Which NHL player is the biggest on-ice villain in every team’s franchise history?

Every good story needs a villain. Does every good NHL team need one, too?

Countless stars over the years have become heroes to their team’s fan base. On the other hand, the league has also had its share of villains — players who still evoke strong reactions today.

But what does it take to become a villain? Whether it’s a rival who is widely despised for physical play, controversial hits, relentless agitating or competitive success, many players have found themselves loathed in certain cities.

Who’s every team’s biggest on-ice villain from a rival opponent in franchise history? The Athletic asked its staff this week.

Which player is your favorite team’s biggest villain on the ice? Let us know in the comments.

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Anaheim Ducks

Scott Stevens

Several players could contend here. But Anze Kopitar and Nicklas Lidstrom were too classy to hate. Daniel Alfredsson firing the puck right at Scott Niedermayer in the 2007 Cup Final still raises the ire of many Ducks fans. But Stevens may never be forgiven for his Game 6 hit on Paul Kariya in the 2003 Cup Final. Kariya paid a heavy price over time, but his resulting “off the floor, on the board” goal nearly lifted Honda Center (then Arrowhead Pond) off its foundation. — Eric Stephens

Boston Bruins

Ulf Samuelsson

In Game 3 of the 1991 conference finals, Samuelsson clipped Cam Neely with a knee-on-knee hit. The collision also injured Neely’s thigh and caused a condition called myositis ossificans, resulting in calcification. Neely was limited to nine games the following season. — Fluto Shinzawa

Buffalo Sabres

Brett Hull

Milan Lucic and Chris Neil were hated among Sabres fans for their on-ice play, but Hull feels like the franchise’s biggest villain. The controversial goal he scored to win the Stanley Cup in 1999 is one of the most painful moments in Buffalo sports history. Not only was he the one who scored that goal, but he’s also taken a few opportunities to needle Sabres fans about it over the years. That’s made him high on the list of Sabres fans’ most hated players. — Matthew Fairburn

Calgary Flames

Wayne Gretzky and Connor McDavid

For the older crowd, it’s Gretzky. The greatest player of all time notched 230 career regular-season points against the Flames and asserted Edmonton’s provincial dominance in the 1980s. For the younger generation, it’s McDavid, whose 30 goals and 67 points are the most he’s put up against any team. And for Flames fans, his second-round series-winning goal in 2022 in Calgary is a nightmare to relive. Especially when you consider where the Flames have been since. — Julian McKenzie

Carolina Hurricanes

Erik Haula

Haula’s tenure with the Hurricanes got off to a blazing hot start and fizzled just as quickly. Since he was traded away at the end of his only year in Raleigh, he’s been an NHL nomad — his new team, Los Angeles, will be his sixth since 2020. His disdain for his former team is well known — he proudly sported a “Canes Suck” bracelet when with the Devils — and he’s had a reason to be sour. Since leaving Carolina, he’s been ousted from the playoffs four times with three different teams (Nashville, Boston and New Jersey twice) by the Hurricanes, earning jeers every time he touched the puck along the way. He has two goals and a 1-18-5 record at Lenovo Center since being dealt away. — Cory Lavalette

Chicago Blackhawks

Dino Ciccarelli

When Denis Savard and Ciccarelli dropped their gloves in a Blackhawks-North Stars alumni game in 2016, it was all a joke, but no one would have been shocked if it had been real. For much of the 1980s, Ciccarelli had a way of getting under Savard’s and the Blackhawks’ skins. Chants of “Dino sucks” filled the Chicago Stadium whenever he and Minnesota came into town. Those games were often epic, and Ciccarelli was part of the reason. — Scott Powers

Colorado Avalanche

Darren McCarty

There were several different directions to possibly go with this choice. Todd Bertuzzi was in serious consideration for the incident that ended Steve Moore’s career in 2004, but I opted to go with McCarty because the rivalry with the Red Wings in the 1990s and 2000s was one of the best in the sport’s history, and McCarty is probably the best villain of that Red Wings squad. Sure, Steve Yzerman and Sergei Fedorov were villains for playing major roles in many Avs defeats, but there’s also a level of respect there because they were such incredible players. — Jesse Granger

Columbus Blue Jackets

Adam Foote

Foote was the Blue Jackets captain in 2008 when he orchestrated a trade out of Columbus and back to the Avalanche, even though the Blue Jackets were just five points out of the playoffs, bidding for their first-ever postseason berth. Behind the scenes, Foote and the Avalanche had conspired to get this deal done. A box full of equipment with his name and number was shipped to Calgary a week ahead of the deadline. That’s where the Avs played the night of the trade deadline. Fans in Nationwide Arena felt betrayed by their captain, and they let him know every time he returned to town, both as a player and as a coach. — Aaron Portzline

Dallas Stars

Bryan Marchment

Stars fans of an older vintage will tell you Dallas would have won the 1998 Stanley Cup had Marchment not blown out Joe Nieuwendyk’s knee with a borderline hit in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs against the Sharks (the Stars went on to lose in the Western Conference final). Earlier in the same season, Marchment — then with the Oilers — injured Mike Modano’s knee with another hit many felt was dirty. Corey Perry might have taken this crown had he not done one of the all-time face turns in his one season with the Stars, helping them reach the bubble Stanley Cup Final. — Mark Lazerus

Detroit Red Wings

Patrick Roy

You can argue the Red Wings were as much a villain for Roy as vice versa, helping to chase him out of Montreal and right into the era-defining rivalry between Detroit and the Avalanche. Roy became one of the central figures of that rivalry, though, partaking in two high-profile goalie fights — first with Mike Vernon, then Chris Osgood — and, of course, leading Colorado to the Stanley Cup in 1996 after knocking out the Red Wings, and again in 2001 (though the Avalanche didn’t face Detroit in the postseason). His swagger and Hall of Fame pedigree are a bonus to make him an iconic on-ice enemy. — Max Bultman

Edmonton Oilers

Robyn Regehr

Regehr took special delight in flattening Oilers winger Ales Hemsky. Unlike the 1980s, when both the Oilers and Flames had their share of agitators and enforcers, Regehr was allowed to run Hemsky unchecked during the years they played against each other. Regehr was relentless and merciless, and Oilers fans had to witness it over and over again. — Allan Mitchell

Florida Panthers

Nikita Kucherov

You could probably pick any of the Lightning’s stars given how this rivalry has heated up in recent years. Kucherov’s 51 points in 42 career regular-season games and agitating awesomeness against Florida have him at the top of the list. — James Mirtle

Los Angeles Kings

Corey Perry

Perry was the Kings’ incessant pest of a SoCal neighbor that you loathe. Players would get their pound of flesh, and Perry just kept coming back for more whether four times a season or eight. The slashes and jabs. The accidental-on-purpose falls over goalies. Even the squirt of a water bottle into a glove. The hate lessened some after he left Anaheim, but some Kings fans still may never truly get behind someone who is set to play for L.A. for the second time in his career next season. — Eric Stephens

Minnesota Wild

Jamie Benn

It’s been too long since the Canucks’ Todd Bertuzzi told Wild fans not to bother buying tickets to Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals in 2003, so we’ll go with Benn. He always draws the ire of Wild fans, whether it’s for dives, pitchforking players in the groin or dirty shots like cross-checks to the heads of Matt Boldy and Ryan Hartman in the most recent playoffs. Every time the teams play, he’s in the middle of everything. — Michael Russo

Montreal Canadiens

Cam Neely

In 1943, the Bruins beat the Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs. The Bruins would lose their next 18 playoff series against the Canadiens, six in the Stanley Cup Final. Neely almost single-handedly changed that. From 1987 to 1991, the Bruins faced the Canadiens in the playoffs each year and won three of those meetings: in 1988, 1990 and 1991. In those 26 games over five playoff series, Neely scored an astounding 20 goals, and did it in the nastiest way. The Canadiens had no answer for him. Considering the deep-rooted hatred that defined the Bruins-Canadiens rivalry, Neely was the ultimate villain. He could beat you on the scoreboard, and he could beat you up. — Arpon Basu

Nashville Predators

Corey Perry

The Ryan Kesler feud with former Predators center Ryan Johansen — which peaked during Nashville’s 2017 Stanley Cup Final run — is pure villainy. But Perry was an equally hated part of that Ducks team. And Preds fans have hated him at every stop since. It just keeps going. — Joseph Rexrode

New Jersey Devils

Sean Avery

Avery racked up 1,533 penalty minutes in 580 career regular-season games, so he got under plenty of people’s skin in his career — including the Devils. The NHL had to change a rule because of Avery’s actions against Martin Brodeur and New Jersey in the 2008 playoffs. He faced Brodeur to screen him and waved his stick to block the goalie’s vision. The league outlawed that technique between games, and Brodeur didn’t shake Avery’s hand after the series. — Peter Baugh

New York Islanders

Dale Hunter

From more recent history, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are easy targets. Even Yanni Gourde fits here after scoring the series-clinching conference final goal against the Islanders in 2021. But if we go further back in time, Hunter probably takes the cake as the biggest rival in history for a dirty hit on Pierre Turgeon during a goal celebration in a 1993 playoff series against the Capitals. — Shayna Goldman

New York Rangers

Tom Wilson

There are plenty of players who tormented the Rangers over the years, with John Druce’s 1990 playoff explosion standing out as a prime example. But Wilson’s 2021 rag-dolling of Artemi Panarin and the front-office firings that followed two days later forever changed the course of the franchise. The perception that Wilson directly caused the dismissals of team president John Davidson and GM Jeff Gorton has been overstated, but the incident cemented him as public enemy No. 1 for Rangers fans. — Vincent Z. Mercogliano

Ottawa Senators

Mats Sundin

The longtime Leafs captain was at the center of a few heartbreaking moments for the Senators, including in the postseason. Sundin’s overtime winner in Game 1 of the 2001 Eastern Conference quarterfinals is among those painful memories that Ottawa fans would rather forget. — Julian McKenzie

Philadelphia Flyers

Sidney Crosby

This one’s easy. Crosby has absolutely torched the Flyers ever since he broke into the league. The tone was set in his rookie season, when he took a high stick from Derian Hatcher, bloodying his upper lip, and responded by scoring a breakaway goal in overtime. Twenty years later, in the 2026 playoffs, Crosby’s embellishment of a Garnet Hathaway high stick in a game in Philadelphia was one of the more memorable moments of that series. In 93 regular-season games against the Flyers, Crosby has 60 goals, 79 assists and 139 points. — Kevin Kurz

Pittsburgh Penguins

Bobby Clarke

Ask old-time Penguins fans from the ’70s, and they’ll agree. And here’s the thing: There is no team the Penguins hate more than the Flyers, and the Flyers have eliminated the Penguins from the playoffs five times over the years. Clark remains the godfather figure of the Flyers. All that Penguins fans hate in the Flyers goes back to him. Check out the final minutes of the Penguins’ first Cup win in Minnesota, and you’ll hear Mike Lange go on a rant about Clarke (who was the Minnesota GM at the time) and how he always tortured the Penguins. — Josh Yohe

San Jose Sharks

Dustin Brown

Does that knee-on-knee hit that took out Tomas Hertl still make your blood boil? It wasn’t just that 2013 hit to injure the popular rookie that made the Kings winger public enemy No. 1 to Sharks fans. Brown’s hard-hitting ways could drive them batty. A direct rivalry with a team is always helpful when you’re facing it repeatedly over seasons, and Brown certainly qualifies. Watching him score crushing goals in playoff series only added to the anger. — Eric Stephens

Seattle Kraken

Tyler Myers

The Kraken haven’t been around long enough or competitive enough to have too many significant villains in the history of the franchise. Cale Makar threw a dirty hit on Jared McCann, but Makar was suspended for one game, and the Kraken ultimately triumphed in that series. Myers, however, threw a careless hit that concussed Matty Beniers during his rookie campaign, and Kraken fans have long remembered that sequence. The veteran defender continues to get booed at Climate Pledge Arena several years later. — Thomas Drance

St. Louis Blues

Nick Kypreos

It was the 1996 playoffs, Grant Fuhr was in net for the Blues and the franchise felt like it had a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup. But after a cross-check by Blues defenseman Chris Pronger, the Maple Leafs’ Kypreos went out of his way to fall heavily on Fuhr, resulting in a knee injury that ended the goalie’s season and a one-game suspension for Kypreos. The Blues beat Toronto in six games behind goalie Jon Casey but fell to the Red Wings in double overtime of Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinals. — Jeremy Rutherford

Tampa Bay Lightning

Sam Bennett

Call it recency bias, but there’s a handful of targets to choose from on the Panthers. Just look at some of the controversies from the last few playoff matchups, and how players such as Aaron Ekblad and Niko Mikkola became villains. But Bennett is the most consistent in-your-face, toe-the-line type of opponent, and the fact that he also produces while pushing the limits makes him all the more frustrating. — Shayna Goldman

Toronto Maple Leafs

Sam Bennett

I can’t speak to over 100 years of history, so I’m going to pick a more recent villain in Bennett. Whether it was injuring Matthew Knies in the 2023 playoffs or Anthony Stolarz in the 2025 playoffs, or scoring some big goals, Bennett has done a lot to enrage the Leafs and their fans in recent years. — Jonas Siegel

Utah Mammoth

No one

A lot of Mammoth fans hate the Golden Knights after their Round 1 series this past spring, but I don’t think there was a specific, universal villain. Utah’s history is too short and doesn’t have enough controversial moments for a real villain to have emerged yet. — Harman Dayal

Vancouver Canucks

Duncan Keith

Keith, Brad Marchand and Mark Messier are all serious contenders, but the flying elbow that Keith threw at Daniel Sedin in March 2012 puts him at the top. Keith threw a heinous retaliatory elbow that concussed Sedin and from which his shooting percentage never recovered. Vancouver was upset in the first round by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Kings, with Sedin only returning late in the series. Keith was suspended for five games. It marked the symbolic end of Vancouver’s golden era. — Thomas Drance

Vegas Golden Knights

Evander Kane

The most intense rivalry for the Golden Knights in their short history was with the Sharks, especially over the first few seasons of Vegas’ existence. The teams faced each other in back-to-back postseasons in 2018 and 2019, with the rivalry peaking during a seven-game series in 2019. There were several villainous figures on that Sharks team, but Kane led the way. His battles with then-Vegas enforcer Ryan Reaves were memorable; then he joined the Golden Knights’ other division rival, the Oilers, to face them in the playoffs two more times in 2023 and 2025. — Jesse Granger

Washington Capitals

Mario Lemieux

Lemieux beat up Washington during the regular season (51 goals and 50 assists in 61 games), but the work he did on them during the playoffs makes him a no-brainer pick. Lemieux played in five postseason series with Pittsburgh against the Capitals. The Penguins won four, including a 1992 Patrick Division semifinal in which he scored 17 points and helped Pittsburgh dig out of a 3-1 hole. Years later, as the icing on the cake, Lemieux was in the opposing owners’ box for a whole new generation of Caps misery before they broke through in 2018. — Sean Gentille

Winnipeg Jets

Ryan Hartman

There are two leading candidates for the title of Jets nemesis: Corey Perry, who annoyed Jets fans with his unique, agitating way during the Ducks’ 2015 playoff sweep, and Ryan Hartman, whose intentional high stick of Cole Perfetti in December 2023 added to pre-existing animosity between the Jets and Wild. Hartman had already hurt Nikolaj Ehlers with a blindside hit in April 2023, injuring him before the start of the playoffs. With Hartman, we’re picking recency, injury and suspension over Perry’s more general antics. Finally, a dishonorable mention of Matthew Tkachuk’s slew foot that took Mark Scheifele out of the 2020 playoff qualifying round. — Murat Ates