Here's my list of the NHL's all-time biggest pests

	Esa Tikkanen (left) demonstrates one of the ways he got under the skin of an opponent. Craig Melvin/Getty Images
	RELATED • Photo gallery of the top 10 agitators

With the NHL's new rule book promoting more end-to-end action, there has been less fighting and fewer opportunities with which to get an opponent off his game. That's not to say the role of the pest has gone the way of Garth Snow's shoulder pads. Rather, today's agitator must keep up with the play -- and his running mouth -- lest he find himself commuting between minor league outposts.

While our list of top 10 agitators ranges from a Hall of Famer to an active player with less than 250 career NHL games, no doubt most candidates are far more familiar with the penalty box than adoring fan mail. In other words, regardless of when they played, these are the types of players opponents loathe and teammates love.

1. Claude Lemieux

Career: 1983-2003 (Montreal, New Jersey, Colorado, Phoenix, Dallas)

Often referred to as the game's ultimate pest, the incessant needler and rugged forward made blood boil -- and often overflow. The pummeling Lemieux took at the hands of Darren McCarty in the 1996 playoffs (retribution for Lemieux's vicious hit on Kris Draper) was punishment many felt was long overdue.

2. Esa Tikkanen

Career: 1984-99 (Edmonton, NY Rangers, St. Louis, New Jersey, Vancouver, Florida, Washington)

As if Wayne Gretzky & Co. needed any help in Edmonton, Tikkanen often engaged the opposition to the point of opening up the ice for the likes of the Great One and Jari Kurri. It did not take long for the hard-driving Finn to become a fan favorite -- and Enemy No. 1 of those in the other sweater.

3. Ken Linseman

Career: 1978-92 (Philadelphia, Edmonton, Boston, Toronto)

The "Rat" made sure to get in the first and last shots while distracting his opponent up and down the ice. Linseman's antics often resulted in only the retaliatory infraction being called, further incensing his targets -- who often spent the rest of the game preoccupied with trying to get even.