NHL Power Rankings: The 10 Biggest Scandals in NHL History

To the general populace, hockey is not known so much for its scandalous stories or players. For the amount of violence that is allowed in the sport, there haven't been too many incidents on the ice, or off the ice for that matter.

But the truth is, there have been many. Some have been important in the development of society, others have been tragic, and a few others have just been outright shocking.

Here are the top 10 scandals in NHL history. 

10. Billy Tibbetts

Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 22: Right wing Billy Tibbetts #12 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates on the ice before the NHL game against the Washington Capitals at the MCI Center in Washington D.C. on December 22, 2001. The Penguins tied the Capitals 4-4. (Pho

Few remember this troubled enforcer from the early 2000s. He was called up by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2001 after scoring 38 points in 38 games for their AHL affiliate. He never did much for the Penguins, besides sucker punching an opponent and being suspended by the NHL for it, but the fact that he even played in the NHL is a miraculous feat.

This is because in 1994 was charged and convicted for raping a 15-year old girl. Following this, he was arrested again for assault and battery with a BB gun, disorderly conduct and witness intimidation. Overall, Tibbetts served 39 months in prison. 

Fortunately for him, after paying his dues in prison, he was given a second chance and was able to make a short NHL career out of it. An interesting twist in Tibbetts' story is that he was not able to play in any games in Canada because of his status as a sex offender in the country. 

After a short stint with the New York Rangers in 2003, Tibbetts has gone on to play for the ECHL's San Diego Gulls, Las Vegas Wranglers, and Idaho Steelheads, the UHL's Rockford Icehogs, along with a variety of European teams. 

Why it's ranked here: Tibbetts is obviously not the first athlete to be charged with sexual assault, but not many are found in the NHL. In recent history, Tibbetts is one to come in mind, but he's not a notable player so this is why he gets the tenth spot. 

9. Sean Avery "Sloppy Seconds"

You knew Sean Avery would find his name in this list somehow.

Avery has long been notorious for his on-ice agitation and for making many controversial remarks that have caused a stir in his career. The one that stands out most was the one day when as a member of the Dallas Stars he took a shot at Calgary's Dion Phaneuf and the fact that he was dating his ex-girlfriend, Elisha Cuthbert.

"

"I'm just going to say one thing. I'm really happy to be back in Calgary; I love Canada. I just want to comment on how it's become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds. I don't know what that's about, but enjoy the game tonight."

"

As a result, Gary Bettman, whose patience had wore thin with Avery, suspended him for six games and he was eventually released by the Dallas Stars. Avery's own teammates did not defend him for the comments. He eventually was picked up by the New York Rangers, and he has stayed out of trouble for awhile now. 

Why it's ranked here: Many people might want this to be ranked higher, but it was just a comment that some might even say was blown out of proportion. It was Sean Avery though. Controversy and Sean Avery are generally in the same sentence so this cracks the top ten. 

8. Rick Tocchet Gambling Ring

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

MONTREAL, QC - JUNE 26: Rick Tocchet of the Tampa Bay Lightning photographed during the first round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft at the Bell Centre on June 26, 2009 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The former Stanley Cup champion Rick Tocchet was an assistant coach for the Phoenix Coyotes when it was found that he ran an illegal gambling ring in New Jersey. Immediately, people began speculating if Coyotes head coach and NHL legend Wayne Gretzky was involved in the ring. 

Gretzky vehemently denied the allegations, but it was found that his wife Janet had placed bets. Investigations were run to see if the greatest player of all time had placed bets through his wife but no evidence was found.

Tocchet received two years probation and he shut down the ring. He returned to coaching in 2008-09 as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Why it's ranked here: This is one of the most overrated scandals in NHL history. The main reason why it even cracks the top ten is because Wayne Gretzky's name is involved. It's one of the most identifiable scandals, but it does not have anything to do with social issues like some of the top five scandals in this list do. 

7. Bruins vs. Rangers Fans Brawl

Long before Ron Artest infamously entered the crowd at the Palace at Auburn Hills sending shockwaves in the sports world, a group of Boston Bruins had paved the road already.

In 1979, a brawl ensued between the Boston Bruins and the fans at Madison Square Garden during a Rangers-Bruins game. Players entered the stands and started fighting with fans, throwing punches and beating them with shoes. 

Current NBC analyst Mike Milbury was a part of that Bruins team. 

Why it's ranked here: This is here because it's a brawl that needs more publicity. We all remember how much the Ron Artest brawl was talked about on ESPN and other sports media outlets. Artest was suspended for a year.

This brawl on the other hand doesn't get talked about as much though. It's interesting to see if race has an unfortunate factor on why the Artest brawl is so heavily looked down upon compared to this brawl. 

6. Rocket Richard and the Riots in Montreal

Dave Sandford/Getty Images

TORONTO, ON - JUNE 14: (L-R) Ron MacLean speaks with Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning after winning the Maurice Richard Trophy for Top Goal Scorer in the NHL onstage during the 2007 NHL Awards Show at the Elgin Theatre on June 14, 2007 in To

We're a few days removed from the ugly Vancouver riots, but in 1955 a riot had erupted in the streets of Montreal and it wasn't because of a championship.

Canadiens star Rocket Richard, after an altercation with a linesman, had been suspended for the whole season. Many Canadiens fans believed that the suspension's unusual length was because of Richard's French-Canadian ethnicity. 

When NHL president Clarence Campbell appeared at the next Canadiens game at the Montreal Forum, fans were not too happy and they let it be known, starting a riot in the Forum which poured onto the streets of Montreal, causing damage and injuries. 

Why it's ranked here: This was not a hockey riot. It was a race riot. At the time, there was a plenty of feuding in Quebec between French Canadiens and English Canadiens. The fact that this was race related and eventually brought change in the relations between the two factions is a huge reason why this is ranked here. 

5. Anti-Semitism Toward Jason Bailey

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

DALLAS - APRIL 08: An NHL logo on a goal at American Airlines Center on April 8, 2010 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

This is fairly current and the investigations for this are still ongoing. In what is a bizarre story that exemplifies how much room there is to improve as a society, Jason Bailey, a minor-league player in the Anaheim Ducks' organization, complained that the coaches he played for used derogatory and anti-Semitic remarks against him.

He said that the they didn't let him ride the same bus for road games and that they also gave him very little ice time citing his religion and ethnicity as the reason. 

Statements like "Oh I just got a friend request from a Jew" were made by his assistant coach. Bailey has sued the Ducks for discrimination.

Why it's ranked here: It's unbelievable that we would be hearing a story like this in 2011. We have plenty of work to do as a society in treating everyone equally. Whether the allegations are true or not, the coaching staff has admitted that they made hurtful remarks according to TMZ's original report. 

4. Marty McSorley

Marty McSorley was one of the most feared enforcers in the game of hockey, but he will be remembered for the actions he made in the last three seconds of his playing career. 

With a handful of seconds left in a game against the Vancouver Canucks, McSorley struck Donald Brashear's head with his stick, making him unconscious. Not only was he suspended, but he was also arrested for this attack.

Brashear would play again in his career, but McSorley was found guilty and received probation. His suspension was increased and he never played again.

Why it's ranked here: The lasting legacy of McSorley's stick swing was more damaging to the NHL than it was to McSorley. The stick swing might have been the beginning stages of the downfall of the NHL in the early 2000s. It showed hockey in a negative light and it lost popularity. After this came the bankruptcies of several teams and the Todd Bertuzzi incident and finally the detrimental lockout. 

Thankfully, hockey has made huge strides since then. 

3. Todd Bertuzzi

Just five years after McSorley's vicious stick swing, Todd Bertuzzi sucker-punched Steve Moore on the ice and slammed his face on the ice giving him three fractured neck vertebrae and a concussion. It should be noted that Steve Moore gave Markus Naslund a concussion in their prior meeting with a head shot hit that would be illegal today. 

Todd Bertuzzi gave a tearful apology, and was suspended for the rest of the 2004 season. He returned in the 2006 season. Steve Moore hasn't played since. 

Why it's ranked here: Like the McSorley stick swing, this sent negative shockwaves around the country and pretty much showed that every time hockey was in the news it was for a negative reason. This was probably a major reason for fans bailing on hockey in the pre-lockout years.

Even Moore's hit was controversial, and because of hits like that, the NHL has taken action and is on the road to banning hits to the head. 

2. Mike Danton Story

This may be one of the most bizarre and disturbing stories in hockey history and is a great example of why the hockey world really needs to carefully examine junior hockey head coaches and agents.

Mike Danton was a budding star as a junior. Unfortunately, he was playing for David Frost, who took obsessive control over Danton's life and eventually made him become estranged from his family. Danton's original last name was Jefferson, but he changed it so he can officially separate himself from his family. Frost had convinced him to do this.

Things took a turn for the worse though. After the 2003-04 playoffs, it was found that Danton was attempting to hire a hitman to murder David Frost and he was arrested.

A week after the arrest, a taped phone call between Frost and Danton was found. Frost was giving Danton directions on how to handle the court process. The most bizarre part of the call is Frost forcing Danton to tell him, "I love you."

Frost had taken complete control over Danton's career and it's bizarre and strange because of Frost's history. He was charged with 12 counts of sexual exploitation with three girls and four boys between the ages of 14 and 16. 

Danton now denies that he was trying to kill Frost. He instead says he was trying to kill his father Steve Jefferson because he was abused when he was growing up. 

Why it's ranked here: This is probably one of the strangest stories ever. It's a story about an impressionable boy who wasn't thick-skinned not being able to take criticisms from his parents too well so he relied on a person who seemed very nice but was after his own interests, whether they were sexual or not. It's an unfortunate story and it really shows that people need to know what they are putting their kids into.

1. Sheldon Kennedy Story

Rick Stewart/Getty Images

11 Apr 1997: Sheldon Kennedy of the Boston Bruins controls the puck during the Bruins 2-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils at Contennental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Mandatory Credit: Rick Stewart /Allsport

This is an unfortunate story of a junior hockey coach sexually abusing one of his players, giving him trauma, a shortened career, and problems in life that a person with a normal junior hockey coach would never have to deal with. 

Graham James was the coach. Sheldon Kennedy was the player. James sexually abused Kennedy numerous times while he was in junior hockey and Kennedy never opened his mouth out of fear. James controlled Kennedy throughout his time in the juniors. 

James was incarcerated for 350 sexual assaults against Kennedy and another unnamed player.

Theoren Fleury, once a legend for the Calgary Flames, also wrote in his book that he had been assaulted by Graham James. This explains why his career was so troubled because of drugs and emotional trauma.

Why it's ranked here: Unfortunately, Kennedy's career was cut short because of the trauma. Graham James is now in Guadalajara, Mexico and he faced numerous other accusations of sexual assault and molestation throughout his time in Canada. Kennedy's courage to step up and speak out against James should be lauded.

Not many people know about him but this is a true and tragic story of how a young child's dream can be shattered because of maniacs like James who should be put away for good.