Stars' Jamie Benn, Mikko Rantanen Place Top Ten in Most Disliked NHL Players in New Survey

On Wednesday, the popular social media page PuckEmpire, which has over 25,000 followers on X and an even bigger 214,000 on Instagram, released the results of a community poll asking followers to name their least favourite NHL players.

PuckEmpire reported that just short of 1,200 people responded, and the results were what might be expected in some areas and quite surprising in others.

The top vote-getters were the Tkachuk brothers, with Brady finishing first and Matthew second, receiving 21 percent and 6.53 percent of the votes, respectively.

Even more surprising was which team tied the Florida Panthers for the most players in the top ten was the Dallas Stars. While the Tkachuks represented Florida, the Stars landed a duo of their own in captain Jamie Benn and superstar winger Mikko Rantanen, who placed eighth and tenth overall. Benn finished with a reported 30 votes, or 2.51 percent, while Rantanen received 23 votes, just short of two percent.

The results are surprising but Benn is in his 18th NHL season, and his physical play over the years has likely drawn the attention of many around the league. 

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His hit on Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson and his hits on Vegas Golden Knights players Mark Stone and Brayden McNabb have likely earned him few haters in those markets and others, despite Benn being a staple of the Dallas community throughout his time with the franchise.

Rantanen, on the other hand, likely gets a bad rap from his share of physical plays, including hits on Calgary Flames forward Matt Coronato and New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov.

Both Stars forwards have earned suspensions for their actions on the ice and have likely drawn the stink eye from the hockey community. However, Stars fans love their guys, because they wear their hearts on their sleeves and play hard in the hope of bringing the Stanley Cup back to Texas.

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