There’s a ton of players in the league that you hate when they play against you, but you love when they’re on your team. But some guys, I could never, ever support. Here they are, in no particular order:
Scott Stevens – A few days ago, I wrote a whole post about him being a dirty player. He was the face of our biggest rival in the 90’s and early 2000’s. He was the major cause of a lot of misery. I’m glad he never came down the turnpike and laced ’em up for the Orange and Black. After so many wars, I’d trust him as an ally.
Ken Daneyko – He wasn’t dirty, he was just tough and solid. My main reason for hating him is similar to why I hate Stevens. He was part of too many Devils wins for me to really like the guy and want him here.
Martin Brodeur – I know, he’s the greatest of all time. He’s still a lifetime Devil. Just read what I wrote for Daneyko and apply it here as well.
Scott Neidermayer – Ditto the Devils hatred here.
Rob Ray – He was a big part of the Sabres teams that the Flyers seemed to brawl with a lot in the late 90’s. I don’t even remember any specific incidents with him, but I remember hating him and a lot back then.
Matt Cooke – He throws late hits. He throws dirty hits. He runs away when someone wants to face him. He’s not a man. He’s a punk and a joke and doesn’t deserve a spot in the league.
Sean Avery – Here’s another punk that hits players when they aren’t looking. And for the most part, he can’t really fight either. He’s a decent player, but he’s still brewed up enough hatred here that I wouldn’t want him.
Martin Havlat – Back when he was in Ottawa, he threw a blatant and intentional slash into Mark Recchi’s face. When the teams met the following week, and started brawling, he ran away to he penalty box and watched his teammates get annihilated. That was the game when the Flyers and Sens combined for the most penalty minutes ever in a game. you can see him at the end of this video skating from the penalty box to the bench after the game had ended and everyone that wanted to hurt him had already been ejected.
Matthew Barnaby – And then there is this guy. If anyone thinks Sean Avery is the scummies (is that a word) agitator, then they forget how bad Barnaby was. He stirred the pot, he talked trash, and he could even play a little. But the number one reason I hate him is because of the time he faked an injury that ignited a brawl. Then, when our goalies had his back turned, Barnaby jumped on his back and started throwing punches. Now I get to see his annoying smirk on national TV, analyzing games. And every time I see him, I just ant someone to jumped across the desk and beat the crap out of him.
It’s not much of a coincidence that all of the players on the list are from teams that we had serious rivalries with. The New Jersey Devils owned us for a long time, and that’s a major reason I never wanted their top guns to join us. The rest of the guys on the list just went too far over the line against us. I know we had/have guys that fit the mold here (Carcillo, Hartnell, Pronger), but they never did anything to us before joining us, that’s why I don’t mind them as much. I’m sure there’s a few hated players that I’m missing. Chime in below in the comments section.
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