Players whose stupid antics overshadowed their ability as hockey players

JianYang

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Sep 29, 2017
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Oh, and definitely Alexandre Burrows. Perhaps the best penalty killing winger of the post-lockout period, but gets little respect thanks to his antics.

Burrows was an offensive threat as well. He had his time with the sedins and didn't look out of place.

Cooke, burrows, tucker and Avery are all good answers IMO.

In today's game, maybe Tom Wilson fits the bill.
 
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Dennis Bonvie

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Dec 29, 2007
29,201
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Connecticut
Derek Sanderson. Won the Calder Trophy and had all-world talent. He could have been one of the best players in the league but he let the high life get the best of him. Didn't help that he didn't get along with Bobby Orr, either. Booze and drugs and partying with Playboy Bunnies left him sleeping on the street at a time when he might otherwise have been riding at the peak of his career. Turned his life around and became an agent, but what could have been with his playing career.

CBC Sports Online - Top 10 - Falling Down

Never heard that Sanderson didn't get along with Bobby Orr.

And his real addiction was pain killers.
 
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quoipourquoi

Goaltender
Jan 26, 2009
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Sanderson is a good one.

I think Tiger Williams’ antics are remembered more fondly than some of the other players in this thread, but it could be argued his peak goal-scoring is overlooked a little.
 

vikash1987

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Mar 7, 2004
1,302
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New York
Derek Sanderson. Won the Calder Trophy and had all-world talent. He could have been one of the best players in the league but he let the high life get the best of him. Didn't help that he didn't get along with Bobby Orr, either. Booze and drugs and partying with Playboy Bunnies left him sleeping on the street at a time when he might otherwise have been riding at the peak of his career. Turned his life around and became an agent, but what could have been with his playing career.

CBC Sports Online - Top 10 - Falling Down

That bad boy image of Derek Sanderson’s off the ice—with all the money, fame, alcohol, drugs, women, etc.—was captured nicely in the NBCSN documentary Center of Attention: The Unreal Life of Derek Sanderson.
 

vadim sharifijanov

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Oct 10, 2007
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Oh, and definitely Alexandre Burrows. Perhaps the best penalty killing winger of the post-lockout period, but gets little respect thanks to his antics.

to his credit he needed to be that guy to make and stick in the league. and he mostly cut it out by 2010, biting the glove bergeron put in his mouth notwithstanding.

whereas kesler never needed to do the sideshow stuff. he was already a made guy in his first training camp.

and then you have some guys who never outgrow being a jackass no matter how important they become to their teams and how much of a distraction it is. marchand needed to be marchand to make the league but it is to nobody’s benefit that he’s still marchand now.
 

Nerowoy nora tolad

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May 9, 2018
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Gladstone, Australia
Sanderson is a good one.

I think Tiger Williams’ antics are remembered more fondly than some of the other players in this thread, but it could be argued his peak goal-scoring is overlooked a little.
I dont know if Tiger would be a good example. In The Game, Dryden specifically mentions his ability to distract and infuriate other teams as a major part of what made him valuable. If you take away the antics all youve got is Dan Maloney.
 
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OgeeOgelthorpe

Baldina
Feb 29, 2020
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Can I say "Ted Lindsay"? I get it: his talent was hard to overshadow (this also goes for Howe and Richard), but still I wish he wasn't so violent and just played hockey.

What BS antics from Lindsay are you even talking about? Helping build the foundations for the NHLPA so players weren't underpaid property anymore? Playing tough as a small player in a big man's league in an age when protective equipment was more ornamental than effective and there were no helmets?

I can't fathom even mentioning Lindsay in the same breath as the dirtbags we've been discussing in this thread. One man is a paragon of the sport, has a trophy named after him and is a large part of the reason why the players are making millions now. The others mentioned in this thread are a stain on the sport.
 
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BigBadBruins7708

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Dec 11, 2017
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I still cant stand him for the disgusting displays in the 2004 series against the Bruins where even a soccer player would've said "thats too much flopping", but Mike Ribeiro has to be near the top of the list.

He had all the talent in the world, but for some reason decided to adopt an over the top flopping/diving/dont play the game the right way style to his play to the point that its what he's known for. I know, he has his off ice demons too which doesnt help the situation and unfortunately they ultimately ended his career.

793 points in 1093 games is a legit top 6 talent and he never gets credit for it thanks to his antics.

He had 2 years in Dallas where you thought he was getting it and had turned the corner with 83 points in 76 games and 78 in 82, but it was a mirage.

I used to hate his guts as a Canadien, but now I look back and see him as a tragic story
 
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TheDevilMadeMe

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Aug 28, 2006
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Brooklyn
What BS antics from Lindsay are you even talking about? Helping build the foundations for the NHLPA so players weren't underpaid property anymore? Playing tough as a small player in a big man's league in an age when protective equipment was more ornamental than effective and there were no helmets?

I can't fathom even mentioning Lindsay in the same breath as the dirtbags we've been discussing in this thread. One man is a paragon of the sport, has a trophy named after him and is a large part of the reason why the players are making millions now. The others mentioned in this thread are a stain on the sport.

" His rough play caused the NHL to develop penalties for 'elbowing' and 'kneeing' to discourage hitting between players using the elbows and knees"


Ted Lindsay - Wikipedia
 

sr edler

gold is not reality
Mar 20, 2010
11,830
6,271
What BS antics from Lindsay are you even talking about? Helping build the foundations for the NHLPA so players weren't underpaid property anymore?

You probably shouldn't put words into people's mouths that evidently weren't there if you want an honest discussion with people you quote. He was talking about Lindsay's on-ice behavior.
 
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sr edler

gold is not reality
Mar 20, 2010
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" His rough play caused the NHL to develop penalties for 'elbowing' and 'kneeing' to discourage hitting between players using the elbows and knees"


Ted Lindsay - Wikipedia

Elbowing and kneeing though is only bad when someone I dislike is doing it.

Matt Cooke elbowing and kneeing, a piece of shit.

Ted Lindsay elbowing and kneeing, a real hero and a real human being.
 
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DaveG

Noted Jerk
Apr 7, 2003
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Winston-Salem NC
Marchment. IIRC he was capable of being a pretty decent 2nd pairing dman most of his career, problem is he was also one of the dirtiest players in league history and never saw a chance to deliver a possibly career ending knee to knee hit our elbow that he didn't take.
 
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Nick Hansen

Registered User
Sep 28, 2017
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Raffi Torres fit this description when he was still playing. Developed a reputation as a talentless cheap shot artist, but he was actually a nearly perfect 3rd liner who scored a number of big goals throughout his career. The head hunting really hurt his reputation though.

Thought of him as well. I remember this clip with Don Cherry:



He had seen Torres a lot in juniors and was disappointed with all the garbage he did instead of focusing on being a good hockey player.
 

OgeeOgelthorpe

Baldina
Feb 29, 2020
16,993
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" His rough play caused the NHL to develop penalties for 'elbowing' and 'kneeing' to discourage hitting between players using the elbows and knees"


Ted Lindsay - Wikipedia

I clicked on the reference for that quote and it doesn't have a source listed. When I searched that exact quote it sent me to a few other pages that said something along the sames lines, almost all of these articles were published around the time of his death, but again no reference was given for the exact quote. I don't doubt that the penalties were created in some part because of him but I'd like to see an actual article citing this.

Elbowing and kneeing though is only bad when someone I dislike is doing it.

Matt Cooke elbowing and kneeing, a piece of shit.

Ted Lindsay elbowing and kneeing, a real hero and a real human being.

Ted Lindsay was a dirty player, of that there is no doubt. He was a dirty player in an era of dirty players. Maurice Richard was nasty to play against but that never overshadowed his ability as a goal scorer. Bobby Clarke is simultaneously one of the dirtiest players in NHL history, and one of the best. The fact that Ted Lindsay was dirty and nasty to play against does not overshadow his talent as a player, his contributions to his team on the ice or off the ice, or his contributions to the league as a whole. The title of the thread is "Players whose stupid antics overshadowed their abilities as hockey players." So I stand by my original point that Ted Lindsay does not deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as players like Sean Avery or Matt Cooke or Dan Carcillo or Steve Downie who were black eyes on the NHL and whose talent was very much overlooked because of their antics. If you make a thread titled "Dirtiest players by era" I will be right there ranking Ted Lindsay in the top 5 for the 1950's. This is not that thread, however.
 

The Wizard of Oz

Registered User
Feb 24, 2013
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Michigan
Sean Avery is the Paris Hilton of hockey. He was (briefly) famous for being hockey-famous, and for doing nothing of note other than acting like someone who was intelligence-challenged.
Somehow he has an acting role in a 200 million dollar blockbuster coming out this summer. He took his 15 min and made the most out of it by networking in the New York fashion scene. That’s the only way I can imagine him landing these acting gigs.
 

sr edler

gold is not reality
Mar 20, 2010
11,830
6,271
Avery had a small role (no lines though if I remember it correctly) in the Maurice Richard biopic which was a pretty good/okay film for a sports film. Mike Ricci was also in that film.
 

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