Hockey is a great sport. For my money, it’s the best sport in the world in terms of action and the community it creates. Despite all the great things it has to offer, there are a few hockey pet peeves that irk everyone in the hockey world, and some that downright suck. Whether it’s something that players, fans, commentators, or writers do, it’s just annoying. As a fan, player, and writer of the game, I’ve found these to be almost universal.
The 25 Hockey Pet Peeves
Pierre McGuire:
He insists on flaunting his vast knowledge of players’ past teams and history, especially when they score a goal. I’m sorry, but we don’t need to know that Crosby played for the Cole Harbour Red Wings as a PeeWee at age 11, please talk about the goal he just scored. There is also his trademark “Go have fun out there” when ending a pre-game interview with a player.
http://youtu.be/sSqlktmUrc4?t=9s
Fans that yell “SHOOT!” when their team is on a power play:
You don’t see what the players are seeing on the ice. You don’t know better than they do what the correct thing is to do with the puck.
Fans that stand up, turn around, and wave at the camera in the arena:
You are incredibly annoying, not only to the people watching on TV, but you block the view of those sitting behind you. Even worse when the person is on their cell phone and doing this at the same time.
Fights after every hard hit, even if it’s clean:
This is a trend that has developed recently over time. Even if the check is completely clean, somebody on the ice starts something if his teammate gets laid out. While defending your teammates is important, it isn’t necessary if they’re on the receiving end of one of these hits.
People that insist advanced stats are everything:
Like this article that insisted Matt Carle was just as good as Ryan Suter. Advanced stats are a great advancement in analyzing hockey players, but they’re still in their very early stages, and are only a piece (albeit an important one) of the puzzle. These people are wrong, advanced stats are not everything.
RELATED: The Tragically Hip and Their Relationship with Hockey
People that insist advanced stats are nothing:
These people are members of the old guard in what is called the “old guard vs. new guard” debate in advanced stats. Their most notable proponent is Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, who has been a vocal proponent of the “eye test” and believing in what he sees, instead of what the numbers say. These people are also wrong.
https://twitter.com/simmonssteve/status/395375707821309952
This tweet came the October before Corsi predicted the Leafs would fall apart in the long run, which they did.
Shootouts:
Self explanatory.
The Stanley Cup/team success argument:
Like this absurd one that insists Toews is better than Crosby because he has two cups. Plenty of incredible players have never won a cup.
People that put their own name on a team’s jersey:
Never been a fan of this. Even worse if a couple coordinates jerseys that go together, and wear them to the game together.
Canadian/European stereotypes:
Don Cherry’s “Good Ol’ Canadian Boy” from Western Canada is a heart and soul player that you win championships with. Russians are enigmas that are lazy, soft, and don’t care about defense.
People that complain about bandwagon fans in the playoffs, and wonder why the NHL is a niche sport:
More than any other sport, NHL fans are hostile towards fans that are new to the game and say they aren’t true fans. These same people wonder why the NFL trumps the NHL and why ESPN doesn’t talk about hockey.
Fans that only clap when the Jumbotron says “Make Noise!”:
You should be making noise throughout the game.
Fans that bang on the glass:
Especially bad if it’s behind the net where the microphone for the TV feed is. It’s annoying to TV viewers, and you’re not scaring or distracting the players. At all.
Obnoxious cell phone usage during games:
If you want to snap a few pictures or check your phone between whistles or at intermission, fine. But don’t have it in your hand the whole time while the game is going on.
Players disrespecting the handshake line after a playoff series:
Marty Brodeur refused to shake Sean Avery’s hand, and Milan Lucic told Dale Weise he was going to kill him. It’s a time honored tradition and a show of good sportsmanship, respect the handshake line.
Fans complaining about a lack of class from other teams:
Every team has dirty players that hit from behind, dive, elbow, and embellish. Your team is not special.
The puck-over-the-glass delay of game penalty:
This rule was made with good intention, but has resulted in penalties that have decided the fate of games when the clearing was completely unintentional.
Calling players by their nicknames that their teammates use:
You’re not a member of the team or their best buddy. Don’t use their nicknames.
Diving and embellishment:
The only way in which the NHL should aspire to be like soccer is in world popularity.
Hating PK Subban or Alex Ovechkin because of their “excessive celebrations” (aka energy and passion):
Hockey needs more players like this to draw attention to the sport. Hockey players as a whole are very reserved compared to other athletes, and flashy players and celebrations will draw more fans to the game.
The “Ovechkin sucks the in the playoffs” argument:
Likely the same person that believes Toews>Crosby because of intangibles and cups. Ovechkin doesn’t suck in the playoffs, the team surrounding him sucks. Ovechkin’s playoffs PPG? 1.05. Toews’? .86.[stats at the time of writing, Dec. 2014]
Fans complaining about reffing:
Players are bigger and faster than ever, and refs are forced to make countless split second decisions every game. Sometimes they get it wrong. It’s impossible to be perfect. As a referee at the lowest of levels (intramural), I gained a tremendous respect for NHL refs and the job they do.
Fans that refer to your favorite team as “our team” when playing well or “your team” when they’re struggling:
As a Flyers fan I’ve gotten a lot of this one recently. They enjoy the success, and stay as far away as possible from the failures.
Fans using slow-mo and screenshots to claim a hit is late/dirty:
These players are playing one of the most adrenaline filled sports at a faster pace than ever in history. Of course it looks like an intentional elbow or late hit when you slow it down to 1,000 frames/second.
“Crosby would lap Gretzky if he played in the 1980s”:
When you watch video of Gretzky playing in the 1980s, of course the game looks worse and slower. Technology relating to equipment and training has come so far in a short period of time from then to now. If you gave Crosby the equipment, training, and technology Gretzky had at the time, he’d obviously look less impressive.
Bring up any of these hockey pet peeves up in conversation with a hockey fan, and they’ll likely go on a rant about how much it annoys them. What hockey related pet peeves irk you the most? Any that I missed?
** originally written in Dec. 2014
Bandwagon fans in Chicago. I had season tickets from 82-94 (last year at the stadium) then went to some pretty sad times at the uc where me and a couple buddies watch the hawks and capitals play in december with 8,000 fans in the stands. now i can’t get a ticket and the price is now $85. in the upper level. My brother in law who never watch a hawk game from 2004 to 2009 is now a die hard bandwagon fan not a hockey fan. Not that it is going to happen soon but if the Hawks tank again you’ll see 8,000 back in the uc on a cold night in December and then i’ll be able to get a ticket to a shitty hockey team but at least it will be hockey
In interviews i try and usually am successful avoiding nicknames, but if its via twitter, nick name can be less characters and differentiate between players with the same name, hence Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski, easier to type jumbo or pavs for both differentiate. Also everyone calls Patrick Marleau “patty”, sometimes i say patrick but it sounds weirder to me lol. To each their own
Disagree with “not calling players by their nicknames”. I am the customer and I will call them what I want. In fact, we named our kittens Tazer and Kaner. As they grew up, they would run through the house full speed batting a milk cap back and forth between them like a puck – hand to God! Laugh if you want, but it was remarkable. Now they mostly hang around out in the woods and kill things. But I digress…
Play by play announcers who don’t know the names/numbers of the players on the ice. Like the Bruins announcer the other night who called both Darling and Rask “Crawford” multiple times and called Toews “Shaw” for an entire shift. Not saying I know every player in the league, but then – it’s not my job.
We in Tampa Bay call Stamkos Stammer! That’s because like most sports towns we feel a connection with the players. Not because we think we’re “on the team”.
FYI – The bandwagon gimmick is not the reason ESPN doesn’t cover hockey.
Every nickname for a hockey player ending in -y or -ey. Hartsy, Coatesy, Umby, Richey.
1) Too many broken sticks!
2) Overuse of the term “time and space”
3) Overuse of the term “north-south”
4) The demise of the good, clean hip-check
Agree with most of them except the handshake line, Subban/Ovechkin, shootout, and fighting after hits
How about the high stick “blood rule?” Face it, some people bleed more easily than others. Refs should give 2 or 4 minutes based on the severity of the blow, not whether or not there is blood.
And any player trying to force blood from their mouth to draw 4 minutes should get a sportsman like conduct penalty.
Last, I can’t wait until the shootout is done away with. Needs to be 10 minute overtime. 4 on 4 for the entire 10 minutes is fine with me. But even if we got 4 on 4 for 5 minutes and then 3 on 3 for the last 5 would be fine with me.
You and everyone else who doesn’t like the puck over glass rule are wrong. It is a great rule. It takes away and easy out for players hemmed in there own zone. Plus, players know they’re not supposed to put the puck out of play in the defensive zone so they should take extra caution not to do that. I keep hearing the argument, “yeah but sometimes players accidentally put the puck over the glass, and games shouldn’t be decided because the dman had a brain fart.” By that exact same logic, if a dman bobbles a puck and a forward steals it and scores a goal, that goal should be called back because the dman clearly didn’t mean to bobble the puck and a game should not be decided like that.
And to those who say it should be up to the ref’s discretion, I ask you, why do refs almost never call diving or embellishment even though it’s so rampant in hockey? I’ll tell you why. Ref’s really hate accusing players of being divers and are loathe to call them on it. The same would be true of this rule. What ref would send Shane Doan to the penalty box because he thought he purposely put the puck over the glass? It’s much better that it’s black and white.
#1 – Letting the media on to the rink at the conclusion of the final Stanley Cup game!!! Let the players enjoy their celebration. Let the fans enjoying seeing the players enjoy their celebration… without tripping over cables or being bombarded with interview requests. Do the interviews in the locker rooms like it use to be done. GET OFF THE ICE!!
My Peeve is people that tell you to “get the hell out” or “you suck” when you are supporting a visiting team. My favorite was “Get out of our arena!” Woman…your replica jersey does not make you part of the team…i spent just as much on my ticket as you did. Shut up and watch the game, or i will “accidentally” spill my soda on you again.
Getting out of your seat while the puck is in play. Wait for a whistle!
Here are a couple for me
– Announcers that are biased for their teams. I understand more talking about the home team but negativity always against the other team when hits, penalties etc are done.
– Announcers that talk about the same thing every broadcast. Switch up your commentary and maybe get some new people in.
– Blackouts on NHL Gamecenter when game is on NHL Network.
– Update some designs on jerseys some old school ones are cool like bruins and Blackhawks but some are not. I like the changes done by the Ducks over the years.
– Change OT to 4 on 4 then 3 on 3 until goal scored
The Chicago “Detroit Sucks” chant… Even when they’re not even playing the Red Wings! It’s one thing to chant that when they’re playing the WIngs BUT when the team isn’t in the building it’s just awful. PLUS Detroit doesn’t suck, they have 11 cups, 4 in my lifetime and have made the playoffs 23 straight years. (28 out of the last 30)
Not sure how many Hawks games you’ve been to…I’ve never heard fans chant “Detroit Sucks” other than playing Detroit. Unless you count the time Chelios was heckled during is jersey raising.
You forgot #26… making lists of things you don’t like that other people do at hockey games.
A lot of people are taking this article way too seriously! It was filed under “humor”. Just a satire piece, I think.
Dear Bill,
Stop sucking Cindy(not an sp) Crosby’s balls…your a fan, we get it. Comparing him to Gretzky is child fanboy like. He will never be as good as a player who blazed the trail rather than followed one.
Two,
Your a hockey snob, guys who write for or commentators on “sports media” rarely played a sport past high school. Your like Howard telling Ali how to box.
Three,
Maybe you and your Volvo driving friends up in the full service box find “most fans” beneath your standards. Well, a simple F U sums up how “most fans” feel about sports commentators.
*You are = you’re
The writer made no comparisons made of Crosby – Gretzky
Hear that noise? Fries are up, get back to work.
Play-by-play announcers and analysts that are obvious homers. A penalty against their team is never deserved, and calls against the other team are always missed. I’m a die-hard Wild fan but refuse to watch the Wild broadcast of any game because thier fox sports north announcers are two of the worst offenders. Boston and Pitsburgh announcers are equally obnoxious to the point of belittling players from the other team. LA’s announcers are great, very un-biased, and also most Canadian broadcasts are very fair too.
Articles like this are my pet peeve. Hockey apparently isn’t really your sport, Mr. Shoeninger.
What a collection of dumb comments! Virtually every one.
Too much hate on toews. There is more to the game than just offense so you can’t say someone is a better player if their ppg is better. Toews is a better all around player than Crosby and ovechkin. Crosby and ovechkin are better at offense than toews. Toews is still a dangerous player on offense. Toews seems to be a better captain. I’m not saying toews is the best ever but this writer needs to show some respect to him than just rag on him because he isn’t a ppg player.
thehockeyhawk said: ” Good players dont go -30 for the year I am sorry.”
Gretzky had a year of -20 and one of -25.
My pet peeves are: the “half-wall”. Where is it exactly? Another is that I guess the rink announcer must have to wait until play resumes before he can announce the goal or penalty. Why can’t this be done during the time out? Finally, referees seem to allow defensemen to cross check a player in front of the goal after a goal has been scored.
This list.
The “everyone has dirty players thing” may be true to an extent — but when I saw you were a Flyers fan it all made sense. There’s a difference between having 1 guy on the roster who plays dirty vs. the entire culture of the team being built around being dirty pricks (who are proud of it).
Also tiring: people who can’t get over the Broad Street Bullies mentality of the 70s Flyers. So many people just blindly call the Flyers a dirty team because of the old reputation but as a Flyers fan I can tell you that myself and many others find the current team annoyingly soft. They’re not a particularly physical team, nor have they been for several years now.
Sure, players like Rinaldo aren’t the brightest bulbs but their stupid penalties annoy Flyers fans more than anyone else, and that’s what I think the author intended. It’s all subjective but I think the Pens, Bruins, and Canucks teams of the past several years are LIGHT YEARS more “dirty” than the Flyers. People love to rely on decades-old mantras though.
Sick and tired of Whiney Butt Crosby being the poster child for the NHL!! Also sick and tired of him whining every time he doesn’t get his way or on the RARE occasion he actually gets called for a penalty!! It’s a well known fact that players themselves have complained about him getting the “white glove” treatment by the referees. In fact, there was a story run here on Yahoo last year about that very thing and showed whinny butt SLEW FOOTING someone with the back referee looking RIGHT AT HIM and NO CALL!! I’m so tired of everyone pandering to him…makes me want to puke!!
he’s bettman’s bitch. nothing’s gonna happen to her until bettman’s gone.
“I hate Crosby being a whiner!” cried the crybaby being a crybaby about the alleged crybaby.
Potvin Sucks!
I think it’s Potvin’s Cups
My pet peeve is Rangers fans that are so dumb they don’t realize Potvin retired in 1988.
The fights after every big hit and people using slo-mo to say that big hits are dirty are two of my biggest. Diving, the stupid trapezoid rule and Gary Bettman are close behind though.
More on a Carolina Hurricanes note is that my biggest Canes pet peeve is that they constantly shoot from the corners which have a 0.01% chance of going in the net and usually bounce off the other corner and start the other teams breakout. I would say we do that about 10 times each game.
Any Flyers fan that would rather boo Crosby than just cheer on their team. Oh and any Flyers fan in particular. Yes that includes you. I’m pretty sure you boo your mom when she makes a mistake.
My peeve is people walking to their seat while the puck is in play.
The Hurricanes have people that stop this and it’s wonderful
I’m a Flyers fan now living near NYC, so I’ll go see my team when they visit the Devils. The ushers at Prudential Center also make you wait until a stoppage in play to re-enter your section and I think it’s a really nice policy that helps everyone enjoy the game without too many interruptions.
Obnoxious cell phone usage during games drives me nuts. There is an East Asian woman that sits in Section 22, first row, the aisle seat at TD Garden (Bruins games) that is CONSTANTLY on her cell phone texting. It’s ridiculous. What’s worse is her male companion (husband?) just sits there. If my girlfriend/wife did that I’d tell them put the phone down during the game, or for future games just stay home and I’ll bring a friend/relatives that will take some interest in what is happening on the ice.
Cindy Crosby spit in his glove before he shook hands with Nick Lidstrom. What a classless jerk.
You should add Don Cherry to this list, “legend: or not. Does anyone really like this annoying, whiny blowhard in clown suits?
Haha great article – especially the fact that you listed Pierre first! Can I add ice girls to this list?
Pierre must have some pretty good pictures of NBC Execs to keep his job. There is a good reason no one in the NHL will hire this windbag. His tenure in Hartford says it all. He is a self promoting weasel.
Point system which gives each team a point for getting to overtime. All that does is create more overtime games which means teams will take less risks in the 3rd period to get to the guaranteed point. It should be 3 pts. for a win, 2 pts. for an OTW and 1 pt. for an OTL. Then there’s a reward to open up in the 3rd period.
i love the ranger fans who are still yelling ‘potvin sucks’. please, oh please nbc, get rid of pierre maguire. tell him to retire back to new jersey. (He’s not french canadian). lastly i ask, sidney crosby is THE most hated player in the world while wayne gretzky was the most beloved. what’s the difference?
Wayne Gretzky was a class act…Crosby is a whinny ass that bitches and moans every time he doesn’t get his way!!
I agree with most of these, but I am guilty of calling the players by their nicknames. I also don’t think fans need to make noise the entire game. The players on the ice need to communicate with each other.
I agree with some of these (SHOOOOOT THEEE PUUUUCK!!!…ugh, hockey players diving like they are playing the World Cup, not the Stanley Cup, and the over the glass delay of game penalty) , but others I was wondering why the writer of this article seemed so petty and uptight.
Oh my God, no, not the couples jerseys!
Why, we should never EVER question Tim Peel’s esteemed judgement on the ice!!
Calling a player by the nickname the players say to the media to refer to their teammate is so wrong!
So yeah, some of them, I was wondering on a little…and then I saw that the writer of this piece is a Flyers fan. That explains a lot. :)
Flyers fans can bring on the hate, but after experiencing first-hand how Flyers fans treat the away team’s fans, I’m a believer in the stereotype of Flyers fans being the worst in the league.
like
My sister used to work with a guy that grew up in Philadelphia…he used to say that the fans were so bad they would have booed Jesus for dropping the cross!!
Mine is always the guys who wears a jersey to the game of a team not playing. For example, the guy wearing his Penguins jersey to Capitals-Hurricanes game.
“Calling players by their nicknames that their teammates use” – You mean when the Penguins play by play announcer Mike Lange says “Geno” or “Sid” EVERY 30 seconds for the entire game??!!
Announcers actually know the players, genius.
How about that new routine of stopping to scrape the ice with a bunch of shovels every two minutes. To me, all that does is slow the game down even more. The players have done just fine for all of these years without it.
Disagree. It only happens 3 times a period and only during commercial breaks
I agree with some of the things said here, but my two peeves are Diving….call it. AND ONLY call the dive. Second peeve is disallowing goals because the ref feels the goalie was impeded. That needs to be a reviewable process and unlike the writer of this article, I have watched hockey for more than 30 years and the refs suck! They are bias and ignorant wanna be but can’t be hockey players and they need to get their god complex fix somehow.
I watch every game I can watch and no matter the teams that are playing, I see the ignorant zebras trying to prove to the world that they matter.
The worst part of hockey is NOT the low goal totals, the fights or even the diving, it’s the damn officials and their inability to call a fair game. A hook by this team at this point in the hockey game should still be a penalty when the same infraction happens a period and a half later!!
Stanley Cups: Toews 2 Ovechkin 0…Granted Crosby is a dominant player, but on OFFENSE….Toews plays a 200 ft game…Crosby does not. I also agree the Corsi stat is BS. The other thing is Ovechkin’s +/- was a -38. If he played a 200ft game it wouldn’t be that bad.
Well yeah, it would, because when you get a minus there’s 5 other players on the ice with you that can contribute to that minus.
+/- is more indicative of a bad team than a bad individual player.
thanks for trying.
Hearing “Rangers suck, Flyers blow” in the Prudential Center when the Devils are playing… the Panthers.
That’s Flyer’s swallow! Get it right or get out.
“You do know hockey is the highest adrenaline sport in the league?”
a) In what “league” is the sport of hockey competing in?
b) How are you measuring adrenaline in an athlete ___ years away from you?
And thehockeyhawk wants to replace the esteemed Bill Schoeninger?
“Im from Minnesota, can I replace you at hockey writers?”
Not until you learn how to use an apostrophe.
“. . . . top shot talkers of the game.”
s/b
“. . . . top sh_t talkers of the game.”
or
“. . . . top sh!t talkers of the game.”
As someone who’s played, reffed, watched, been part of hockey for 25 years… I agree with everything you said. Well done.