Mark Borowiecki

Hockey players explain nitty-gritty of trash talk

Published Aug. 27, 2015 12:36 p.m. ET

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There has been some controversy in the sporting world of late as far as trash talk is concerned following an incident with tennis player Nick Kyrgios, who, in the middle of a match, told opponent Stan Wawrinka in lewd terms that Wawrinka's girlfriend was cheating on him.

Hockey players are known for their trash talk during games, something they call "chirping", but NHLers Erik Gudbranson and Mark Borowiecki said players do set limits for what they will say during games.

"You never bring someone’s family into play, first and foremost," Gudbranson said to the Ottawa Citizen recently. "Well, that and race. You never bring race into it, either."

For Borowiecki, what players are willing to say on the ice is more about their own morals than a reflection on hockey as a whole.

"To me, that’s not about the game or the sport, it’s a reflection of the person, that you are willing to go that far to say something as disrespectful as that," Borowiecki said to the Ottawa Citizen. "It’s not a reflection on you as an athlete, it’s a reflection on you as a person."

Both Borowiecki and Gudbranson agreed that, for the most part, trash talk in the NHL stays pretty appropriate, but there are players who have crossed the line in the past. In 2008, Sean Avery of the Dallas Stars used a derogatory term against women when he took a shot at Toronto Maple Leaf Dion Phaneuf and Avery's former girlfriend, Elisha Cuthbert, who was dating Phaneuf at the time.

"I just want to comment on how it's become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my (former girlfriends)," Avery said after ensuring cameras caught his every word. "I don't know what that's about, but enjoy the game tonight."

Phaneuf and Cuthbert later married, and Avery was slapped with a six-game suspension for his comments.

(h/t Ottawa Citizen)

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