The heroes are great, but the villains of the Stanley Cup final are must-see

Globe and Mail

3 days ago

The Stanley Cup finals are upon us and much attention will be paid to Edmonton's high-end heroes in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and Florida's Aleksander Barkov.
A bigger battle, and likely much more entertaining one, will be waged between the clubs' villains. The pack of rats on the Panthers' side includes Brad Marchand, Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett. The Oilers will line up with one pest in Evander Kane and one worm in Corey Perry.
During the course of their careers they have collectively dropped their gloves hundreds of times in NHL games.
Perry didn't have to think long on Tuesday when he was asked during the Stanley Cup media day about who first called him the 'Worm.'
'I remember the exact moment,' Perry said. 'I was playing for Anaheim early on and Todd Bertuzzi called me that and it stuck ever since.
'It's pretty fitting, I guess.'
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All five of these hockey miscreants earn their keep around their opponents' net. They may have chiseled their elbows at some point and practised the fine art of slashing for hundreds of hours.
Watch Marchand, the king of the irritants. He almost could be whistled for a penalty on every shift.
'I've played with Brad in a couple of tournaments and he's a tremendous guy,' Perry, who at 40 has become one of Edmonton's weapons, said. 'But when the puck drops, the switch flips.
'It's just the way we are and wouldn't be as successful if we played any other way than that.'
Marchand, who was dealt to Florida at the trade deadline after many years in Boston, is the original 'rat.' He has been called it for so long that he can't remember when it started.
'It must have been in my first couple of years,' he said. He is 37 and this is his 16th season in the NHL. His nose is a bit crooked, like a prize fighter. 'I didn't think it would stick.
'I look at it as a compliment.'
Here is a crazy coincidence. Marchand's father Kevin, and Kane's father Perry, were teammates in 1981 on the Dartmouth Arrows in Nova Scotia's Metro Valley Hockey League.
'My dad talked about it,' Marchand said. 'His dad was tough like Evander is.'
Of course, Kevin Marchand was a bit of an agitator, too. Like father like son.
'I play like I do for a reason,' Marchand said.
Kane, 33, was named after the famous boxer Evander Holyfield. The Edmonton left wing, who is tied for the team lead with seven goals during the playoffs, has thrown his share of uppercuts on the ice. Per hockeyfights.com, he has had 37 fights dating back to 2007 when he made his debut with the Atlanta Thrashers.
'I've played the same style of hockey since I was about nine or 10 years old,' Kane said. 'When you get to the contact part it's important that you are not afraid.
'Wanting to be a hard worker and a hard player was engrained on me at a young age.'
Bennett, 28, has built a reputation as one of the most rugged players in the league. Two years ago he accumulated 100 minutes in penalties and this year 90.
'We play a physical game and I am sure the Oilers will, too,' Bennett said. 'I don't think there are going to be any surprises.'
Bennett, who injured Toronto's Matthew Knies during the playoffs two years ago and Anthony Stolarz this year, smiled when asked who the Panthers' biggest rat is.
'If I say it's Marchand, Matthew Tkachuk will get mad at me,' he said. 'And if I say it's Matthew then Brad will be mad. So I will just call them 1A and 1B.'
And where does he see himself in the Bad Boys Club?
'Oh, I am 1C,' Bennett said.