The 8 Biggest Pests in the NHL Today

An instigator. An agitator. An all-around pain in the neck.

Different sports have different terms for them.

When it comes to hockey, they're called pests. And the guys who've done it well over the years have elevated the craft to an art form.

A chirp here. A little stickwork there. And just enough activity to throw you off your game, or, even better, to draw a penalty that'll influence an outcome.

The B/R hockey team scanned the landscape to find the best of the best these days. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a line with a thought of your own in the comments section.

Tyler Bertuzzi

Tyler Bertuzzi spent the first several years of his career playing the irrelevant side of the street with the Detroit Red Wings.

The 6'1", 186-pounder recorded 202 points in 305 games with the Red Wings across parts of seven seasons while developing a reputation as a guy who plays with a lot of sandpaper, which is coach-speak for a gritty hard worker who likes to be in the middle of things.

His career trajectory changed on March 2 when Detroit sent him to the league-leading Boston Bruins for a pair of future draft picks.

It was a "get something instead of nothing" trade for the Red Wings as Bertuzzi approached free agency in the summer, but it's a little more than that for the Bruins—who were 11 points up in the overall standings heading into Friday's games and prepping for a deep Cup run.

His rugged approach, along with that of a new teammate who'll appear later on this list, will make Boston even more difficult to play against in crunch time than it already was.

Jordan Binnington

Whaddya know? One guy on our list is under suspension from the league as we speak.

Though the casual fans may recognize Jordan Binnington from his performance during the St. Louis Blues' run to a Stanley Cup in 2019, those who follow disciplinary transactions more closely may know him from his non-puck-stopping antics.

The now-29-year-old has had multiple dalliances with the league office thanks to issues ranging from insensitive tweets during his teenage years to stick-swinging, bottle-throwing and routine temper tantrums when things on the ice got a little too heated.

The most recent occurred earlier this week when Binnington attacked Minnesota's Ryan Hartman after allowing a go-ahead goal and was tossed from the game for hitting him in the face with his blocker glove. The fracas nearly resulted in a rare goalie fight with Wild counterpart Marc-Andre Fleury before officials intervened.

"Nothing new from him," Hartman told The Athletic's Joe Smith. "He's been doing stuff like that for a while."

The NHL Department of Player Safety suspended Binnington for two games.

Brendan Gallagher

Brendan Gallagher hasn't had much of a presence this season.

The Montreal winger had eight points in 22 games through the end of November but has appeared in just three games since, thanks most recently to a lower-body injury.

He last played on January 3 against Nashville, and it was suggested at that time that he'd be out six weeks. But he'd already compiled a noteworthy reputation through parts of 10 seasons since he was selected 147th overall by the Canadiens in 2010.

Though just 5'9" and 186 pounds, Gallagher has made a living putting his body in important areas, particularly near the goal crease where he provides effective screens and runs his mouth just enough to make you want to take a swing at him.

Searching clips on YouTube? If so, his unique skill set was on full display in a November 2021 game against Calgary. He was parked in front and scored after a teammate's slap shot from the blue line. No sooner had the red light gone on that he was dumped by Flames defenseman Erik Gudbranson, triggering a series of scrums across the ice.

Brad Marchand

If there was a championship belt for pesting, Boston's Brad Marchand would have it flung over his shoulder. And he might give you a whack with it, too.

Now 34, Marchand has established himself as the league's confrontation king in a career that's featured 933 games with the Bruins and stretches back to his debut in 2009.

And not only is he a pain—as evidenced by his "Little Ball of Hate" nickname—but the 71st overall pick in the 2006 draft can produce at a high level as well.

He's eclipsed the 30-goal mark five times, maxed out at 100 points in 2018-19, and now finds himself 37 points shy of Bobby Orr (888) in sixth place on the franchise's all-time list.

He runs on an extremely high-revving motor and is particularly competitive, which tends to manifest itself with antagonistic chirps and other irritants. And his methods are clearly no secret, leading to his winning a 2021-22 NHL player poll asking, "Which player do you least enjoy playing against, but would like to have on your team?"

Marchand earned 26.4 percent of the vote compared to 18.3 percent for his closest pursuer.

Corey Perry

When it comes to pests, Corey Perry is an O.G.

The 37-year-old is an 18-season veteran of the NHL wars, having debuted as a 20-year-old with the Anaheim Ducks, won a Cup with them in 2007, and returned to the championship round in each of the last three seasons without a repeat parade lap.

But he's been a pain in the neck pretty much all along.

He's the star in a handful of YouTube videos that, among other things, label him a jerk, a jackass and the league's most dangerous player.

He's been called into question for both cheap shots on others and embellishing hits that come in his direction, and his long-term antics recently drew the ire of another high-profile villain, Flyers defenseman Tony DeAngelo—whose spear to Perry's groin resulted in a Tampa Bay dogpile on him along with a major penalty and a game misconduct.

"[Perry] tried to slash my stick out of my hands a second beforehand. He talks all game," DeAngelo said. "I asked him to fight. He doesn't want to fight. He'll tell you he's asked me to fight for years. I don't say no."

Brady and Matthew Tkachuk

Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

CALGARY, AB - JANUARY 13: Brothers Calgary Flames Right Wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) and Ottawa Senators Left Wing Brady Tkachuk (7) warm up before an NHL game where the Calgary Flames hosted the Ottawa Senators on January 13, 2022, at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB. (Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

At least we know where the attitudes came from.

Prolific forwards Matthew and Brady Tkachuk are among the league's best when it comes to combining villainy with skill, and it's not surprising considering they're brothers.

The two play for the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators and had combined for 59 goals and 160 points this season heading into Friday's games.

And they augment the offensive prowess with an unapologetic desire to be intense and difficult to play against while making a positive competitive impact on the game.

They're both the sons of ex-NHL star Keith Tkachuk, who racked up more than 1,000 points and more than 2,000 penalty minutes in a career that stretched from 1992 to 2010.

"At the end of the day you have to look at yourself in the mirror and ask—did you compete and were you a good teammate?" Matthew Tkachuk told the Spittin' Chiclets podcast. "That's the only two things our dad said to us when we were growing up."

Tom Wilson

You could call Tom Wilson a jack of all trades. And you wouldn't be wrong.

The 2012 first-round pick has scored double-digit goals five times in the NHL while mixing an ability to instigate dissension on the ice along with the willingness to drop the gloves himself if and when things get particularly heated.

That said, there's little doubt some rivals would call him a few other things, too.

The 28-year-old is perhaps the league's highest-profile heel these days in the (relatively) recent aftermath of a spring 2021 game against the New York Rangers in which he dished out punishment to forwards Pavel Buchnevich and Artemi Panarin.

He was fined $5,000 by the league and was immediately accosted when the teams met two nights later, triggering one of the most memorable line brawls of this generation.

A series of injuries has limited him to just 20 games this season, including none before January. But he's still managed eight goals and 11 points in the action he's seen and he'll be important as the Capitals, who are five points behind the Eastern playoff cutline, vie for a ninth consecutive berth.