Players whose stupid antics overshadowed their ability as hockey players

Sentinel

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May 26, 2009
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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.
I'm not talking about his off-ice accomplishments. I am talking about his on ice play. As far as I know, it was his playing style that made the NHL institute penalties for "elbowing" and "kneeing." Not exactly what I would call the "paragon of 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"
Beat me to it.
 
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Troubadour

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Feb 23, 2018
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How about passively stupid antics?

Would Mogilny and his long streaks of nonchalance count as well? In a way, his not-overly-interested-unless-it's-a-contract-year and not-that-interested-once-the-paychecks-stop-coming (i.e. in the playoffs) and not-interested-in-the-NT-no-matter-the-regime attitude definitely cast a shadow over his pure ability which was some of the best ever.
 

MXD

Original #4
Oct 27, 2005
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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.

Avery played Bob Dill, best known for trolling Maurice Richard and get beaten silly in the process.
 

vikash1987

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Mar 7, 2004
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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.

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.

I always get a kick out of watching those highlights of Tiger riding his stick after scoring. On the back cover of Tiger's bio (Tiger: A Hockey Story) there's a telling quote: "For someone like me it couldn't have been more simple. I fought---or I disappeared....It's a calculated thing." I wonder how guys like Sittler and Lanny felt about his "antics" during his Toronto days.
 

vadim sharifijanov

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Oct 10, 2007
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None of those were actual hits though. The Gretzky one at least technically was a hit, I guess, if we're stretching it, but cross checking someone in the face certainly isn't even close.

true. cheap shots is probably a better way to say it than bad hits

I think Gary Suter was a pretty dirty player.

i guess my point is, if i had seen chris chelios do either of those things, i wouldn’t have been surprised. suter never came off as that kind of homicidally competitive player to me. not that he was soft or that he wasn’t chippy sometimes, but i guess his temperament, outside of those incidents and lomakin, seemed more like his game: smooth, controlled, maybe even a little on the passive side.

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

i finally saw the last episode of last dance, which this thread seems to have been inspired by. one of the talking heads said basically this about rodman: his behaviour totally obscures the fact that he was one of the greatest on ball defenders of all time. thinking about rodman’s genius for the geometry of the game, burrows on the pk feels like an oddly good cross sport comparison.
 
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Moose Head

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I always get a kick out of watching those highlights of Tiger riding his stick after scoring. On the back cover of Tiger's bio (Tiger: A Hockey Story) there's a telling quote: "For someone like me it couldn't have been more simple. I fought---or I disappeared....It's a calculated thing." I wonder how guys like Sittler and Lanny felt about his "antics" during his Toronto days.

I actually think guys liked Tiger and respected him. Still remember Larry Robinson talking Tiger down at the end of their 1979 series because Tiger was going after a ref after a bad call that led to a PP goal in OT. If Tiger was an ass, a respected guy like Larry just looks the other way and let’s Tiger get his 20+ game suspension.
 

Nick Hansen

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Sep 28, 2017
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I actually think guys liked Tiger and respected him. Still remember Larry Robinson talking Tiger down at the end of their 1979 series because Tiger was going after a ref after a bad call that led to a PP goal in OT. If Tiger was an ass, a respected guy like Larry just looks the other way and let’s Tiger get his 20+ game suspension.

This has to be the situation you are referring to.

 

Staniowski

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Jan 13, 2018
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I actually think guys liked Tiger and respected him. Still remember Larry Robinson talking Tiger down at the end of their 1979 series because Tiger was going after a ref after a bad call that led to a PP goal in OT. If Tiger was an ass, a respected guy like Larry just looks the other way and let’s Tiger get his 20+ game suspension.
Larry seemed like a very nice guy. He liked to hit, and he was good at it. And he would fight when he needed to. But, he also was kind of a gentle giant, in a way.

So it might be more about Larry than Tiger.
 
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MS

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Mar 18, 2002
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How about passively stupid antics?

Would Mogilny and his long streaks of nonchalance count as well? In a way, his not-overly-interested-unless-it's-a-contract-year and not-that-interested-once-the-paychecks-stop-coming (i.e. in the playoffs) and not-interested-in-the-NT-no-matter-the-regime attitude definitely cast a shadow over his pure ability which was some of the best ever.

Again, how does this garbage keep getting repeated when it is so easy to check and disprove?

2 of Mogilny's best 6 seasons were in contract years, which is about the ratio you'd expect for any player. His 1995-96 season in Vancouver was *NOT* a contract year, despite what everyone seems to think.
 

Vector

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Feb 2, 2007
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Dwayne Roloson’s mask would fly off if anyone got even near him because he would whip his own head back with such force. Would then proceed to scream and the refs and other team. I never could figure out if he was actually effective at getting extra penalties called.
 

Troubadour

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Feb 23, 2018
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Again, how does this garbage keep getting repeated when it is so easy to check and disprove?

2 of Mogilny's best 6 seasons were in contract years, which is about the ratio you'd expect for any player. His 1995-96 season in Vancouver was *NOT* a contract year, despite what everyone seems to think.

Thanks for clearing that up with so much class and grace.
 

MS

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Thanks for clearing that up with so much class and grace.

Sorry. This is probably like the 10th time I've repeated this here over the years and I get a bit exasperated with it.

It's just taken as total fact by the entire hockey world seemingly that all of Mogilny's big seasons were in contract years when that couldn't be further from the truth, and is so easy to actually fact-check. It's the 1990s equivalent of the 'Bill McCreary never played another game after hitting Gretzky!' thing.

His biggest year in Buffalo was a contract year, yes. But he also shattered his leg at the end of that year plus lost Lafontaine as a linemate in ensuing years, so it's pretty easy to explain why he might have fallen off there. Plus that season was notorious for huge scoring totals, and scoring league-wide dropped 30% in the next 5 years.

Other than that, the only big season in his career that was in a contract year was his 2001 season in NJ. His big seasons in Vancouver and Toronto were not contract years, nor were the two other seasons in Buffalo where he scored at a ~100 point pace.
 

Nerowoy nora tolad

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Ron Hextall

Its funny because I think I have Hextall on my short list of top 10 underappreciated players, but he absolutely had obvious issues with focus from a goaltenders perspective. While his ability to fight was an actual asset at the time, I cant help but wonder if his tendency to fly off the handle hurt his actual ability to settle down and play goal, which I honestly think was Roy-level when he was dialed in. The list of goalies who fought a lot and consistently played at a high level is basically Billy Smith and... not a whole lot else?

IIRC, Link Gaetz was a decent defender with a pretty heavy shot. He was also an out of hand clown.

Out of hand clown or unhinged psychotic? If youre asking me if Avery could have learned to straighten up and fly right, absolutely. Somebody like Gaetz on the other hand? Not so sure that is just an act.
 

The Pale King

Go easy on those Mango Giapanes brother...
Sep 24, 2011
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James Neal seems to fit the bill. People weren't too interested in his goal scoring abilities when he did that AMA a couple years back.
 
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ManofSteel55

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Dwayne Roloson’s mask would fly off if anyone got even near him because he would whip his own head back with such force. Would then proceed to scream and the refs and other team. I never could figure out if he was actually effective at getting extra penalties called.
It wasn't about getting penalties called, it was about getting the play blown down when the team needed to regroup. Worked wonders in the playoffs.
 
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Nick Hansen

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I was watching some old fights from the 90's and Matthew Barnaby came to mind. All I really associate him with is fights, funny faces and generally being a pest/clown but he did actually score 300 pts in 834 games. That's not fantastic but certainly better than I would've guessed.
 

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