Who has the best active nickname in the NHL?
They don’t make hockey nicknames like they used to. In previous generations, it felt like everybody had a great one: The Rocket, Mr. Hockey, The Flower, the Rat, the Great One, the Finnish Flash and so on.
Nowadays, nicknames typically consist of lazily adding ‘er’ or ‘y’ to someone’s name. Tanger, Matty, Kaner. Woof. That said – there are some great exceptions out there.
So, Roundtable: Among active NHL players, who has the best nickname?
MATT LARKIN: For me, it isn’t close. It’s Arber Xhekaj, a.k.a. ‘WiFi.’ While it references modern technology, with the spelling of his name looking like a password, it’s also a total throwback in that it’s not too on the nose, it’s funny and it softens the image of one of the sport’s baddest enforcers. No notes, 10 out of 10 moniker in any era.
STEVEN ELLIS: It’s definitely WiFi, but stealing that is no fun. So I’m going to go with Christian ‘Stinky’ Fischer on the Detroit Red Wings. It started as an inside joke within the Arizona Coyotes dressing room, and it’s something that became common knowledge around the league. Why’s he called that? Nobody seems to know. But, hey, it’s funny, at least – although, probably not to him.
PAUL “DUTESY” PIDUTTI: As much as I love a strong, quirky nickname on a depth player, it’s the superstar handles that hit hardest. While it might be blasphemy to some fans, Connor ‘McJesus’ McDavid is so over the top it’s always been a terrific nickname for the game’s most evolved talent. An honorable mention to perhaps the coolest and most fitting nickname on record: the late “Johnny Hockey” Gaudreau. A perfect name for a beloved player that was born to play in the NHL.
SCOTT MAXWELL: So the nickname I’m going with is not one actively used by the player, but it belongs to an active player in the league: ‘Soup’ or ‘Souperman.‘ No, not the one assigned to every single player with the last name Campbell, the one given to Ilya Mikheyev during his 2019-20 rookie season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Why? Because he said he liked soup, and the fans rolled with it, especially since he played so well that year with 23 points in 39 games. It went so far that the man got a sponsorship with Campbell Soup as they named him their ‘Chief Soup Operator.’ It was honestly just nice to see a nickname that was normally one of the most boring in hockey used a bit more creatively. Unfortunately, the nickname only lasted a few months and was tragically retired in February when Jack Campbell was traded to the Leafs, and obviously the team decided that Jack had automatic rights to the nickname. Boooooooring (although the “Soup” chants from Maple Leafs fans when he made saves was pretty cool). That said, according to Hockey Reference, Mikheyev has another nickname of ‘Cobra,’ so at least people keep coming up with creative options for him.
Also, I wanted to give a quick shoutout to another retired nickname that was one of the best given to a hockey line. The ‘Energy’ Line may sound boring at first, but when you remember that Energy = mc² (Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas & Cal Clutterbuck), it’s a lot more creative. However, hockey is boring, so then-New York Islanders coach Barry Trotz started calling them The Identity Line and for some reason that one stuck.
ANTHONY DI MARCO: Not a super original answer, but The Great 8 for Ovi is my choice. Short, simple and to the point. Given the chase Ovi is on to shatter a longtime NHL record, it’s all the more relevant – though one may say it’s recency bias. The nickname has been in circulation for nearly two decades, but it still packs the same punch as it did in the mid 2000s. The main reason for this is Ovi’s resurgence.
FRANK SERAVALLI: Man, hockey has the best nicknames ever. Rocket Richard. The Chicoutimi Cucumber. The Pocket Rocket. Roadrunner. Big Bird. And those were all from one team. We just don’t do nicknames like that anymore, and it’s disappointing. I yearn for the days of The Dominator and Dave “The Hammer” Schultz and even King Henrik. I suppose that I’ll have to settle for “Bread” or “Bread Man,” Artemi Panarin – which is still quite good. Runner-up would be Andrei “Big Cat” Vasilevskiy. Nonetheless, the greatest current NHL nickname belongs to a front office member: Florida Panthers assistant GM Brett “Chubbs” Peterson, in homage to the Chubbs Peterson character in Happy Gilmore. You’re welcome.
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