Brad Marchand's reputation as an elite NHL agitator clearly precedes him.
Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty ripped into Matthew Tkachuk on Monday, insisting he has "no respect" for the Calgary Flames winger after the two continued their on-ice feud during Monday night's game.
What does this have to do with Marchand? In Doughty's mind, Tkachuk is one of those universally-hated players whose goal is to get under opponents' skin -- just like a certain Boston Bruins forward.
"Marchand will cross the line too -- he bites people and kisses people," Doughty told SportsNet's Eric Francis when asked about a potential comparison between Tkachuk and Marchand.
Doughty isn't wrong; Marchand does have a history of using his mouth in, err, creative ways on the ice.
But while Doughty appears to have a real hatred for the 21-year-old Tkachuk, he at least has a begrudging respect for Marchand, who's in his 10th NHL season.
"I guess he’s similar in that sense, but Marshie doesn’t chirp me because I’ve known him for a long time," Doughty added. "So he doesn’t really say much to me."
Boston Bruins
That last part actually is a bit surprising: Marchand recently was voted the NHL's best and worst trash-talker, so you'd think he'd spare no one with his verbal jabs.
Doughty ranked second on that "best trash talker" list, though, so maybe the two agreed to a truce.
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