A sports rivalry can help influence a game’s watchability when two teams that have faced each other often feud, primarily when the two teams are known to be historic rivals with historic players who played on the team. However, there is another level where it goes past the historical aspect. It’s influenced by a player vs. a player and not in a friendly competition way. There has been a history of NHL legends who have publicly stated and, to this day, don’t like certain players for their reasons.
Here are 10 NHL Legends that hate each other for various reasons.
Which NHL legends have a long-standing feud on and off the court?
Kris Draper and Claude Lemieux
Few team rivalries were as bitter as the great rivalry between the Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche of the late 1990s. These games were highlighted by bench-clearing brawls and even goalie fights between Patrick Roy and Mike Vernon. But no hit defined this rivalry more than Claude Lemieux’s dirty check from behind on Kris Draper.
Due to the hit, Draper suffered a broken jaw, nose, and orbital bone. In the following season, Darren McCarty, a teammate of Draper, got revenge for him and humbled Lemieux in the famous “turtling incident.”
Craig Janney and Brendan Shanahan
After signing with the St Louis Blues in the 1991 offseason, Shanahan and Jenny clicked well, playing with each other on the same line, and they were nicknamed “Shanney and Janny” by the fan base. They were great friends off the ice, but that connection would create a feud.
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Shanahan would come close to Jenny’s wife at the time, Catherine, and leave him for Shanahan. This would, in turn, create a small feud between the two in the locker room and, in part, make the general manager trade Jenny to the San Jose Sharks.
Sergei Fedorov and Pavel Bure
While the two Russian superstars and legends were never teammates in the NHL, they did play together in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. They were competing for a gold medal and the heart of Russian tennis star Anna Kournikova, arguably the most famous female tennis player who has never won a singles title.
Kournikova would choose Fedorov and marry in 2001, but it was reported that Bure first proposed to her in 2000.
Zdeno Chara and Max Pacioretty
The early 2010s saw the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens at their peak performance, with both teams looking to go far into the playoffs that season. It wasn’t until March 11th that, during the game against each other, Chara took action into their own hands.
Chara laid out Pacioretty with a massive hit, causing him to be stretchered out, suffering a concussion and vertebral fracture, and Chara received a five-minute major penalty but no suspension.
Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin
The media and NHL fans have pitted two players against each other since they were drafted first overall in 2005 and 2004, respectively. They have spent their whole careers with the same teams, making every Penguins and Capitals game extra special. Both players have won Stanley Cups and played in the classic playoff series.
The hate between the two future Hall of Famers has become more of a feud about who can do more with the remaining years in their careers and achieve the most accomplishments.
Maurice Richard and Ted Lindsay
Two NHL legends that set the pace for the rest of history had a solid feud against each other. They often do after each other physically and then play with their strengths and skill sets if the opportunity presents itself.
The two would fight internally in each game, depending on how it was played; it was a war. The feud would linger until the two hung up the skates and repaired their friendship.
Tie Domi and Rob Ray
Being the shortest guy on the ice wasn’t a problem for Tie Domi. He led the team in hits and fought anyone who would lay a finger on his teammates, which is just what Rob Ray did when they fought each other.
The two would go at each other every time they could when they played against each other, leading with big hits and starting scrums after the whistle. Most famously for fighting, then spending the penalty in the box, and then immediately fighting once the penalty was up to end up back in the penalty box.
Tie Domi vs Matt Barnaby
Domi had and made many enemies during his time in the NHL; if they touched or hit his teammates, he was a public enemy to him, especially when it came to Matt Barnaby. Who held some of the most fights with Domi during his career and split the decision multiple times.
Like Ray, Domi always kept an eye on Barnaby during the games they played against each other. He would often cheap-shot some of the Maple Leafs and rough players up after the whistles to cause scrums and anger Domi in the process.
Teemu Selanne and Bruce Boudreau
While Teemu Selanne was on the Anaheim Ducks and nearing the end of his career, he wasn’t himself back with the Ducks when he was first drafted but still a guy who could put up over 25 goals a season but coach at the time Bruce Boudreau disagreed.
Selanne released a book a couple of years ago that went over his career and made clear statements about his former coach and coaching style, including when he almost left the team in 2013 to potentially join the Los Angeles Kings.
Cal Gardner vs. Ken Reardon
Cal Gardner was no stranger to on-ice battles. In the late 1947 season, he caused what has been described as the most significant and longest brawl in hockey history. The Rangers, who were in last place, were playing against the league-leading Canadiens in Madison Square Garden. During the game, Gardner accidentally hit Kenny Reardon of the Canadiens with his stick, resulting in a severe and bloody cut.
In 1949, a bitter feud began between NHL legends Reardon and Gardner. Gardner, who was by then a Toronto Maple Leaf, had his jaw broken by Reardon that November. To stop the conflict, the NHL president, Clarence Campbell, forced Reardon to post a $1,000 bond against any future acts of violence while he was on the ice.
