This list is not for the faint of heart. If you don’t want to see severed fingers, bloody and busted mouths or boogers, avert your eyes. This list focuses on the grossest moments in hockey from 2014.
This is your final warning. Some of the pictures below are pretty disgusting.
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Claude Giroux uses linesman as snot rag
This is recent and very fresh in our minds. Philadelphia Flyers star Claude Giroux had a runny nose and, for whatever reason, he decided to use the linesman’s sweater as a handkerchief at the face-off dot. A couple nights later Giroux, again for no reason in particular, decided to take a bite out of Erik Gudbranson’s sweater. That incident wasn’t gross…just strange.
Sidney Crosby’s mumps face
The Pittsburgh Penguins star showed up to practice and took questions from the media at his dressing room stall like it was any other day. Except there was one big difference on this day: Crosby had a massive lump on his right cheek that no one could have missed.
At first, the team denied he had the mumps disease that has been making its way through the NHL this season, but shortly after they announced Crosby would miss two games for precautionary reasons. Eventually, they confirmed he had the mumps. No kidding. How they let him be exposed like this to the media and to his own teammates is a head-scratcher.
Torey Krug’s finger
In October in a game against the Minnesota Wild, Torey Krug suffered a broken finger. It came at a bad time for the Bruins, as they were dealing with all kinds of injuries on the blueline, including one to No. 1 blueliner Zdeno Chara. Krug missed a few weeks with the injury and shortly after it happened, this photo was shared around Twitter. According to Bruins beat writer Joe Haggerty, this was the result of Krug’s injury.
For this one, we’ll give you yet another warning. This is nasty stuff.
Adam Burish’s busted finger
Continuing with the finger trend, we turn to Adam Burish of the San Jose Sharks. In a March game near the end of the 2013-14 season, Burish blocked a shot from Edmonton’s Jeff Petry and the result wasn’t pretty. Patrick Sharp and Burish both shared some photos of the Sharks forward’s busted finger.
Martin Hanzal loses a tooth, shows ref
The Arizona Coyotes forward really thought a penalty should have been called on this play – and he’s got a point. Hanzal took a stick to the mouth with enough force that it knocked a tooth right out of his mouth. After the play, Hanzal went and found his tooth on the ice and showed it to the ref in protest.
NHL team icy “treats”
This one isn’t gross because there’s too much blood or a deformed broken bone, but just because…this idea is nasty. Teaming up with NBC, NHL teams that were knocked out of the playoffs used the very ice their teams skated on and made fruity popsicles out of them. Would you eat this treat?
Christian Ehrhoff has his ear sliced by a puck
Before Christian Ehrhoff was bought out by the Buffalo Sabres and signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins, he suffered an unfortunate and gruesome injury. In an April 7 game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Ehrhoff took a puck right to the ear and was, obviously, in considerable pain. Fortunately for this list, Ehrhoff decided to share pictures of his ear after the fact.
Ryan Getzlaf takes a puck to the face
In Anaheim’s first round playoff series against the Dallas Stars in April, Ducks captain and league MVP candidate Ryan Getzlaf took a slap shot to the face in Game 1. Not to worry. Getzlaf had a protective mask added to his helmet and was back out there for Game 2. Ryan’s brother Chris, a Canadian Football League player, tweeted out a photo of the injury.
Evander Kane’s hand
In early-January, Winnipeg Jets forward Evander Kane injured his hand in a fight with Eric Brewer, forcing him out of four games. But it didn’t end there. Kane’s injury became infected and he thought it was a good idea to share an image of his bloated hand on instagram.
Mitch Callahan’s mouth destroyed by puck
And finally, although this wasn’t an NHL injury, we couldn’t possibly have an all-gross list and not include this image from AHLer Mitch Callahan. A member of Detroit’s farm team, the Grand Rapids Griffins, Callahan took a shot directly to the face in an April game. The worst thing about it is that it came off the stick of his own teammate. The best thing about it? The Griffins actually scored on the play.
Shortly after he left the ice, Callahan shared a photo of his mouth. This may very well be the most gruesome photo of them all. #hockey
