Brad Marchand named best and worst trash-talker in NHL player poll

The NHL Players’ Association players poll released on Tuesday, bringing about a wonderful realization about how the league views Brad Marchand.

Chirping in the NHL is an art form. Some players are great at it. Some are terrible at it. And some — like Brad Marchand apparently — are both?

On Tuesday, the NHL Players’ Association released their annual player’s poll, which gives NHL players across the league the freedom to answer 20 questions about a variety of hockey topics. A lot of the answers are what you’d expect from hockey players: Sidney Crosby is the best all-around player, while Wayne Gretzky is the top answer for which past player current players wish they could play with.

However, the poll’s release on Tuesday highlighted a duality that needs to be seen to be believed. According to the NHL players, Marchand is the league’s best — and worst! — trash talker.

A side note: Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty is not exempt from being dragged into this, as he was the runner up for both the league’s best and worst trash-talker. Incredible stuff.

Back to Marchand, however, this info is not surprising in the least considering what we know about the Boston Bruins forward. Marchand is one of the more divisive players in the NHL, where Bruins fans love him, but the rest of the league hates him.

Marchand is, at his core, an absolute pest of a hockey player, and while some players may love that about him, it’s clear a large contingent of players are not a fan of his style.

However, this isn’t the first year Marchand was awarded this double-whammy, as the forward was also named the NHL’s best and worst trash talker for the 2018-19 season. The duality of man, folks.

And may I just say, it is also a crime that Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny was not in the top four best trash-talkers in the NHL, according to players. The kid has some absolutely legendary zingers.

Also of note in the NHLPA players poll, Gritty is by far and away the NHL’s best mascot, the Vegas Golden Knights surprisingly have the second-best jersey behind the Chicago Blackhawks and NHL players overwhelmingly would like a more relaxed dress code like the NBA has.

The NHLPA poll has given us some gems in terms of how the players view the league as a whole, and it’s very likely Marchand will remain a polarizing player until his time in the league has come to an end.

Follow FanSided NHL for more news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage about hockey in all forms throughout the entire 2019-20 NHL season and beyond.