Ranking the dirtiest players in NHL history

Matt Cooke is the dirtiest player in NHL history. You just need to go to any Reddit forum about the player to see how much fans hate him. He’s seemingly hurt every fan base around the league. Whether it was hits to the head or knee-to-knee contact, Cooke was seemingly always trying to hurt his opponents. He vowed to change his ways, but he never did.

Two egregious examples of his dirty play were the head hits he committed on Marc Savard and Ryan McDonagh. Both plays seemed to come with intent. All in all, Cooke was suspended for 25 total games over five different suspensions. He is also responsible for the creation of a number of rules regarding safety.

2. Chris Simon

Chris Simon was the ultimate hothead and the NHL’s bad guy throughout his career. He racked up eight total suspensions because he just never could get his act together. 2007 was a particularly bad one for Simon. During the 2006-07 season, Simon was handed a 25-game suspension after swinging his hockey stick like an axe at Ryan Hollweg’s upper body.

He stepped on the back of Jarkko Ruutu not long after that. That incident resulted in 30 more suspension games. Both of those suspensions rank within the top 10 for the longest suspensions in NHL history. Simon probably wasn’t a great guy, and that was further evidenced when he allegedly directed a racial slur at Mike Grier.

3. Claude Lemieux

Claude Lemieux is the classic example of the type of player who fans of his team loved, while fans of other teams could not stand him. Lemieux’s career started in 1983, and he didn’t retire until 2009. That means he had a long time to rack up a dirty resume, too.

While a great player, Lemieux is known for one of the nastiest hits in NHL history. His from-behind hit on Kris Draper broke Draper’s orbital/cheek/jaw bones against the boards, and it led to one of the most hated rivalries ever. From then on out, the Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings would regularly get into fights and scuffles, and their games were always played with extra physicality. On top of that famous incident, Lemieux also bit Jim Peplinski’s finger during a scuffle.

4. Dale Hunter

Dale Hunter’s 3,563 career penalty box minutes rank second all-time, and that is by no coincidence. He was always balancing aggression and dirty play, and he usually went over that line. One incident that was clearly dirty was in 1993 when he hit Pierre Turgeon seconds after he had already scored while Turgeon was celebrating the game-winning goal.

It was a clear malicious act that resulted in Turgeon separating his shoulder. Hunter was handed a 21 game incident when the smoke cleared. At the time, that was the longest suspension ever handed out for an on-ice incident.

5. Steve Downie

Steve Downie calmed down during the back half of his career, but he came into the NHL guns blazing. Downie took his role as an enforcer and went far past it. Downie has had not one but two separate 20-game suspensions. The first of those came after he went airborne to hit Dean McAmmond, and the second came in the AHL when he slashed Mike Hamilton in the shin.

Considering the latter of those incidents was in the minor leagues, Downie didn’t care when or how he’d inflict pain. He just liked the taste of blood. In fact, the McAmmond hit was even only during a preseason game.

6. Gordie Howe

Gordie Howe is one of the greatest NHL players ever. Mr. Hockey racked up four Stanley Cups, six Art Ross trophies, six Hart Memorial trophies, and 23 All-Star nods over his 1,767-game career. He amassed 1,850 points during that time, but he also had 1,685 penalty minutes.

Because of his status as a star, Howe probably got away with more than most players would. The Gordie Howe Hat Trick describes scoring a goal, picking up an assist, and starting a fight. Howe’s era was a violent one overall, so the legend had to defend himself, but it was usually himself who was antagonizing opponents and instigating fights.

7. Todd Bertuzzi

Todd Bertuzzi might not have been dirty throughout the duration of his career, but he deserves recognition here because he was responsible for arguably the single dirtiest act in league history. That, of course, came when he punched a skating-away Steve Moore in the back of his end.

The punch rendered Moore unconscious, and the ensuing pile-up resulted in Moore fracturing his vertebrae. It was a horrifying act that nobody could justify, and Moore lost his career because of it.

8. Ulf Samuelsson

Ulf Samuelsson was the most annoying type of player in that he would instigate fights and commit dirty acts on opponents, but he usually ended up turtling when it came time to actually brawl. Samuelsson’s go-to move was to hit opponents below/at the knee. Such a play effectively ended Cam Neely’s career.

Samuelsson has been described as “the most hated man in hockey” and “the lowest form of human being.” Opposing players knew a primary objective for Samuelsson was to injure players and knock them out of the game.

9. Sean Avery

While Samuelsson would often turtle during fights, Sean Avery usually wouldn’t even throw any punches after his opponents wanted to throw down due to his dirty acts. Avery was the ultimate irritant, and he knew how to get under the skin of his opponents. His off-ice incidents were just as bad as what he did on ice, though.

For example, Avery made inappropriate comments about a player battling cancer, and he often got into it with fans. Additionally, Avery made an inappropriate “sloppy seconds” comment to reporters, and he was also charged with criminal mischief in 2019. Avery even had a rule named after him after he waved his hands/stick in front of a goaltender in order to block his view during the 2008 Eastern Conference quarter-finals. The Avery Rule now prohibits such behavior.

10. Dave “Tiger” Williams

Dave “Tiger” Williams was an outstanding enforcer, but he spent a lot of time in the penalty box. In fact, his 3,971 penalty minutes are the most ever. How can you not rank someone on this list of the dirtiest NHL players ever who spent so much time breaking the rules and paying the consequences? Williams didn’t have a clear-cut incident that crossed the line like the rest of the players on this list, but he was always doing things that he wasn’t supposed to do.