TORONTO, ONT ā Nazem Kadri has been involved in more than a few verbal sparring matches and the Calgary forward certainly knows how to dish it out during any on-ice war of words.
āIāve had my fair share,ā he told the Canadian Press. āYou just gotta be on your toes. You just gotta be clever. Sometimes someone will say something and youāll be like, āOh, that was pretty good.ā It definitely makes things interesting.ā
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But what makes a good trash-talker? Is it doing a deep dive into an opponentās past in search of that stinging nugget of information? Or a heat-of-the-moment zinger?
āGuys who are just quick and witty,ā Carolina forward Seth Jarvis said. āI trip over my words and nothing good comes out. Itās fun listening to guys that are almost like a smartass ā¦ stuff that comes out naturally.ā
Winnipeg defenseman Josh Morrissey said opponents with knowledge of a playersā career or an embarrassing moment are the ones that sting.
āThey have got a book,ā he said. āTheyāre ready to go.ā
He added the confidence and skill to try to get someone off their game by talking trashisnāt in everyoneās arsenal.
āThe best guys are willing to back it up,ā he said. āIām definitely not a chirper, but the guys that do ā¦ thereās some pretty charismatic guys in our league.ā
Montreal winger Cole Caufield said itās āscaryā how some players will go down an internet rabbit hole to gather dirt. New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes said the hockey world is a small one, which adds to potential material.
āEveryone knows everyone,ā he explained. āSometimes it crosses the line, sometimes not. You gotta be quick. You gotta be snappy.ā
āIām not a big researcher,ā Toronto tough guy Ryan Reaves said. āLike it off the cuff.ā
NHL players also know they have to be careful in an era where microphones are positioned around the rink ā and even on players themselves. High-definition television cameras also mean fans can become amateur lip readers.
There was an example last season when Anaheim forward Trevor Zegras and then-Arizona defenseman Troy Stecher got into a war of words that morphed into rumors on social media.
āThings can always be misconstrued ā¦ it wasnāt accurate,ā Ducks winger Troy Terry said. āIt was a lesson where if youāre in the spotlight, those things can happen.ā
Morrissey said that rule also applies out of the spotlight.
āAt the rink or away from the rink, thereās always someone with a phone,ā he said. āAnd sometimes disingenuously trying to put you in a tough position.ā
Vegas center Jack Eichel said that comes with the territory in a wider world thatās undergone significant social change in the last few years.
āYou gotta be careful what you say not only on the ice, but anywhere,ā he said. āA lot of guys are micād up and thatās a great thing that our game does.ā
Boston captain Brad Marchandās name came up repeatedly as one of the best trash-talkers. Terry said he had a memorable experience as a rookie in 2018-19 with Anaheim.
āHe was all over me,ā Terry recalled of Marchand. āHe was like, āSeriously, youāre the call-up?ā He said that multiple times ā¦ he knew it was my first game back.ā
Florida winger Matthew Tkachuk said an accurate barb can sting: āThe worst is when you get chirped when youāre actually playing (crappy),. It just adds fuel to the fire. Thatās when a chirp works.ā
Kadri said watching two players go toe-to-toe with colorful dialogue never loses its appeal.
āItās fun to be on the bench when someoneās getting into it,ā Kadri said. āItās the wittiness and itās the material. You gotta do your homework, you gotta know everything about who youāre going after. Within reason, of course.ā
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl