Players you just can't stand since their playing days

[RipCityPuckers]

Matt Cooke

Daniel Alfredsson

And even as a Leafs fan I hated how much hype Darcy Tucker got in the city. I've never seen a player with more inflated goal totals in my life

 

[Hoser]

How about players that take a GMs role after their playing days? Phil Esposito was once an NHLPA rep when he was playing and once he saw things on the other side realized just how much damage overpaying a player could be. Was he right? Patrick Roy right after his retirement also famously talked about goaltending equipment needing to be shrunk.

Perhaps no bigger a hypocrite with respect to advocating to "clean up the game" after he 'retired' was Chris Pronger. One of the meanest, dirtiest players to play in the last 25 years, and he gets hired by the NHL for a position in their player-safety dept.? How many careers did he cut short with a dirty spearing, blindside hit or what have you? The man had talent in spades but his biggest asset was his size, which he freely used to physically beat up on his opponents. Same as Eric Lindros. They were bullies.

I don't really wish ill upon the man, but hearing how awful his health got elicits crocodile tears from me. Karma's a *****, and it couldn't have happened to a more deserving guy.

 

[Iron Mike Sharpe]

it starts irking me as a fan when politics and sports mix. Wayne Gretzky always worked well with every Canadian Prime Minister from Mulroney, Chretien and Harper although he has never tipped his hand where he votes.

 

[gary69]

Scott Stevens, he intentionally unnecessarily injured fellow players, and even today is smirking about it. Messier similarly too, just a bad person still.

 

[GMR]

Roy, Pronger, Messier, Clarke, Roenick, Olczyk

 

[Doctor No]

Roy, Pronger, Lucic, Forsberg, Foote

What in the world did Adam Foote do to rub you wrong since he retired?

 

[tony d]

Glenn Healy for me. I actually like Kypreos' analysis. Healy though is awful. Speaking of awful commentators who were hockey players Greg Millen for me.

 

[GlitchMarner]

I hated Avery and Cooke during their playing days. And still do.

 

[GMR]

What in the world did Adam Foote do to rub you wrong since he retired?

What can I say, I still have a grudge. Doesn't have to be reasonable does it?

 

[Doctor No]

What can I say, I still have a grudge. Doesn't have to be reasonable does it?

You're free to hold a grudge all you'd like.

The problem is that precisely one of the two of us is missing the point of the thread. I'm hoping it's not me.

 

[GMR]

Ah, I see. Then I'll have to amend the list to have Roy, Messier, Clarke, Pronger, (can I still put Lucic on the list, or do I have to wait until he retires?)

 

[Doctor No]

Nobody likes Lucic.

 

[Big Phil]

I understand the support for Putin; I don't think Westerners quite get how bad Russia was in the 90's. He's stabilized what was essentially a chapiteau.

I remember in the 1999 WJC when Russia won that intense gold medal game in Winnipeg. The idea was that something like this was good for Russia with all of the hardship going on back home. 1999 wasn't that long after they freed themselves from Communism. Being under a spell for that long takes its toll. I hated that Russian team though.

Brown is a friend of his. The other two, Gretzky is the ultimate back slapper. He's Johnny Carson when it comes to political leanings. Rarely do you see that side of him. Michael Jordan ("Republicans buy sneakers too") and Tiger Woods are two athletes that never got sucked into that crap either. Can you blame them? Sportsnet just broke a story where someone scrolled through old tweets of Red Sox player J.D. Martinez from 2012. It was a light pro-Republican joke and a comment on gun control, nothing too heavy. The average sports fan knows this is nonsense and doesn't care, but if you ever wonder why the players don't trust the media, this is why.

 

[The Panther]

Lol! That's pretty good.

I'm sure Gretzky doesn't have a political bone in his body, but as with many people who are asked to comment on things uncomfortably outside of their area of knowledge (in Gretzky's case, hockey and sports in general), he gets sucked into conservatism, which kind of makes sense as sports' fans and culture tends to be incredibly politically conservative. On the other hand, it's not like Gretzky really supports those people (above). He might take a photo-op here or there as the whim suits him, but it's not like he's out on the barricades.

The worst thing ever -- and I've said it many times -- was when Pocklington ran for the Conservative ticket in Alberta, and he "asked" (i.e. forced) Gretzky to appear with him in public. This was when Wayne was maybe 23 or something, and clearly embarrassed to be there, having no idea about what was going on.

 

[Hoser]

The worst thing ever -- and I've said it many times -- was when Pocklington ran for the Conservative ticket in Alberta...

He ran for the federal PC Party leadership, not the Alberta one.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Sean Avery definitely seemed to be even more of a scumbag in his post playing career.

 

[Iron Mike Sharpe]

Okay, so I was wrong about Gretzky being a conservative, I found some other quotes:

 

[The Panther]

He ran for the federal PC Party leadership, not the Alberta one.

Good grief, that's even worse! Well, in any case he got about 14 total votes, so luckily that ended his political aspirations...

 

[crobro]

Petr Nedved

 

[danincanada]

I didn't like Domi during his career either but that carried on afterwards. Starting with the silly press conference he had for his retirement. Who'd he think he was? Maybe he was a fan favourite for some in Toronto but having a press conference to announce a goons retirement was a little much. Not sure if it was his idea but it showed some arrogance that he would even go along with it.

 

[GMR]

You guys are just jealous that Putin once scored like 8 goals in a game and picked up hockey faster than any of you ever did.

 

[Sentinel]

I understand the support for Putin; I don't think Westerners quite get how bad Russia was in the 90's. He's stabilized what was essentially a chapiteau.

Except he didn't stabilize it. Tyranny and violence from the street criminals have been replaced by tyranny and violence from the state. Terrorism has not gone anywhere, the poverty levels are comparable, the freedom of speech and of press is gone. Businesses are dwindling. Putin's only achievement has been the restoration of national pride. For many Russians it's the trump ace.

 

[Theokritos]

Mod Note: Enough with the political talk here. Let's talk about hockey players instead.

 

[Big Phil]

Okay, so I was wrong about Gretzky being a conservative, I found some other quotes:

haha..................................

I could almost see Gretzky saying all of that just to be polite. But in all honesty, unless you consider his speech in the 2002 Olympics (or his rant) to be controversial then I think the most controversial thing the greatest player in NHL history ever publicly said was that the New Jersey Devils in 1983 were a "Mickey Mouse" organization.

 

[Boxscore]

Even though I never met him personally, Sean Avery was someone I never liked - same with Matt Cooke.

As for players I've personally met, I do not like Dan Quinn. He is the only player I've met that I did not like. I've probably met about 25-30.

The biggest surprise was Ulf Samuelsson. I didn't know what to expect but I thought he was an extremely nice and kind man. Very personable as well.

My favorites without question are Brian Boucher, Brian Propp, Mark Howe, Doug Crossman and Bryan McCabe.