Player Poll Results

[badsk8ter 0]

http://www.thehockeynews.com/en/news/news.asp?idNews=24100

Great article. I love the fact that Avery is the most hated player in the NHL (by far) and also the most overrated as voted by his peers.

[Patrick67 1]

That's kinda funny, actually I get the impresion that he is quite underrated (skill-wise) among fans because everybody thinks about his big mouth and not his abilities.

But his peers probably have a better idea on his playing level, unless they also are distracted by the big mouth...

[TBLfan 25]

I heard of another poll of nhlers that said that brad richards was the most overrated in the league and dan boyle was the most underrated. Not sure of who conducted the poll but I thought it was kinda funny.

[JR Boucicaut 3803]

14) Protein shakes, watching video, late nights, filling out forms, fighting, autographs, missed childhood, girls, money, Cam Janssen, getting yelled at, pre-game skate, coaches and being booed (1) 0.4%

Sounds like Wade Belak to me.

[Viking 1]

In the magazine, it said that 14 of Brad Richards' 16 'most overrated' votes came from "the same Eastern Conference team." I'm wondering what team that could have been, and the only one I can come up with is the Lightning.

[Viking 1]

14) Protein shakes, watching video, late nights, filling out forms, fighting, autographs, missed childhood, girls, money, Cam Janssen, getting yelled at, pre-game skate, coaches and being booed (1) 0.4%

Sounds like Wade Belak to me.

I wonder if those two guys would like to switch jobs with me... The protein shake guy too, I like those things!

[TBLfan 25]

I wouldn't think it would come from the lightning, I would imagine atlanta or washington maybe florida.

Certainly not Calgary :P haha

Honestly I agree, he's a great player but he's being overpaid by a pretty good amount. But honestly I think the most overrated player in the league is Chara.

[Viking 1]

It said Eastern Conference, so it wasn't Calgary. Chara has been a bust with Boston, but I've seen him do the things that earned him his reputation. Sean Avery brought up Shane Doan's name when they talked to him about it, and I don't know if he's MOST overrated, but he makes the list for me now that I think of it.

[Hidious 0]

I agree that Brad Richards isn't a very dominant player this year or even last year but his money comes from the Stanley cup he won with Tampa. I i remember correctly, he lead the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs in points....and won the cup.

[Wayne 0]

What’s the worst thing about your job?

1) Travel/flying/sked/missing family (104) 42.6%

2) Injuries (33) 13.5%

3) Nothing (25) 10.2%

4) Losing/slump (17) 6.9%

5) Media/questions/etc. (12) 4.9%

6) Uncertain future/Job security (9) 3.6%

7) Trades (8) 3.2%

8) Pressure (7) 2.8%

9) Practice (5) 2%

10) Politics/Business side (3) 1.2%

11) Working out (3) 1.2%

12) Backchecking (2) 0.81%

13) Back-to-back games (2) 0.81%

14) Protein shakes, watching video, late nights, filling out forms, fighting, autographs, missed childhood, girls, money, Cam Janssen, getting yelled at, pre-game skate, coaches and being booed (1) 0.4%

Think we could find a couple guys willing to take those 2 spots?

I would love to see each player who took this poll's ballot. But it must have been confidential...

[Alias81 0]

Fitzpatrick got a vote for best NHLer, I'm hoping that was a joke, and whats with Marc Savard having 7 votes in the most hated player poll can anybody shed some light?

[kosydar 0]

I could be wrong but I think Savard has a reputation for being bitchy. Three or four years ago he was suspended for biting someone (pretty sure a Leaf's, maybe Tucker's) glove.

[kosydar 0]

Theo- up until he was traded to the Rangers it was true. He was touted as a guy who can agitate, fight, and score. Before this year his career high was 15 goals. His agitating almost always hurt his team, and his fighting was meh. Granted his 16 goals this year aren't a huge improvement, but he has definitely helped the Rangers since being traded. He certainly wasn't this way before though. I'm guessing the polling was done at least a month or two ago, before he had his impact. Only three people said Samsonov was the most overrated, and following his recent debacle I'm sure he'd be a much more popular answer if the question was asked now.

[chk hrd 164]

couldn't agree more with the most respected player...Joe Sakic

[TBLfan 25]

It said Eastern Conference, so it wasn't Calgary. Chara has been a bust with Boston, but I've seen him do the things that earned him his reputation. Sean Avery brought up Shane Doan's name when they talked to him about it, and I don't know if he's MOST overrated, but he makes the list for me now that I think of it.

I was just kidding about calgary, I was referring to Richie's performance in the 04 finals.

In my opinion, Chara's reputation is ten times bigger than his actual playing ability. If he wasn't 30 feet tall he'd be nothing more than average... hell right now he's barely anything over average.

[pat19 0]

I agree, I don't think Chara would even be average if he was shorter IMO.

[Jason Harris 31]

Chara is incredibly fit and, strangely, I wonder if that's hurting him since he's playing nearly half a game. If you go back five seasons, he's placed the following among defensemen in scoring and plus/minus

Year Scoring +/-

0102 66 2

0203 22 5

0304 18 2

0506 25 18

0607 21 284

Obviously, the first four years were on good teams, while this year he's been on a bad team. Still, my guess is his +/- has decreased while his playing time increased. Regardless how fit one might be, one will get tired playing half a game at the highest level in the world. Add to that the pressure that he's supposed to be the franchise, and maybe he's trying to do too much and being caught out of position.

[CCC8190 0]

14) Protein shakes, watching video, late nights, filling out forms, fighting, autographs, missed childhood, girls, money, Cam Janssen, getting yelled at, pre-game skate, coaches and being booed (1) 0.4%

Sounds like Wade Belak to me.

As a Devil fan, i find that pretty funny- not the belak comment, but that someone put a person as the most hated thing in the game. Before i saw your reply, i immediately thought Kaberle...

[The Stranger 0]

Who voted Paul Kariya most hated? :P

[JR Boucicaut 3803]

14) Protein shakes, watching video, late nights, filling out forms, fighting, autographs, missed childhood, girls, money, Cam Janssen, getting yelled at, pre-game skate, coaches and being booed (1) 0.4%

Sounds like Wade Belak to me.

As a Devil fan, i find that pretty funny- not the belak comment, but that someone put a person as the most hated thing in the game. Before i saw your reply, i immediately thought Kaberle...

It's just a guess it's Belak...he has that type of humor.

[srv2miker 0]

Can't help but notice Edmonton is not high on the list of NHL'ers preferred travel destinations.

[Jake 0]

Wonder who voted Fritsche to build their team around.. Dan himself?

[DarkStar50 679]

Hmmm, so 56% of the NHL players polled voted Crosby the best player in the NHL this season and 76% voted for Crosby as the under-22 player to select as the foundation for your franchise, I guess the experts on MSH were off a bit on Crosby. I guess your viewpoint is different when you have to play against him.

[Chadd 916]

Hmmm, so 56% of the NHL players polled voted Crosby the best player in the NHL this season and 76% voted for Crosby as the under-22 player to select as the foundation for your franchise, I guess the experts on MSH were off a bit on Crosby. I guess your viewpoint is different when you have to play against him.

Nobody here disputes his talents, though the fact he only got three votes for "most respected" is probably in line with the thinking of many around here. Others may believe that number is still a bit high.

[kosydar 0]

Also keep in mind most players in the West have only played him once, if even that. ;)