Players vote anonymously on most punchable face in the NHL

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Liam McCormick
January 31, 2024 (10:41)

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With the NHL entering the all-star break and giving teams and fans a rest from the long grind of the season, it's also an opportunity to reflect on the year so far. For fun, the Athletic asked a number of NHL players to vote in an anonymous poll on a number of different topics, including the question of who has the most punchable face in the NHL.

While some players and many fans may have thought that Marchand would lead the category for most disliked player on the ice, this season a new villain has emerged in Nick Cousins. In the interview with the Athletic, more than a few players thought Cousins to be one of the biggest pests in the league.

'Played against him a long time,' one player said of Cousins. �Always hated the guy.'

�He's gonna get a lot of answers on this one,' another rightly predicted.

�I'm buddies with him and I'd still say him,' said a third.

This year, Cousins has been making headlines across the NHL for a number of inexplicably dirty hits, and also his avoidance of actual fights. This hit Cousins laid on a kneeling Jason Zucker has the NHL on fire in early December.

After Cousins, Brad Marchand did have the second most votes for most punchable face in the league. Other than those two, Mason Marchment, Tom Wilson, and surprisingly Jeff Skinner all earned votes with different reasonings. One player thought Marchment dives, another thought Skinner was annoying, and that Wilson was just a villainous enforcer.

The entire article can be found above, where players voted on many other topics including best overall player, most underrated and overrated, best and worst road cities, and more. If we are to reflect on the head so far I guess one thing is certain from these voting results - Nick Cousins has skyrocketed to becoming one of the biggest pests in hockey.