It’s an acquired skill in the NHL to be a thorn in your opponent’s side as a player who can score and be incredibly annoying.
Throughout NHL history, the game has been filled with rats and pests, those hated by the opponents and their fans but loved by their teammates and their fans.
But it’s not such a bad thing to be considered a rat or pest in today’s game, as former NHLer Drew Shore described it on The Hockey News Big Show.
“I think there’s not many of them in the NHL that are skilled and can play that hard in that kind of fashion,” said Shore. “The Sam Bennetts, the Marchands, the Tom Wilsons of the world, and I think that’s why those guys are so impactful, because there are very few of them.”
Brad Marchand, Matthew Tkachuk and Bennett, funnily enough, are all Florida Panthers and have been called rats throughout their careers.
They are responsible for starting scuffles and injuring players, resulting in a combined 14 suspensions. Marchand has been suspended eight times in his career, Tkachuk four times and Bennett twice. Dating back further, players like Sean Avery, Claude Lemieux, and Matt Cooke have had their fair share of controversy.
A pest or rat – someone like Brandon Hagel, Nazem Kadri, Wilson, Travis Konecny, Brendan Gallagher and Corey Perry – might not fight as often as an enforcer but plays physically and uses chirps and extracurricular activity to knock their opponents off their game, even if they do cross the line at times.
The NHL has seen not only players who mastered the role of being a pest, but it has also seen players show no mercy or fear in taking it to the next level, becoming what some refer to as more of a rat. History shows that both definitions can lead to personal and team success. With the current dominance of the Panthers, it wouldn’t be shocking to see more players embrace that element of their game.
Times have changed, though.
Previously, being considered a pest or rat was a negative connotation, even if it was a valued role. They played on the fourth line and weren’t considered skill guys.
The need for enforcers or goons has dwindled, but the rise of the pest has changed the game.
“I feel like it’s shifted a lot since I was playing,” said Shore, who played 98 games in the NHL from 2013 to 2021. “I felt like when I was playing, that was kind of thought of like a fourth line guy who would run around, hit people from behind and wouldn’t really fight. Now it’s kind of evolved into this thing where these elite players who also play hard and are able to get under people’s skins are so impactful on the game.”
It’s hard to win in the NHL. Finding any advantage is needed, which is why pests will always serve a role.
We’ve seen Marchand win the 2016 World Cup and 2025 4 Nations Face-Off playing on Sidney Crosby’s wing and Wilson win a Stanley Cup playing in a top-six role with Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. We’ve also seen Tkachuk change the trajectory of an organization and Bennett win a Conn Smythe trophy playing with the Panthers.
No sport in the world may be more reliant on the team aspect of the game, with each player filling a role. The best teams and players fight for both the physical and mental edge.
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