Teammates who didn’t like one another

[Yozhik v tumane]

Trevor Linden and Petr Nedved

Think this one was mentioned earlier by another poster, also without further context.

Could you elaborate?

 

[Jumptheshark]

Just wondering if anyone knows of teammates who didn’t get along? Hockey tends to be pretty tight-lipped about those sorta things, but I figure there’s gotta be stories out there. Messier in Vancouver? I assume DeAngelo was on the outs with the guys. Not sure where the Brendan Lemieux rumors stand. I’ve heard Jason Blake wasn’t beloved. Anyone know of others or have any more info? I ask because I’m listening to Keith Jones go on about all his great teammates, and it makes me look back to the teams I played on- when everyone got along those tended to be better teams, when there were divides those teams often had on-ice issues.

Do you get along with everyone you work with? Why would a team be any different?

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

He's got that "I'm a disruptor" arrogant delusion that one expects from some podcast bro who hawks crypty rug pulls.

none of the last four words of that sentence are words i understand

Think this one was mentioned earlier by another poster, also without further context.

Could you elaborate?

first i’ve ever heard of this. but there were rumours of a linden-bure rift back in the day

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Also a Canucks fan during that era and I've never heard of a Linden/Nedved feud.

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

Also a Canucks fan during that era and I've never heard of a Linden/Nedved feud.

Yet besides carjackmalone, @crobro mentioned it — twice!

I can’t find anything about this doing web searches. I wonder if it’s supposed to have had something to do with Nedved asking Gretzky for his stick after the Kings eliminated the Canucks in 1993, which was controversial among fans and some speculated being why Pat Quinn decided against matching Nedved’s money demands and ultimately shipping him to St. Louis after a lengthy holdout. I wondered if perhaps Linden had commented on either Nedved’s ”unforgivable sin” of asking his opponent for a stick right after being eliminated, or Nedved’s holdout, but no luck.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Yet besides carjackmalone, @crobro mentioned it — twice!

I can’t find anything about this doing web searches. I wonder if it’s supposed to have had something to do with Nedved asking Gretzky for his stick after the Kings eliminated the Canucks in 1993, which was controversial among fans and some speculated being why Pat Quinn decided against matching Nedved’s money demands and ultimately shipping him to St. Louis after a lengthy holdout. I wondered if perhaps Linden had commented on either Nedved’s ”unforgivable sin” of asking his opponent for a stick right after being eliminated, or Nedved’s holdout, but no luck.

That’s possible - I was a fan of both players specifically (Nedved having that Seattle experience) and that’s the closest thing to an issue I can think of.

 

[The Panther]

first i’ve ever heard of this. but there were rumours of a linden-bure rift back in the day

That might be because Keenan...? Bure loved him; Linden did not.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

Tom Barrasso and J.S. Aubin (or anyone else)...though this probably started as a one-way street...

Yeah BarASSo was a legendary asshole.

Like, i know goalies are weird, but he was just a total chode.

EDIT: just realized i replied to an old post. My bad.

 

[Crosby2010]

Yet besides carjackmalone, @crobro mentioned it — twice!

I can’t find anything about this doing web searches. I wonder if it’s supposed to have had something to do with Nedved asking Gretzky for his stick after the Kings eliminated the Canucks in 1993, which was controversial among fans and some speculated being why Pat Quinn decided against matching Nedved’s money demands and ultimately shipping him to St. Louis after a lengthy holdout. I wondered if perhaps Linden had commented on either Nedved’s ”unforgivable sin” of asking his opponent for a stick right after being eliminated, or Nedved’s holdout, but no luck.

When Hulk Hogan was getting a divorce from his wife Linda the lawyer of Linda asked him to give him an autograph for his son. Hogan mentions it and the lawyer acknowledges it 30 seconds in, even in this heated exchange, lol. So in all honesty, I think the idea of asking an opponent for his stick after a loss happens more than we'd think. Although I would do it privately if I did it at all.

 

[sr edler]

none of the last four words of that sentence are words i understand

This is how you hawk crypto rug pulls

As for the thread topic at large, pro athletes in team sports are just co-workers like everyone else, and there isn't a large workplace in the world with say 20+ employees (or even 10) where everyone loves each other, the question is most often just the level of annoyance or animosity. People are also nuanced and it's possible to amend, if there's enough common ground to begin with (i.e. not a Miller vs Petey situation). It's possible to both like and dislike the same person, more or less.

 

[The Pale King]

A lotta people in this thread jumping on Bill Guerin, but here's the thing: put yourself in Guerin's shoes. Now hear me out here (I've linked a source at the bottom because we've already had the libel warning in this thread):

You're Bill Guerin. You're a friggin' nine year veteran. You got the Cups, you got the Olympic jerseys. But you're new to the Stars. You're trying to make friends. You're cooking up your jockstrap omelettes*. You're dealing em out, they're flying off the pan. Modano takes one, Zubov takes one. Turgeon took one, but you suspect he emptied it into the trash. But the point is: your new teammates, hell, they are enjoying your fried egg dish. Things are loose, the room is relaxed. It's all going accordin' to Billy's plan.

And in walks this kid, some rookie. Things quiet down substantially. Hatcher gives you a look, like "Billy is this kid gonna get any of your eggs?" But you're Bill Guerin. You adjust the strap, and you say, "Heck, have some of these eggs, kiddo."

And the kid, this jumpy lil bag of bones says "Sorry Mister Guerin, I'm lactose intolerant. I can't eat any of your jockstrap eggs."

But you're Bill Guerin, you're quick on your feet. "Lactose intolerant?" And here you dig back in your brain, back to your school days, back to the Edmonton Public library days where you spent a lot of time in the Russian Classics section. "More like lachrymose and somnambulant, am I right?"

And the room went to pieces. Everybody was laughin' it up, someone smacked your butt. You're Bill Guerin, this is just how life goes for you.

So you can understand, perhaps, why when this kid gets up in your face later in the day, you were perhaps at the end of your tether already. Nobody turns down Billy's eggs.



*jockstrap eggs mentioned here, seven paragraphs in. Guerin delivered leadership, humor and Cups during Pens' tenure

I'd probably trim this one a bit in retrospect but I feel vindicated by recent things that have come to light about Jockstrap Billy.

 

[RegDunlop]

Not sure what this has to do with teammates who didn't like one another...

Hey Panther - whose foot was driven over by Sather (I think) in Banff when he was young? Ryan Smith?

As a joke I'll submit him against the Oil!

 

[TheGreenTBer]

It's not important if they like each other off the ice, it's important that they play together as a team on it.

 

[Staniowski]

Everybody who's ever played hockey (or participated in any activity) knows that there are always people who don't like each other (some even hate each other), and others who are not close in any way, others who like each other, and finally others who are best friends.

The important thing, really, is that everybody gets along - at least for a while - for the sake of the team.

One example of long-time teammates who weren't close (but didn't dislike each other) is Ken Dryden and Guy Lafleur. Dryden said that in their almost decade of playing together, they never had a real conversation.