Is Claude Giroux Waging Biological Warfare?

Trash talking and trying to throw your opponent off their game is a constant theme in hockey. Players like Dan Carcillo and Maxim Lapierre have made an NHL career out of agitating their opponents. When thinking about the best agitators in the NHL, Claude Giroux usually would not be among the first names to pop into your head.

However, over the past year Giroux has shown the ability to take trolling others to a new level. We knew his trash talking game was top tier after he was mic’d up against the Maple Leafs.

First, he asks Phil Kessel if he’s had a Coke or Pepsi today. I’m guessing this is a jab at Kessel appearing to be a bit chubby and looking nothing like a typical hockey player, or there’s an inside joke we don’t know about. Next, he trolls his former teammate James van Riemsdyk, calling him a pigeon and making pigeon noises at him. If you don’t know what a pigeon is in a hockey context, consult this dictionary.

Then this summer, there was the infamous incident of Claude Giroux reportedly grabbing the rear end of a police officer in Ottawa. His trolling is not limited to just on the ice.

Wait, What Did Claude Giroux Just Do?

The past two games, Giroux has been caught on camera doing, um, odd things. First, it was on a faceoff against the Lightning on Tuesday. With Michael Raffl and Brett Connolly jostling for position, linesman Greg Devorski refused to drop the puck until he gave them a warning to stop touching each other. Giroux apparently didn’t appreciate it, and decided to troll Devorski because of it.

http://youtu.be/q7K6KQuD3P8

Yes, he did just wipe his nose and then wipe it on Devorski’s back. Devorski had no clue.

Then last night against the Panthers, Giroux turned his attention towards throwing off one of his opponents. This time, it was Erik Gudbranson. When the two were skating towards the faceoff at a stoppage, Giroux skates by Gudbranson and decides to have a taste of his jersey.

Is Claude Giroux trying to spread his bodily fluids on other people and get them sick? was he just really hungry? Or is this just another example of Giroux’s hilarious antics in an attempt to throw off his opponents?

I have to give him points for creativity, as this is next level trolling that’s going on here. If somebody bit my jersey on our way to a faceoff, I’d absolutely be thrown off. I’d be thinking about what on earth Giroux was doing, and not the game going on in front of me. In that sense, Giroux’s trolling is genius.

Great trash talking, hilarious antics, and one of most talented players in the NHL? Claude Giroux continues to give me more reasons as to why he’s my favorite player in the NHL.