NHL's Most Notorious Cheap Shot Artists

[BHawks77]

I see people mentioning Scott Stevens, but that doesn't make any sense to me. Most of his hits were legal in the era he played in, same with Pronger. We cant judge them based on todays rules.

Pronger was dirty as hell. His stick use was like surgeon using scalpel! He didnt get a bad rep for no reason!!

 

[Grifter3511]

Ease off on the anger, buddy. Take a breathe or two.

My point is simply that if someone elbowed me in the head like Messier did, I'd take a number and get payback somehow. Whether you would or not is irrelevant to me. I don't care.

If you think that delivering an elbow to the mush isn't a cheap play good for you.

I think the 'catch' to this is that whatever you do to retaliate better either end Messier's career or hurt him so badly that he is somehow forced to reconsider how he plays the game. Cause if you broke his ankle, and he sits for 6 months or a year, or whatever, and then returns, he's going to absolutely kill you when he plays you again. So I think he's kind of correct when he says players were afraid (p***yes) of Messier. If they didn't 'finish' it, Messier inevitably would.

 

[eco's bones]

I'd say Scott Stevens was worse........

.........he wanted to end your career.

He'd go out of his way to hurt you.

Pure trash.

On the subject of Stevens he targeted heads but it was not looked at so much as illegal back when he played. Lindros hurt a lot of people too. He was a massive guy who could skate and would get on a defenseman's tail and run him through the boards. Quite often they didn't get up. Kronwall---Trouba could be his son in a way. Lot of people get triggered when I call a player a predator.....for them that's a code word for dirty but not necessarily to me. In some cases it's the kind of guy who walks the line of the rulebook without crossing over or not doing it all that often. Trouba looks for the unsuspecting--a guy who is not paying enough attention and that was Kronwall's game too.

Star players sometimes get away with more than average players. Malkin, Ovechkin, Messier, Clarke, Howe all got away with shit that others wouldn't have.

 

[dr robbie]

Mark Messier.

The fact that the NHL has an award named after him just shows you how much of an "old boys clubs" the NHL still is and it's disrespectful to the sport.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

Ease off on the anger, buddy. Take a breathe or two.

My point is simply that if someone elbowed me in the head like Messier did, I'd take a number and get payback somehow. Whether you would or not is irrelevant to me. I don't care.

If you think that delivering an elbow to the mush isn't a cheap play good for you.

I'm not angry.
I'm just saying the rules of the NHL back then were close to the rules of a schoolyard bully.

It wasn't just about being a brute enforcer.

If you put a brute enforcer on the ice against Messier? well? He still routinely put up 100 points.
He would slaughter them on the scoresheet.

That's what made Messier so effective. He could take all the cheapshots in the world, and nobody had any recourse unless you wanted to be scored on.

He was the king of the schoolyard bullies and has 2 Harts and 6 cups to show for it.

 

[Cup or Bust]

People exaggerate how often these elbows and questionable hits took place. It's not like Messier threw elbows every game, he played 25 years in the NHL. Stevens played 22 years in the NHL, it's not like he threw headhunting hits every game, Pronger wasn't dirty every game also. Of course they are big names so people focus on the things they did but there were other guys that did it also. People are also using today's lens to judge yesterday's events. When I was a kid it was considered embarrassing to get smoked by a hit even if it was an elbow, it means you had your head down like a dork, those types of hits were not looked at the same way as today. What we consider a dirty hit today was barely looked at twice in the 80's and 90's.

 

[JUSTGIROUXIT]

Dino Ciccarelli had a handful of moments

 

[SimpleJack]

Lots of solid answers here, for me I’ll go with Dale Hunter. Marchment and Samuelsson are close 2nd and 3rd.

 

[bleedgreen]

Mark Messier.

 

[Figgy44]

I'm trying to figure out whether I have the OP's intention correct since I don't see too many references to Matthew Tkachuk and Corey Perry (once).

Is the list for guys that intentionally tried to illegally hurt other players on a regular basis? If that's the case, I can understand. Perry and Tkachuk are pests who occasionally cross the line. But overall, they aren't truly typically trying to hurt other players or be reckless enough to end careers on purpose.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Not seeing much reference to Zac Rinaldo in this thread here. Always hated that guy on the ice. Sorry excuse for an NHL player who made a career out of cheap shots.

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

I think the 'catch' to this is that whatever you do to retaliate better either end Messier's career or hurt him so badly that he is somehow forced to reconsider how he plays the game. Cause if you broke his ankle, and he sits for 6 months or a year, or whatever, and then returns, he's going to absolutely kill you when he plays you again. So I think he's kind of correct when he says players were afraid (p***yes) of Messier. If they didn't 'finish' it, Messier inevitably would.

This certainly sounds like a tale confirming a 'clean' player.

People knew what he was doing it when he played. He was just really good at it. People didn't play like that because they couldn't.

Bobby Clarke was more dirty in an 'achievable' way.

 

[Grifter3511]

This certainly sounds like a tale confirming a 'clean' player.

People knew what he was doing it when he played. He was just really good at it. People didn't play like that because they couldn't.

Bobby Clarke was more dirty in an 'achievable' way.

I can't tell if you're agreeing, disagreeing or just sidebarring.

 

[1point21Gigawatts]

Not enough Raffi Torres in this thread

I am blown away that it took almost three pages to find the first mention of that scumbag.

 

[njdevils1982]

Mark Messier.

The fact that the NHL has an award named after him just shows you how much of an "old boys clubs" the NHL still is and it's disrespectful to the sport.

 

[NyQuil]

I mean, Gordie Howe used to carve people's faces with his stick.

Times change.

 

[waitin425]

Dale Hunter comes to mind.

The third angle on this is absolute predatory behaviour.

 

[Chainshot]

Mark Messier.

Jamie Macoun's jaw started hurting just reading this. He sucker punched people, butt-ended people, and hit people in the head with his stick on the regular. When you are the craziest bastard on the ice, people leave you alone.

Similarly, Bobby Clarke should get some mention. Anyone who is celebrated for deliberately hurting an opponent and it just being chalked up to how he played the game needs a reference here.

 

[waitin425]

McSorley on Brashear is one of the most egregious incidents

 

[Chainshot]

The third angle on this is absolute predatory behaviour.

I was thinking back to that as his ultimate scum bag masterpiece, but there were others including almost blinding Bill Hajt by high sticking him from behind up under his visor. It was deliberate. I'd never seen someone with that level of disregard for an opponent which is probably why it stuck with me.

Speaking of which - Tie Domi should get a mention for his dirty plays away from the puck.

Chris Simon with a shout out for being the dirtiest play I've ever witnessed in an OHL game when he tripped and then slashed one of the NF Thunder in the head against the boards which got him one of his many visits to speak to David Branch. Sounded like a melon hitting a piece of plywood and it was right in front of us, they were picking up David Babcock's teeth for a while.