New York Rangers: Top five agitators
For the first time in recent memory, the New York Rangers do not have an agitator on the roster. This is an ode to some of the more colorful characters on recent teams.
NHL teams for the most part no longer employ a goon or agitator. In the salary cap era, every single dollar is valuable and allocating cap space to a player with limited ability is bad business. Every roster spot needs to be able to contribute in both ends of the ice.
A player like Jesper Fast is infinitely more valuable to the Rangers than Tanner Glass. However, there is something to be said for the old guard of enforcers like Glass. They didn’t contribute on the score sheet but found ways to change the dynamic of the game.
It’s not art, but pissing someone off or winning a fight can swing a hockey game. Baiting someone into taking a penalty is an art and a good agitator can always get their team a power play. This list is dedicated to the Rangers who went to the dirty areas and had more penalty minutes than points
Tanner Glass may be the most polarizing player in the history of the Rangers franchise.
The Rangers signed Glass to a three year 4.3 million dollar contract following the 2014 Stanley Cup Final. The team wanted to sure up their fourth line with a veteran presence that played with an edge.
Would he be in the lineup on any given day? That question had the fourth line in limbo for the entirety of Glass’ time with the team. The value of Glass was in the eye of the beholder, for those who subscribed to the enforcer school of thought he was as advertised.
He was at his absolute best last postseason when he baited Chris Neil of the Ottawa Senators into multiple penalties in a playoff game. He was also good for the occasional laugh, his backhanded goal off a faceoff against Montreal in game one of the playoffs was awe-inspiring.
The forward posted 15 points in 134 games with the Rangers. His offensive output was minimal but his impact on the team was much deeper than the score sheet. Head coach Alain Vigneault kept Glass in the lineup because he was valuable as someone who could play a high energy checking game.
Daniel Carcillo only played 34 games for the Rangers but he always made an impact in big games.
The Rangers claimed the veteran winger of off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings. As a player, Carcillo was sandpaper rough on the fourth line and alternated in and out of the lineup with Derek Dorsett. For an agitator, Carcillo had a flair for the dramatic. He scored the sole goal in the Rangers 1-0 stadium series win against the Islanders.
The winger played well when called upon by the team. Carcillo scored two goals in the eight playoff games he dressed for including one in game seven of the first round against the Philadelphia Flyers.
For an agitator player, he also had respectable possession stats. As a fourth line winger who started 67% of the time in the defensive zone, he still scratched out a 47.5 Corsi For percentage. The Rangers fourth line that year was amongst the best in the entire league.
Carcillo’s last game for the Rangers came in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals. The agitator’s emotions go the best of him, he pushed a referee during a post-whistle scrum. The push earned him a game misconduct and a ten game suspension. In spite of the limited sample, Carcillo was a model for what an agitator can be.
The colorful enforcer made the most of his 65 games in a Rangers sweater and is infamous in Philadelphia.
Unique goal celebrations are one of the most exciting things in hockey. Mike Rupp stole the celebration of a player on a rival team during the Winter Classic. The forward scored two of his four goals on the season during the New Year’s day clash with the Flyers.
The first goal was a wrist shot from the slot, Rupp celebrated by saluting the crowd. The Jagr salute drew the ire of the players on the Flyers and the crowd at Citizen’s Bank Park. This is the role of agitator played perfectly. Inciting the crowd and other team in a way that draws a penalty is the point of the agitator.
The forward also had quite the mean streak as a fighter. Rupp was one of the three Rangers in a line brawl off of the first faceoff of a game in 2012. The fourth line set the tone for that team, they were scrappy and played with an edge. Rupp is another fourth line player who was a solid possession player while getting heavy defensive zone starts.
The Rangers best playmaker is also the team’s resident instigator.
This one is cheating, Zuccarello is one of the best agitators in the NHL today. He is constantly bothering the other team after the whistle. For a player that is only 5’7, he plays twice his size. The wing has yet to come across a player that he’s afraid of.
The Norwegian has led the team in points two of the past three seasons and done it with an edge. He gets the team going both with his playmaking and by using his body. The forward is one of the faces of the team and a motivator in the dressing room. Whenever Zuccarello blocks a shot, stick taps and words of encouragement from the bench soon follow.
There is something to be said for a skilled player who can get in the heads of the other team’s players. The team needs heart and soul guys like Zuccarello, character, and emotion are part of hockey. As important as possession stats are in terms of winning hockey games, people do play the games.
Guys that play like Zuccarello are always on Stanley Cup Champion teams. If Zuccarello was healthy, his agitating play could’ve been the difference in the 2015 playoffs.
Sean Avery is next to the word agitate in the dictionary.
Martin Brodeur’s least favorite player has been retired from the NHL for five seasons now. The winger was one of the most controversial players in the entire league during his tenure. Avery’s time with the Rangers was split in half because of his over the top antics.
The Rangers acquired Avery for the first time via a trade with the Los Angeles Kings. The winger had 20 points in 29 games the season of his trade and was a driving force on the team’s playoff push. What sets Avery apart from other agitators in hockey is his absolutely ruthless verbal attacks.
The winger frequently targeted things other players were insecure about like Dustin Brown’s lisp or other player’s significant others. This crass behavior made Avery a pariah in the league, one time it got him suspended. The forward’s verbal attacks when he was a member of the Dallas Stars towards Dion Phaneuf got him an indefinite suspension.
The most infamous action of Avery’s career was his screen on Brodeur. Instead of facing out towards the play, Avery faced Brodeur and waved his stick in his face. This was deemed so unfair by the league that it was subsequently made illegal.
Next: Nothing but tough choices ahead
There is no more successful sign of an agitator than someone who got a rule named after him. Avery was both a professional thorn in the side of other teams and a solid hockey player. His .46 points per game as a Ranger is a respectable average for an agitator.