Former NHLer Johnny Oduya on his least favourite teammate and why

Despite being selected in the seventh round of the NHL draft in 2001, defenceman Johnny Oduya carved out a very nice career for himself in the NHL. The Swedish blueliner played 850 regular season games in the league, netting 149 goals and 372 points, and getting his name on the Stanley Cup twice along the way. He was also noted for being a great teammate.

Now that he's retired, Oduya has become a bit more open with his thoughts and opinions on hockey, and that includes on former teammates. During an interview in his home country, Oduya was asked point-blank who his least favourite teammate was throughout the years. His honest answer: Evander Kane. Oduya stated it wasn't necessarily that he had run ins with Kane, but that he seemed to drain the energy from the locker room.

"He's got a bad attitude, I'd say," explained Oduya. "I don't have a problem with people who have a big ego, but there's a difference between an ego where you want to do something, to win, to be the center of attention and all those things – but you're still a good teammate. That's important."

"You need your team. And with that there was always some kind of... I don't know, it was really weird. A strange feeling," continued Oduya. "I'm not saying he's a bad person, because I don't know him that well, but there was always some kind of resistance there. The team spirit wasn't good."

Oduya and Kane played together for two seasons with the Atlanta Thrashers, the team that selected Kane fourth overall in 2009. They played one more season together when the team moved to Winnipeg, before Oduya was traded to Chicago where he won Stanley Cups in 2013 and 2015.

For anyone who has followed Kane's career, this is likely not a surprise. Kane has often been noted as being an issue in the dressing room and with former teammates. In fact, there's speculation that his teammates in San Jose are not interested in having him return once he's finished serving his current suspension for submitting a fake vaccination card to the NHL.

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