New York Rangers: Top five hated opposing players

Radko Gudas

The Philadelphia Flyers are one of the league’s most prominent rough teams. Radko Gudas is a player that fits this mold perfectly.

Gudas has a knack for using his physicality to body people off of plays. He took a cheap shot on Stalberg back in 2015 on this play as the former defenseman was trying to enter the zone.

In more recent memory, Gudas welcomed Jimmy Vesey to New York, boarding him in a preseason game.

Any guy who likes to take a shot at a rookie who has his head down in the corner deserves some hatred. The referees assessed a five minute boarding major and a game misconduct to the 27-year-old Flyer.

If you ask me, any player who is out there to lay out big hits is never a player to love.

Radko Gudas is one of those players.

Cody Eakin

In hockey, the last person on the ice you want to mess with is your opponent’s goaltender.

Tell that to Cody Eakin.

Eakin developed a more recent hatred from Rangers fans after he laid a high hit on Henrik Lundqvist this past December.

The 26-year-old skated up behind Lundqvist who was controlling the puck behind the net and sent the goaltender and his helmet flying.

Eakin was assessed a five minute major for charging and was given a game misconduct. However, there was no evidence of retaliation from the Rangers in game action as play continued down through center ice.

After the final whistle had blown, the NHL suspended Eakin for four games. And Chris Kreider would take his revenge for the hit on Lundqvist in the Rangers next meeting with the Stars.

He and Eakin tangled up along the boards and Kreider let him have it when they dropped the mitts.

Kreider was fined $5,000 for hitting Eakin in the head with his helmet.  

When it comes to the Rangers run-ins with Cody Eakin, it seems things have just begun. For the time being, Eakin will continue to be the source of hateful thoughts for many New York Rangers fans.

Andrew Shaw

Andrew Shaw is one of those players who seems like his sole purpose is to irritate. Following in the footsteps of greats like Steve Ott and Raffi Torres, Shaw is a player you love to hate.

Shaw managed to get under Rangers fans skin as a part of the Chicago Blackhawks roster. However, now that he’s a part of the Eastern Conference, we get to much more of the “skill” Shaw brings the ice.

Here is a great example of Shaw doing what he does best.

In this scenario, Shaw lays a late, high hit on Jesper Fast which leads to retaliation from J.T. Miller.

Shaw uses his irritation tactics and physical play to get in opponents faces while they are on the defensive end.

While fighting almost never happens during the Stanley Cup playoffs, Brendan Smith had enough of Shaw’s antics in front of the net leading to a rare fight in the first round this year.

Let’s just pretend that the New York Rangers have never condoned this type of play and have never had a player like this on their roster… *cough* Sean Avery.

Wayne Simmonds

Wayne Simmonds has a history with the Rangers which makes him one of the most hated player  in the league amongst fans.

On two occasions (and probably more) Simmonds has taken cheap shots on Rangers captains. Back in 2012, he sucker punched Rangers former captain Ryan Callahan after he was bodied off a puck along the boards. Somehow Callahan ended up in the penalty box.

Similarly, this past season, Simmonds took a cheap shot at Ryan McDonagh.

This time, the refs got it right and Simmonds was assessed a five minute major for intent to injure and was sent to the locker room with a game misconduct as a result of his actions.

Despite his sometimes unnecessarily physical ways, Simmonds plays with skill.

As nice as it would be to call him a goon, he’s not. As the 2017 NHL All Star Game MVP, Simmonds legitimacy makes him all the more annoying.

He is one of the few outliers on a team that seems to focus more on physicality than skill to overpower their opponents.

Sidney Crosby

You could probably get away with saying Rangers fans hate any Pittsburgh Penguin. However, with Sidney Crosby there is a special kind of hatred.

Sid is easy to hate if you’re not a Penguins fan. Many feel that he receives special treatment from the league’s referees. He gets away with clear penalties (like this year’s slash that severed part of Marc Methot’s finger) as and can sell them as well.

Here is an example of a quintessential Sidney Crosby dive against the Rangers in 2010 — with some added drama for fun!

Here, Lundqvist goes after Crosby for flopping and Crosby retaliates. This of course leads to chaos! You of course hear choruses of “Crosby Sucks” raining down on the ice at Madison Square Garden (there are few sounds more beautiful than this on this Earth).

This past season, Crosby threw McDonagh head first into the ice after he boarded Connor Sheary.

Crosby gets a lot of flack for many things, and while some of this is justified he is also a target of abuse from fans in spite of (or maybe even more so because of) his talent.

There is no question the NHL loves him and gives him special treatment, which is why Rangers fans — and anyone who is not a Penguins fan — hates Sidney Crosby.

Final Thoughts

Many sports hinge on the development of rivalries between teams, but hockey’s emphasis on physical play and the lenient fighting views allow for deep seeded hate to take form.

Like in many other sports, fans do not forget nor do they forgive too soon. But at the same time, it’s all a part of the fun.

As much as fans hate these players, where would we be without them? What if there were no rivalries between teams? What if there were no tiffs between players?

I think two things would result.

First, I don’t think fans would be nearly as passionate, and this goes in any sport.  Second, and more importantly, hockey would not nearly be the same without a little hatred. It is part of what makes the game the game.

Next: Top 5 defensemen since Brian Leetch

Whether it’s because they’re cheap and chippy or skilled and whiny, hated players ultimately make hockey more fun.