wearing masks, which might as well be ancient history. 

Despite his small stature, Gerbe has enjoyed a long career in the NHL. He made his debut in 2008 and has played 422 career games. But before this season his last substantial NHL playing time came in 2016, after which he went to Switzerland and then the AHL. The 32-year-old is back in the NHL this season, though, playing with the Blue Jackets.

Last night’s Blue Jackets-Flyers game was a perfect example of why Gerbe has been able to stick around in the league for so long. He may be small, but he doesn’t play like it. 

Near the end of the second period, Gerbe leveled Philadelphia captain Claude Giroux with a massive body check. Giroux’s teammate Travis Sanheim, who stands 6'3", rushed to his defense and confronted Gerbe. The two started tussling and before long the fight was over. 

With Gerbe on top of Sanheim, raining down blows. 

If you pay close attention, you can see that Gerbe was actually the one to start the fight. Sanheim just grabbed him. It was Gerbe who threw his gloves off first and started throwing punches. 

This was actually the second time in the span of a month that Gerbe challenged a much bigger guy to fight. During a game against the Devils, Gerbe tangled with New Jersey defenseman Damon Severson. The two locked up and once again it was Gerbe who threw the first punch. 

That’s the kind of guy I’d like to have on my team. 

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Another reason why the 17-game schedule is bad

How would players be compensated for a 17th game if they signed contracts based on a 16-game schedule? Basically, under proposed CBA, they'd get an extra game check, but it'd be capped at $250,000, per sources. So the highest-paid players would play for less than usual.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 20, 2020

J.J. Watt isn’t a fan

Hard no on that proposed CBA.

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) February 21, 2020

Ja Morant did the Vince Carter dunk!

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LeBron is amazing

LeBron’s photographic memory
pic.twitter.com/Pdh2HTW5Ta

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) February 21, 2020

Kevin Garnett tells a great story about talking trash to Michael Jordan as a rookie

JR Rider & Kevin Garnett talk about the time a young KG made the mistake of talking trash in front of MJ 😅 pic.twitter.com/VfL57upGhB

— Jumpman History (@HistoryJumpman) February 20, 2020

He killed this

Neil Peart would be proud ❤️

@CamelBackstop x @RushTheBand pic.twitter.com/4VTqW8e2bb

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) February 20, 2020

Not bad for a 17-year-old

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February 19, 2020@connormartiin of @victoriaroyals #WHLHoN | #RoarWithUs pic.twitter.com/4w2C6uBKvl

— The WHL (@TheWHL) February 20, 2020

Some pretty solid slams on the A’s

Your Periodic Reminder Brett Anderson Is An American Treasure https://t.co/qbnZs7EYT5 pic.twitter.com/rYfgUzWQbX

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Up, up and...

Shohei Ohtani got HUGE

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I would bet a lot of money that he hits at least 80 mph on the gun

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— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) February 20, 2020

I wonder what his major is

Pretty cool that these guys are teammates now

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Look closely for the glimpse of Marshawn Lynch

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A good song

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