25 Craziest Players in NHL History

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Along with being some of the most physically gifted athletes in the world, hockey players are often some of the strangest characters out there.

Not because they are constantly being arrested or anything like that; instead, it's the on-ice activities that make hockey players unique.

The outside observer, and even some diehard fans, could very well look at some of these guys and think that they are crazy.

Whether it be the way they go after anybody and everybody on the ice with reckless abandon, or for some of their superstitions, hockey players have always been a little bit different.

Here are some of the craziest players that hockey has ever seen, in no particular order.

Ilya Bryzgalov

With the Flyers' appearance on the HBO program 24/7, Ilya Bryzgalov became a bit of a fan favorite thanks to some of his unique views on life and the universe.

My personal favorite was his expertise on tigers.

At the very least, Bryzgalov is a bit "out there."

Ray Bourque

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I thought this one was particularly entertaining.

Ray Bourque had a rather interesting superstition that would take place during each and every single intermission.

Bourque would change his skate laces before every game and during every intermission.

Might explain why that guy had some pretty good hands.

The 1975 New York Islanders

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On the more disgusting side of crazy, the 1975 New York Islanders are well remembered for coming back from a 3-0 series deficit to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins.

What people might not remember from this is that the Islanders kept elephant poop with them throughout that series.

This was from the series before, actually, when they played the New York Rangers, who were sharing Madison Square Garden with the circus at the time.

Link Gaetz

Link Gaetz definitely falls into the crazy section of things, but not for the delightfully quirky reasons that a lot of the other guys on this list do.

Gaetz was just plain nuts.

Hockeyfights.com has a pretty good collection of film on this guy and a pretty interesting description of his career as well.

3,301 PIMS, over the span of almost 15 leagues around North America. Over that span Link has left a path of blood, destruction, 911 calls. This on top of visits to league commissioner office(s), local jails, drunk tanks, hospitals and hockey arena hamburger stands. To get this far, The Missing Link has had to gone through the likes of Chris Simon, Bill Goldthorpe, Joel Theriault and the legendary lunatic, Gino Odjick.

Glenn Hall

The man they called "Mr. Goalie" wasn't really that crazy, but he did have an unfortunate habit of vomiting before every game.

I guess the crazy part was that he never really tried to find a way to stop vomiting and just embraced it.

A little gross, but he had a pretty OK career, nonetheless.

Stan Mikita

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Stan Mikita played in a different era in many different ways.

The players didn't wear helmets, goalies didn't wear masks and smoking in the locker rooms was expected.

Mikita had a habit of smoking a cigarette between each period and making certain to toss the butt over his left shoulder when he was finished.

He could have just used salt.

Ed Belfour

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Ed Belfour, or "Crazy Eddie" as a friend of mine and I liked to refer to him, was just that.

Goalies are usually quirky and particular about certain things, and Belfour was no different; though, he was a great deal more extreme about things than others.

Belfour was very particular in not letting anybody touch his equipment. Not so bad, right?

It wasn't too bad until he would warn anybody that might not already know, "You touch my stuff, I'll kill you."

He was also arrested a couple of times for drunkenly resisting arrest while in Dallas and Florida.

Pelle Lindbergh

Yes, you have noticed a theme. A lot of goalies seem to be a bit crazy.

Pelle Lindbergh is another shining example of just how eccentric goalies can be.

Lindbergh had one shirt that he would wear under his equipment for every game. Not one style of shirt, not one color of shirt, exactly one shirt that he wore his entire career.

He never allowed it to be washed and if the shirt began to tear or fall apart, he would just have it sewn up again.

He would also only drink a specific kind of Swedish soda between periods, which he would only take from a certain trainer and would only accept it with his right hand.

Let's also not forget that this drink, Pripps, had to have exactly two ice cubes in it.

Daniel Briere

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When most people have a good game with a particular piece of equipment, they make sure that they use the exact same things again. Not Daniel Briere.

Briere brings three sticks with him at all times because if he has a good game with one of his sticks, he will give it a night off as a reward for its fine performance.

A crazy hockey player, or just a good boss?

Brendan Shanahan

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Now the long arm of the NHL law, Brendan Shanahan used to be one of the grittiest and toughest players to play the game of hockey.

He played the game tough and mean and was incredibly good at it.

Which is why he absolutely has to be crazy for listening to Madonna songs before games.

Perhaps he just wanted to think about something that made him really angry? I have no idea, but Madonna before a hockey game? 

That's just not right.

Darcy Tucker

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Darcy Tucker was known for being an agitator, and at times, it just seemed like the guy enjoyed hurting people.

He is responsible for several very questionable hits throughout his career.

To play that kind of a roll, just as Matthew Barnaby and other agitators like him, you have to have some kinds of screws loose.

Dale Hunter

Another one of the most amazing pests the game has ever seen, Dale Hunter could lose it from time to time.

And when he lost it, watch out. Just ask Pierre Turgeon.

Dale Hunter was very good at getting under people's skin, but when something got under his skin, he would just lose his mind.

Stephan Lebeau

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Stephan Lebeau has one of the more disgusting traditions in my mind.

Lebeau would chew 20-25 pieces of gum before game time and would spit them all out exactly two minutes before game time.

Just weird.

The Green Men

A couple of the craziest guys that hockey has ever seen are the Green Men in Vancouver.

Their unique way of cheering on their team is one of the nuttiest, but also some of the most entertaining action out there.

They don't really have an impact on the game, but their shenanigans can't be overlooked.

Sidney Crosby

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Sidney Crosby is quickly making a name for himself with some of his crazy superstitions.

Crosby is insane about his sticks.  He must be the one to tape them and nobody is allowed to even think about touching them once he has finished.

If it looks to him like somebody was going to touch his stick, Crosby will have to re-tape it all over again.

Crosby also will never talk to his mother on game days.

He's quite strange.

Bruce Gardiner

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Bruce Gardiner must have had something against his stick because he would dunk it in the toilet before every game.

Most guys are obsessed with the well-being of their stick. Not Gardiner.

Sean Avery

Sean Avery has to be on a list like this because somebody would have to be crazy to constantly do the same things over and over again and never learn from the suspensions and fines.

It was Albert Einstein that said, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

I don't know that Avery expects different results, but he sure seems to do the same stupid things time after time.

Matthew Barnaby

Jump to the 2:21 mark of the above video to take a look at Matthew Barnaby.

One of the greatest pests in the history of the NHL, Matthew Barnaby enjoyed his job just a little bit too much.

There aren't that many guys that scream in enjoyment while fighting somebody, but Barnaby did.

To do his job the way the he did, you have to be crazy.

Joe Nieuwendyk

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Joe Nieuwendyk is another guy who had quite a strange habit before games.

Nieuwendyk would put baby powder on his stick before every single game because he thought that the baby powder had magical properties that helped him score goals.

Apparently, keeping sticks from getting diaper rash is key to goal scoring.

Theo Fleury

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I always compare Theo Fleury to that little dog that thinks that it's about 10 times larger than it actually is.

The only difference is that that dog is usually on a leash and being held back; Fleury was never on any leash.

He would go at guys twice his size all of the time and was incredibly effective as both an agitator and a scorer.

To be as small as he is and to play that intense of a game against guys who could fit you in their pockets takes somebody who is a little bit nuts.

Stéphane Quintal

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Stéphane Quintal was known to give the silent treatment to people on game days.

He didn't discriminate, though, he didn't talk to a single person after 1:30 p.m. on game days.

Probably good for focusing, but not talking to a single person? That's a bit strange.

Wayne Gretzky

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Sure, The Great One seems like just your average guy, but during his playing days, he was quite cooky.

Gretzky had several crazy little quirks. Whenever he came out for pregame warm-ups, Gretzky would make certain to shoot his first shot wide right of the net.

After warm-ups, Gretzky had to have four beverages in a specific order.

Diet Coke, followed by a glass of ice water, followed by a Gatorade, followed by another Diet Coke.

With that many drinks, it's amazing he didn't have to run off the ice between shifts to relieve himself, unless there was one other tradition that nobody knew about.

Patrick Roy

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Patrick Roy is arguably the greatest goalie to ever play the game of hockey. He was also one of the most eccentric goalies to ever play.

Roy is known for his many superstitions. The superstitions that he is best known for were talking to his goal posts during games and never skating across the lines on the ice.

Roy also had quite the temper. There is a well-documented story about his temper after a game that Roy won against the Anaheim Ducks when Bob Hartley was coaching the Avalanche.

Hartley told Roy that he had given up a soft goal, and Roy went into the video room and destroyed all of the equipment.

A completely natural reaction.

Ron Hextall

Probably the most violent goalie to play the game of hockey, Ron Hextall loved to get involved in the physical aspects of the game.

The above clip might show exactly how wild he was. I have never seen a goalie charge out at a guy the way that Hextall charged Chris Chelios in this one.

Hextall was certifiably nuts.

Gilles Gratton

Gilles Gratton was a goalie that lives in a bit of obscurity due to when he played the game and how young he got out of it.

Gratton's eccentricities, however, are well chronicled.

Gratton was a great believer in reincarnation and claimed that he knew vivid details of some of his past lives. Apparently, he wasn't too shy about sharing those, either.

In one interview with Marv Albert, Marv asked him about one of his many nicknames, the Count.

"Well, I've got something to tell you," Gratton began to explain. "In my last life I was a Spanish Count and one of the things I loved to do when I was a count in Spain was take all the commoners, line them up against a wall and throw rocks at them."

Can you imagine the look on Marv's face?!

In addition to this, Gratton had a habit of hanging out naked after practice and would fake illness or injuries to avoid playing in games.

An interesting fellow.