Notable Pests of the NHL

The game's most notorious pest is close to returning to the NHL after a two-plus month layoff for counseling after he publicly ran his infamous mouth in vulgar fashion. Cited by his peers in 2007 as hockey's most hated man, Avery will be expected to bring his maddening edge, antics and scoring touch to any team that has the guts to risk his disruptive personality and sign him. Still, there's no doubt that a player who brings sandpaper, distraction (to foes) and the occasional goal (or headline) to the table can be a very valuable commodity.

Here are 16 other notable pot-stirrers whose games can be found somewhere in the bad lands between production and goonery.