15
Crosby: A Night With The Cup
Crosby has always lived up to his nickname of "Sid the Kid." Even though he's 30 years old now, he has spent the last couple of seasons playing some of the best hockey of his career and broke a drought that went almost 10 years between Stanley Cups. Back in 2009, Crosby won the Stanley Cup when he was still a kid.
After the win, team owner Mario Lemieux held his own pool party and obviously, many Penguins were over there. As for Crosby, he got his day with the cup and chose to spend every waking (and sleeping) second with it.
We've heard that Crosby does nothing but obsess about hockey 24/7, but this is just ridiculous! Give Stanley a rest!
14
Ovechkin: Crosby Shirt In Hand
When it comes to team rivalries, the Caps and Pens rivalry is arguably the NHL's best rivalry in the United States. Part of that has to do with the physical fights on the ice, but there has not been a whole lot of harmful chaos in today's NHL. The animosity between the two teams is larger than life, even off the ice.
Just take a closer look at this photo of Ovi holding up a steamy Crosby t-shirt with a disgusted look on his face. He clearly does not like the topless dude and it's not just because of his looks. He simply does not look impressed with the shirt being sold in a large retail store that appears to be Wal-Mart, but that is how a mainstream business works and he has each and every right to cringe at the sight of such a shirt on the men's section of the store. It is a fairly humorous photo to say the least.
13
McDavid: Airport Awkwardness
Remember when the Oilers traveled to Southern California to take on the Ducks for a Game 7 matchup in May 2017?
Players from both teams had to wait in the customs line at the Edmonton International Airport, but McDavid was not thrilled to be there. In fact, he appeared to be confused and maybe even scared.
Thanks to a tweet by Global Edmonton's Margeaux Maron, McDavid halfheartedly posed for a picture with the parents of Maron's best friend. Boy, did he look awkward in this particular fan photo as Rosalina had her arms wrapped around him like he was her son and her husband, Jimmy, forcefully held out his hand to him like he was commanding him for an order of some sort. This was hands down a photo that McDavid did not want to take, but we cannot blame the older fans as they have not seen the Oilers make the playoffs since 2006.
12
Crosby: A Little Too Happy
Crosby is not that big of a star in the American sports world like Tom Brady or Steph Curry, but without a doubt, he can party like a rockstar. He is far from a sheltered suburban boy and has a life outside of hockey, which can be a good thing, but his actions were a little too much for the average hockey fan who has seen this picture of him with a face that is red as a beet. He is also grinning excessively like a Cheshire cat.
Whatever Crosby was up to, he was having way too much fun in terms of the typical NHL portrayal of its players. But it was a perfectly normal photo because this is what regular people do when they are not working. Still, it is shocking in a funny way to see him let his hair down and break the commonplace stereotypes sometimes.
11
Ovechkin: In The Club
It is kind of hard to believe that Ovi is not a bachelor anymore—as he has been married to the stunningly beautiful Nastya Shubskaya since 2016—but we would not blame him for being a man who used to chase women in the club all the time either.
Ovi might have not been out of character if he was playing in another sports league like the NFL, but he is an NHLer and he was debatably out of line for posing with two girls even though he doesn't seem to keen on looking at the camera. But, of course, we cannot blame him for wanting to have some extra fun when he is not on the ice as the league's best goal scorer. He is a human being, just like the rest of us.
Ovi might have fallen out of favor among young hockey fans, but this remains one of his entertaining pictures that he has been a part of.
10
McDavid: Airport Awkwardness (Part Two)
Here's part two of McDavid and his apparent airport awkwardness.
According to Yahoo! Sports, McDavid told Puck Daddy's Greg Wyshynski and Vice Sports' Dave Lozo on Puck Soup: "I was walking into the security line and I had actually walked past them. And then they say ‘Hey Connor can we get a picture?’ and I say ‘sure’ and sure enough they come up to me and start hugging me...Both of them. Both of them were hugging me...And sure enough there was someone who had their phone ready to take a picture. They had already turned around and were ready for the picture and took the picture before I had even realized what was going on. The whole thing lasted seven seconds and then I was out of there.”
McDavid then said that his fellow teammates thought it was the funniest picture ever, but it was a weird-looking picture for sure. Maybe he should enforce a new no-hugging rule to avoid such awkwardness.
9
Crosby: Justin Bieber Concert
Okay, this is a pretty funny picture because Canadian pop star Justin Bieber is apparently for more than just teenage girls.
Back in 2012, Crosby was spotted at a Bieber concert at the Consol Energy Center (now PPG Paints Arena) in Pittsburgh. It should be very obvious, but he got a lot of flak for attending such a concert. Not that we blame him though. He likely wanted to show some love to a fellow Canadian from a small Canadian team.
It is just sort of funny how Crosby is not wearing a Bieber concert tee like the other three girls in the picture. Also, the girl on the far right looks like she is about 10 years old and is wearing a Los Angeles Lakers jersey and a snapback that says "Swaggy." Nick Young, also known as "Swaggy P," is no longer with the team, but this is awkward because she does not look like a basketball fan at all.
8
Ovechkin: Big Fan Of Vladimir Putin
The NHL is not a very political league. The defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins accepted an invitation to visit President Donald Trump in the White House just days after Trump called some NFL players "sons of b----" for kneeling during the national anthem and withdrew a similar invitation from the Golden State Warriors after Steph Curry reportedly said he did not want to attend. Pens fans were not crazy about their team's idea, but it is what it is.
Moreover, Ovi drew copious amounts of attention to himself for being a longtime supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Some felt he took things a bit too far when he started a political movement called PutinTeam in support of Putin. Lots of people in the states would disagree with his political beliefs, but he has political freedom.
We are just wondering why Ovi threw up a peace sign while posing for a picture with Putin.
7
McDavid: Controversial Halloween Costume
McDavid is one of the best hockey players in the world, but he drove social media crazy on Halloween 2017 when he and his girlfriend, Lauren Kyle, decided to dress up as President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania Trump.
You should already know that the average person has a love-hate relationship towards politics and clearly does not want politics to be jumbled up with one of their favorite sports, so this one photo accumulated a lot of negative comments on social media. Despite all the snarky comments, this photo was still hilarious because McDavid and Kyle are both Canadians and did a pretty good job parodying an often despised presidential couple.
When asked about the rather controversial Halloween costume, McDavid responded: "You know what? It’s a Halloween costume, and that’s all it was...It was not meant to be anything or mean anything. It was a Halloween costume. That’s all I say about it.”
6
Crosby: Crybaby Much?
If you are a Crosby hater, you should already know that Crosby is a crybaby and a whiner. There's nothing new to learn about the Pens captain.
Sure, the NHL likely wanted to ask Ovi to tone down his partying ways in his bachelor days, but we are pretty sure that they also wanted to tell Crosby to stop looking (and complaining) like a crybaby on the ice.
This old picture of Crosby crying on the ice is somewhat funny because it looks like he is sobbing and wants his mother to help him out with his alleged injuries. Years later, he has proven the fact that he has become more of a tough guy, but this picture is still on the internet for the general public to see, which is far from the super masculine image that the league wants it fans to see of its supposedly rugged players.
5
Ovechkin: Friends With Pauly D
You might not have expected this friendship, but it seems like Ovi is really close friends with reality television star and disc jockey Pauly D. Yes, Pauly D.
In case you did not know, Pauly D has appeared on MTV's Jersey Shore as a housemate. He also became the first housemate of the Jersey Shore cast to get his own spin-off show, which was appropriately called "The Pauly D Project."
Back in 2011, the unconventional pair reportedly became fast friends. Ovi got to see Pauly D perform at ShamRockfest. He also got the Jersey Shore DJ to cheer for the Caps. He tweeted: "@DJPaulyD going to the game tom...he gonna scream let's go caps!aaahhaha".
After the game, Ovi stepped out of the shower to say hello to his bro and his teammates Eric Fehr (now with the San Jose Sharks) and John Carlson also introduced themselves to Ovi's bro.
4
McDavid: Throwback Thursday
As you can see, McDavid has not had much luck when it comes to puberty compared to his youthful teammates like, say, Leon Draisaitl and Jesse Puljujarvi. Just look at this picture from his good old days with the Erie Otters of the OHL (Ontario Hockey League) and you will see why we think that way.
McDavid, however, had the skills to get drafted first overall by the Oilers in the 2015 NHL Draft. He recorded 100 points (30 goals, 70 assists) along with 26 penalty minutes in 82 games played in 2016-17. More recently, he had his first four-goal game in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning in February 2018.
According to CBC, Ryan Strome had this to say about McDavid: "He's the best player in the world for a reason...He's a helluva player, and it's a privilege to watch every day." Strome could not have phrased that perfect description of McDavid in a better way. Well said, Strome!
3
Crosby: White House Visit
Again, we have to pull up a political picture because it is quite funny how Crosby looks unusually exited to meet President Donald Trump and shake his hand at the White House. It is hard to say how the NHL felt about the Pens' visit to the White House, but the majority of hockey fans and media members thought that someone like Crosby would follow the likes of Curry and the Warriors. Turns out, they were wrong.
Crosby told The Washington Post: "“From my side of things, there’s absolutely no politics involved...Hopefully it stays that way. It’s a visit we’ve done in the past. It’s been a good experience. It’s not about politics, that’s for sure.”
Despite his unbiased, well-versed words, residents in his hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia, were not impressed by his decision. But, at the end of the day, it is a player's choice, not anyone else's.
2
Ovechkin: With A Very Famous Fan
Mia Khalifa is no longer a film star, but she is now an aspiring sports journalist who has written a weekly column on FanSided and hosted a daily show on Complex News' YouTube channel with former NBA player Gilbert Arenas.
Despite the fact Khalifa has left the industry, she has caught a lot of flak, including a degrading tweet from former ESPN reporter Britt McHenry.
Nevertheless, Khalifa is a big Washington sports fan and she is often seen at many Caps games. Hopefully Khalifa is successful in her new career. It's just an odd pairing to see someone with Khalifa's background getting her very own shirt from the Caps. It sure makes for a memorable snap though, that's for sure.
1
McDavid: Just Plain Awkward
This might have been the first picture that started it all.
Remember McDavid's extremely awkward reaction when the Oilers won the draft lottery? Oh boy, this photo of him that was captured by—you guessed it—cameras that clearly zoomed in on his face. Not only that, the Twitterverse made and posted countless memes of his reaction. It was not the best way for him to start his new life in Edmonton, but it is in his past now.
Do not forget when Edmonton Sun's Terry Jones wrote an in-depth column about this photo. Connor's father, Brian, said: "To be honest, he was a little bit in shock...He would have had the exact same expression on his face if the winner had been Buffalo, Toronto or Arizona. The reality is that his future had just been decided by bingo balls."
We are pretty sure that McDavid can look back and laugh at this picture now.