22 Most Inappropriate Moments in NHL History

NHL players are largely considered to be the nice guys of professional sports.

They don't want to hog the camera, they don't talk with the media about how much they deserve to be paid, they don't interview themselves and they are generally very respectful of the game and of the players in the league.

Unfortunately, there are those players that remain that occasionally do or say things that they really shouldn't.

They lead to those moments that nobody wants to talk about because of how poorly they reflect on the game of hockey yet get shown on SportsCenter over and over again.

Moments like the ones you are about to see.

Jeremy Roenick Throwing Water Bottle at a Ref

In 2004, Jeremy Roenick vented some frustration directly at an official.

After Roenick took a high stick to the mouth during a game and the penalty wasn't called, he went ballistic and started yelling at the ref, who said that he didn't see the play.

While bleeding profusely from the mouth after losing a tooth, Roenick threw a water bottle at the referee.

He also went on a tirade after the game about the call. These two things earned Roenick a short suspension from the NHL.

I understand being frustrated and mad, but you don't throw things at officials for any reason.

To JR's credit, he apologized very publicly at the NHL All-Star Game that year, so he gets a bit of a reprieve.

Herb Brooks Shoves Announcer

Herb Brooks is known for a lot in the world of hockey, most notably the Miracle on Ice.

One thing he was also known for were his tirades.

There was one in particular that popped to mind from back in the year 2000 after a loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

Matthew Barnaby had been hurt during the game by Avalanche defender Alexei Gusarov.

Avalanche announcer John Kelly mentioned during the ensuing moments that Matthew Barnaby has a history of embellishing. This did not sit very well with Herb Brooks.

Brooks caught up with both John Kelly and Peter McNab in the hall of the Pepsi Center, and got in their faces.

It would be one thing to let the announcers know that he didn't like their call and disagreed with their assessment of the situation; it's another thing to take an announcer and shove him, which is exactly what Brooks did to Kelly.

Announcers have absolutely no say in the outcome of any of the games, and while Kelly's call definitely wasn't appropriate for the situation that happened, it is completely ridiculous to not only shove an announcer, but to threaten them.

Canucks Fan Flashes Ben Eager

Fans like to get involved in the game, especially those ones that sit next to the penalty box.

Dealing with those types of fans in Vancouver, you'd almost expect to be dealing with the famous Green Men—not this time.

This particular fan sought a slightly more explicit way of going after the guy in the penalty box.

There are some people that believe the Green Men are way too much, but when you're literally flashing a player like this, you deserve to be thrown out of the building.

Call me a prude if you like—completely inappropriate.

All the Biting

You would think that two teams playing for the Stanley Cup would know better than to let a series be defined by who bit whom. Apparently not.

Alex Burrows got it all started by biting the hand of Patrice Bergeron during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

People got upset, commentators had something to sound off on and we all got to hear the coaches put up soundbites, if you'll pardon the wording, after the game. 

One coach says he didn't see it; the other says his guys are too classy to do something like that; then the story ends, right?

Well, that super-classy team proceeded to use the finger taunt not once, but twice in Game 3.

Yes, the Bruins had a right to be upset about their guy being bitten. After that, they lose all rights to talk about how classless Vancouver was because they absolutely sunk to their level.

This is the Stanley Cup Finals guys—grow up and play the game for crying out loud.

Rick Rypien Goes After Minnesota Fan

I understand that fans can do some pretty crazy things in order to make some of these players lose their minds, but standing and clapping as you get tossed out of the game is not one of them.

Rick Rypien was obviously mad as he was going off and just wanted to go after anybody wearing a Wild jersey.

It's got to be pretty tough for some of these players to hear what the fans are saying to them and not lose their cool, but you have to know that laying your hands on the fans is one of the least appropriate things that you can possibly do.

Adam Burish Trash-Talking Moments After Winning the Cup

Adam Burish was pretty excited after winning the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks, but he still needed to think a little bit before he went off on Chris Pronger like this.

You just won the Stanley Cup, went through the line and shook this guy's hand, and then you go on an interview and talk about how you think he's the biggest idiot in the league and how you would punch him if you saw him in the hallway? Really?

Hockey is a classy game, Burish. You were part of a team that just won the Stanley Cup; that's all that you need to say.

Try to show a little bit of class and respect for your opponents who also worked their tails off to get to within a couple of victories of the Stanley Cup.

Just food for thought here, Burish, Pronger had 18 points in 23 games that playoffs. In 15 games, Burish tallied precisely 18 points fewer than Pronger did.

John Tortorella Throws a Water Bottle at a Fan

John Tortorella has a temper, and that's one of the things that helps him be an effective coach. That fire really resonates with his players.

On the negative side, it means he can lose his cool and go a little bit crazy at times.

As a head coach of a professional team, you have to expect that you will be taunted and heckled when in another team's building.

Granted, he had also had a beer dumped on him, though it appears that was done after he had squirted a fan with water.

Just don't engage the fans in any type of chatter, and especially don't throw things at them. You will just never win in any of those scenarios.

Jim Schoenfeld Goes After Don Koharski

The conference finals are a time of high emotions on all parts, and coaches are no different.

After Game 3 of the 1988 Wales Conference finals, which the Boston Bruins won 6-1 over the New Jersey Devils, New Jersey coach Jim Schoenfeld went absolutely bonkers.

He went after Don Koharski in the hallway after the game, shoving him off of the walkway, then being sure to yell after him "Have another doughnut you fat pig."

A score of 6-1 probably meant that even if he did make whatever calls got Schoenfeld so riled up about, they probably still wouldn't have won the game.

You just don't go after officials like that in any situation, especially not after your team was thoroughly dominated.

Make your comments to the press; take whatever heat you get for that from the league and move on.

Tie Domi Fights a Flyers Fan

Tie Domi was an excellent fighter, and an even better agitator.

He was so good at getting people riled up that he didn't even stop doing it while he was in the penalty box, often conversing with the local fans.

Talking back at fans is one thing; throwing water on them is a completely different thing that players absolutely shouldn't do.

Then the fan goes and does something even more stupid and tries to take some whacks at Domi, only to see the glass give way to let him join Domi in the box.

Domi isn't the best welcoming committee.

I don't mind players jawing back at fans, but doing something like this is unacceptable for a player. Then to have the fan dive in and try and go after the player is just as bad.

Here's one where everybody involved was to blame.

Rob Ray Demolishes a Fan

Sticking along a similar theme, Rob Ray was a similar style of player to Tie Domi, always out there for the fights.

In a game with Quebec, Ray found himself on the bench for the Sabres during the start of an on-ice brawl.

He must have wished that he could be involved in some way and had the hockey gods answer his prayer when a fan jumped onto the ice by the Sabres bench.

The Sabres held this guy in place as Rob Ray started to unleash a string of punches on this guy. George Foreman wishes he got that many clear rights at a guy in his career.

Rob Ray got at least 10 to 15 good punches in on this fan, several of which while security was trying to pull him off of the bench.

I understand giving him a couple because the guy was stupid enough to jump on the ice right by the opposing team's bench, but as soon as security got the guy it officially became overkill.

I think you can't really call it self-defense after the first 10 punches are landed.

Dale Hunter's Cheap Shot of Pierre Turgeon

One of the ugliest moments surrounding the career of Dale Hunter was this cheap shot.

Obviously he was frustrated that his team was going to be knocked out of the playoffs, and his own giveaway led to Turgeon's goal that sealed the deal.

There is absolutely no excuse for this action by Hunter, and Turgeon was never really the same after this.

Turgeon managed to have a long and productive career, but it could have been very spectacular had it not been for this gutless move by one of the NHL's most hated players ever.

Andrew Ference Shows Montreal the Bird

What goes through the mind of a player when he does something like this?

Yes, I know that the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens have one of the most heated rivalries in the history of the NHL, but give me a break.

It's great that you just scored a goal in the playoffs in a game where your team was struggling, but show a little bit of class here.

The best part about all of this is that he denies doing it after the game.

"

“I just saw it and I can assure you that’s not part of my repertoire. I don’t know if my glove got caught up. I can assure you, that’s not part of who I am or what I ever have been."

"

Yeah, sure. Your glove got caught up on your finger that you left up.

Ference was fined for this, as he should have been.

Wisniewski's Lewd Gesture to Sean Avery

Sean Avery is no angel, that much is certain, but in this case he's an innocent party.

James Wisniewski makes a very lewd gesture to Avery after the two got into a bit of a pushing match and Avery apparently didn't want to drop the gloves with him.

I'm all about trash talk and things, but that type of gesture really shouldn't be brought into play here.

Obviously the guys are going to yap at each other a great deal, and that's a part of the game, but this is beginning to border on stupid and insensitive.

Call him a name if he doesn't want to fight you, but stick away from stuff like this.

Chris Simon

This video is not for the squeamish.

Chris Simon served pretty much one purpose during his time in the NHL: Fight the other team's fighter.

He was good at it, but let his emotions get the best of him quite frequently.

None worse than this slash to the face of Ryan Hollweg after what looked like an okay check that sent Simon to the ice.

The thing that I hate the most about these types of plays is that these are the only types of plays that get any serious play time on ESPN ever since they stopped covering hockey.

Since ESPN still has the largest audience, this is what people get exposed to and not the high skill and talent level that should be shown off.

There's a reason guys like Simon are a dying breed in the NHL, and this is it. Gutless.

Marty McSorley

If you don't like seriously violent acts, probably don't watch this video.

Marty McSorley has always had one job in the NHL, and it was never to be a goal scorer.

As a result of his penchant for goonery, McSorley could have a pretty short fuse that would really explode if worse came to worse.

Well, it never got any worse than this baseball chop to the forehead of another player. I don't care who you are or what the other guy ever said or did to you; there is never a place for this in hockey.

Brashear is a willing guy; if you want to fight him he'll go.

This was one of the most gutless plays in the history of hockey, and it hardly gets much more inappropriate than this.

Patrick Kane Beats Up a Cab Driver over 20 Cents

Back in 2009, Patrick Kane had just won the Calder Trophy as the NHL Rookie of the Year.

To celebrate, he got into it with a cab driver over 20 cents and beat him up.

I'm sure the 20 cents must have meant a lot to Kane, but I'm sure that his NHL salary, even on the rookie wage scale, was more than enough to cover this loss.

This was such a foolish thing for Kane to have done, though many people have already forgotten that it happened.

Bruins Brawl with New York Crowd

This moment is definitely an inappropriate moment for both the fans and the players that were involved in it.

The Bruins had just beaten the New York Rangers and some of the fans didn't seem to be too happy with the way the game ended because one of them grabbed a player's stick and started hitting them with it.

Naturally everybody else on the team came to their aid, but you'd think they would just try to get their player away from the crazed fan that was swinging the stick—not so much.

The Bruins players climbed into the stands to exact some retribution and got some.

This was a very different era in hockey, back in the '70s, one where bench-clearing brawls were the norm and players played without helmets.

Even in this era, however, players climbing into the stands is inexcusable. Had they done this in today's game, you could basically count on a lifetime ban.

The Gretzky Gambling Ring

Athletes betting on sports is a topic that is very taboo within the sporting world—just ask Pete Rose.

To have an assistant coach taking bets for players and coaches, including the wife of the head coach, is just the absolute pinnacle of inappropriate to me.

What came to be known as "Operation Slap Shot" cost Rich Tocchet his job and was a black spot for the Coyotes franchise.

Though officials always made it clear that there were never any bets taken on hockey games, this is still a mega no-no.

Sean Avery

How could somebody have a list like this and not have Sean Avery right near the top of the list, especially the infamous "sloppy seconds" comment?

This one was one of the most unnecessary things in history. Yes, Sean Avery is an agitator and is supposed to do everything within his power to get underneath the other team's skin, but save it for the ice, man.

I'm quite sure that have been several things said and done on the ice that would make people's jaws drop if said to a camera. Things surrounding people's wives and girlfriends are fair game in the heat of battle, but keep it in the heat of battle.

Doing what Avery did and going out long before the game to take a personal shot at one of the guys who happens to be dating his ex-girlfriend is about as inappropriate as it gets.

What I love about this clip is the reactions of his teammates. They clearly all cannot stand him and it shows through, especially with Brad Richards.

Avery was suspended for his comments and later released by the team. Valuable lesson: Keep it on the ice, Sean.

Todd Bertuzzi

This is truly one of the most disgusting displays in NHL history.

We all understand that hockey is a tough game that brings in an inherent danger because of the physical nature of the game, but this is not something that is in the nature of the game.

When you talk about going out of your way to attempt to end somebody's career, you aren't talking about hockey.

This kind of action is exactly the type of thing that gives hockey a bad name and takes fans away from the game.

The most inappropriate part of all of this is that Todd Bertuzzi is still allowed to play the game of hockey while Steve Moore is lucky if he can read a book without getting a headache.

Vancouver Riots After Stanley Cup Loss

Fans do crazy things at times that just aren't positive life choices.

One such event occurred right after the Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks in last year's Stanley Cup Finals.

After the heartbreaking loss, some of the Vancouver faithful began to riot in the street.

While those that started the riot used the loss to Boston as an excuse to have a riot, there were far too many fans that were willing and eager to participate.

It was a shame to have such a successful season marred by people destroying and burning things in the streets because of a loss.

Safe to say that this is an incredibly inappropriate action.

Fan Throws Banana at Wayne Simmonds

In the preseason this year, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Detroit Red Wings played a preseason game in London, Ontario.

All in all, a very successful game with just one small exception.

During the shootout at the end of the game, a fan threw a banana peel at Wayne Simmonds while he was taking his penalty shot.

Now, for those of you who might not have ever been to a hockey game, allow me to assure you that bananas are not regularly served in any arenas, so this was something this particular fan thought of before.

It was a horrible and disgusting act of ignorance and racism that has no place not only in the great game of hockey, but in the world as a whole right now.

We ought to be above this type of act, and you have to give a ton of credit to Wayne Simmonds for the way he handled himself throughout the whole ordeal.

This shameful act of racism claims the most inappropriate moment in history.