Results final as of 12:00 p.m. U.S. EST:
Who is the most hated player in the NHL?*
Sean Avery: 11%
Matthew Barnaby: 4%
Todd Bertuzzi: 21% (Winner!)
Derian Hatcher: 2%
Dominik Hasek: 5%
Darius Kasparaitis: 18%
Bryan Marchment: 3%
Jeremy Roenick: 3%
Jarkko Ruutu: 16%
Darcy Tucker: 5%
Donald Brashear: 4%
Eric Lindros: 3%
Tie Domi: 4%
Total Votes: 2,032
_______________________________________________
*Names listed in order they appeared on the ballot.
Thanks to everyone who participated, with a special shout out to those who exercised their right to vote in Scandanavia, where those efforts nearly led to an outright win for Ruutu. Stay tuned for another poll next week.
UPDATE: Just did my guest shot on SBL, and here are my show notes. The audio should be up by 5:00 p.m. U.S. EST. Please note some of the question weren't asked due to time limitations.
1. Which figures* deserve in honorable mention as a result of your site's balloting?
Sean Avery, who besides being an all-around jerk is now dating 24 and Girl Next Door hottie, Elisha Cuthbert. Man, has he earned it. But let's be honest, he's having a solid season too.
2. Who are the top 3 most-hated figures in your sport? (count down from 3 to 1)
3. Jarkko Ruutu -- all around dirty player and jerk. Nearly killed Jagr at the Olympics.
2. Darius Kasparaitis -- you need a mean streak to play defense in the NHL. Darius doesn't just have a mean streak, he has an evil streak. For example, Scott Stevens had a mean streak a mile wide, but he played as hard as he did because he loved the game. With Kaspar, it just seems as if he likes to hurt people.
1. Todd Bertuzzi -- The Steve Moore incident will hover over this guy forever, and I'm not sure he's ever going to recover. 3 years ago, when he had his breakout season in Vancouver, he was always playing close to the edge, which is what he needed to be successful. Haven't seen that on a consistent basis since he returned. Took a stupid penalty in the Olympics against Russia that led to game winning goal, making it worse for him.
Expect him to get shipped out of Vancouver in the offseason.
3. Were there any surprises in your balloting? (A guy who got a surprising amount of support or lack thereof)
Thought Bryan Marchment and Matt Barnaby would be more hated, but I guess that means he's being a lot less effective. Our strong base of fans in Europe contributed to a strong showing for Ruutu, a bit of a surprise.
4. Do you have a personal vendetta against any one figure?
(Tounge in cheek) Avery, and it's all about Elisha. She will be mine...;-)
5. Who would you say is the most-loved figure?
To be the most loved figure, it usually means you're closer to the end of your career than the beginning. If we're talking active players, the most beloved has to be Steve Yzerman. Talented, hard working and unassuming. You would always know what you were getting when he showed up at the rink.
One last note: Out of all the polls that were done in conjunction with SBL, Off Wing got the most votes by far. Thanks again to my readers for participating.
I can see why people don’t like Ruutu, but as far as his hit on Jagr? Can someone explain to me why there was a problem with this hit?
He hit Jagr shoulder to shoulder…the only reason Jagr was “injured” (he played the next game no problem) was because he ducked his head at the last second and part of that got clipped. Don’t try to tell me Jarko was supposed to guess that was going to happen…and either way, he got all shoulder anyway. Pfffff….
My recollection of the Jagr hit is foggy … but wasn’t Ruutu also the one that was caught on the TV cameras smiling and waving to the crowd amidst the boos as he was ejected from the ice after the hit, too?
That certainly wouldn’t make many fans.
The dirtiest players ever were the Europeans who came into the league in the early days of the foreign invasion. Since they don’t fight in Europe, these guys couldn’t fight in the NHL, so everything they did was with the stick.
Like I said, I see why people hate Jarkko. But neither of you pointed out why his hit was “dirty”
I wasn’t trying to point out why the hit was dirty or not. I was just interjecting about why people wouldn’t like him after that hit.
In itself, his post-hit behavior would cause suspicion as to whether he was intentionally aiming to hurt Jagr or someone else with his hit. Whether or not the hit was legally clean or not is moot, as his behavior causes suspicion of his intentions, even if the hit itself was clean.