Hockey’s agitators are the guys you love if they’re on your team and absolutely despise if they’re not. Their job isn’t just to get under your skin—it’s to live there rent-free, drawing penalties, causing chaos, and ruining everyone’s good time.
They’re chirpy, gritty, and just plain irritating. From relentless pests to full-blown troublemakers, these are the 15 most annoying agitators ever to hit the NHL ice.
15. Brendan Gallagher
He plays like he’s 6-foot-5 even though he’s barely pushing 5-foot-9, and somehow that makes him even more annoying. Gallagher’s constant yapping and net-front presence drive goalies and defensemen to the brink.
14. Esa Tikkanen
Tikkanen wasn’t just an agitator—he was a master of “Tikkanese,” a mumbled chirp language that nobody could understand but everyone hated. He poked, prodded, and annoyed his way to five Stanley Cups.
13. Ken Linseman
Nicknamed “The Rat” before it was cool, Linseman made a living off irritating everyone he played against. He was constantly in someone’s face, mixing chirps with cheap shots like a true pest.
12. Antoine Roussel
Roussel had a knack for drawing penalties while somehow escaping the box himself. His high-energy antics were equal parts entertaining and infuriating for just about everyone else on the ice.
11. Chris Neil
Neil didn’t just hit people—he made sure you knew it was coming and that it was personal. He had a unique ability to enrage opponents without crossing the line into suspension territory.
10. Alex Burrows
Burrows had a little bit of everything in his agitator toolkit: hair pulling, trash talk, and the occasional chomp. He was a central figure in many of the Canucks’ most heated rivalries.
9. Jarkko Ruutu
If someone was mad on the ice in the mid-2000s, there was a good chance Ruutu was the reason why. He combined pest behavior with just enough talent to stay in the lineup.
8. Pat Verbeek
They didn’t call him the “Little Ball of Hate” for nothing. Verbeek hit everything that moved, and he made sure to run his mouth while doing it.
7. Brad Marchand
Licks, low blows, and late hits—Marchand has done it all. He’s undeniably talented, but his resume of antics makes him one of the most maddening players of the modern era.
6. Darcy Tucker
Tucker was always buzzing around like a mosquito you couldn’t swat. He had a way of turning every game into a personal vendetta, and that made him an elite-level nuisance.
5. Matthew Tkachuk
Tkachuk inherited the family business of being annoying, and he’s absolutely thriving. With a smirk and a shove, he can throw even the most composed veterans off their game.
4. Claude Lemieux
Lemieux didn’t just stir the pot—he boiled it over. From vicious hits to nonstop chirping, his entire career felt like one long episode of hockey’s version of reality TV drama.
3. Sean Avery
Avery made enemies everywhere he went, and he seemed to enjoy every second of it. His infamous “screening” of Martin Brodeur is still the gold standard of pest behavior.
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2. Dale Hunter
Hunter walked the fine line between agitator and outright villain. He racked up penalty minutes and bad blood with reckless abandon, often leaving chaos in his wake.
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1. Ron Hextall
Yes, a goalie made the top of the list—and for good reason. Hextall didn’t just stop pucks; he chased players down and swung his stick like a lumberjack, making him the most unhinged agitator of them all.
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