NHL

Jeremy Roenick says he's sick and tired of Brad Marchand's face-licking antics on the ice ... and says the guy needs to save his tongue for the bedroom.

Marchand went on a mouthy tear during the NHL playoffs -- licking opponents faces at close range to try and piss them off. Shocker, it worked.

"It was disgusting," Roenick tells TMZ Sports.

"I love Brad Marchand. Love the way he plays, but he's a superstar. Superstars don't need to lick other people's faces."

Roenick says he's no stranger to the oral attack on the ice -- noting that Matthew Barnaby once kissed him during a game to try and get in his head.

Turns out, they actually became close friends afterward!

Waffle House hero James Shaw Jr. -- the man who wrestled an AR-15 out of the hands of a shooter -- got one helluva hero's welcome at the Nashville Predators game Sunday ... and it was awesome!

The NHL team invited Shaw and his family as VIP guests to the playoff game vs. the Winnipeg Jets to thank him for the bravery he showed during the April 22 attack at a Nashville-area Waffle House.

Before the game, Shaw (wearing a shirt that said, "Spread Love") met with Preds coach, Peter Laviolette -- who presented Shaw with his own personalized jersey.

During the game, Shaw was featured on the big stadium screen at Bridgestone Arena and the crowd went WILD!!

As for the game, it was a fight -- but the Predators managed to pull off a 5-4 victory in double overtime.

By the way, Shaw's injuries seem to be doing a lot better. He's no longer wearing the wraps around his hands -- which he had burned by grabbing the piping hot barrel of the gun, after it had fired several rounds, and ripping it away from the shooter.

Ever drink Bud Light out of a dead catfish?

Well, one of the linemen from the Tennesse Titans did Sunday night ... and it was all to help the Nashville Predators win their playoff game.

Taylor Lewan and a bunch of his fellow linemen (along with QB Marcus Mariota) -- were sitting in a VIP section at the game when Taylor busted out the fish and chugged away.

Lewan's teammate, Quinton Spain, ripped off his shirt for moral support.

Of course, catfish is a "thing" with Preds fans -- they always chuck one onto the ice before or during a game. Lewan decided to up the ante.

The plan worked ... the Preds won the game 5-4 over the Winnipeg Jets.

He's dominated the NHL for more than a decade, but Sidney Crosby says he'll never surpass Mario Lemieux as the greatest Penguins player of all time!

Crosby is definitely in the conversation ... after racking up 411 goals (3rd all time in Penguins history) and 705 assists (2nd all time in Penguins history) ... and he's still got at least 5 solid years left!

So, when we saw Crosby out in Washington after beating the Caps, we had to ask where he thinks he fits in the G.O.A.T. conversation.

One more topic ... greatest Penguins duo of all time -- Crosby and Evgeni Malkin or Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr?

"Gotta go with Lemieux and Jagr," Crosby said ... "[they] got more points than us by a landslide!"

Crosby's right ... he and Malkin only have 2,046 total points while Jagr and Lemieux have 3,604!

We pointed out that Crosby and Malkin have 3 Stanley Cups -- one more than Mario and Jaromir -- but Sidney said he doesn't really use Cups to measure all time greatness.

Wayne Gretzky REALLY IS the great one ... he just bought back the famous SoCal mansion he once sold to Lenny Dykstra for MILLIONS less than he sold it for!!!!

Gretzky had sold the palatial 6.5-acre estate in Thousand Oaks, CA to Dykstra for $18.5 million back in 2007 -- back when Lenny was still being hailed as a financial guru.

Dykstra was later exposed as a fraud and his kingdom fell apart -- and the bank eventually foreclosed on the property. Dykstra famously trashed the home he left for good.

The home recently went up for sale ... and Gretzky swooped in and picked it up for $13.5 MILLION, according to the L.A. Times.

AMAZING, RIGHT!?

In case you're wondering, the place is BALLER AS HELL ... 12,000 square feet of living space, 6 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, a gym, movie theater, tennis court and TWO guest homes.

PROBLEM: NHL player REALLY wants to give a puck to an adorable little girl fan, but two little boys kept stealing the puck away.

SOLUTION: Well, you're just gonna have to watch ... it's the most adorable thing you're gonna see ALL DAY!

It all went down during warm-ups at Sunday's Washington Capitals vs. Columbus Blue Jackets playoff game in D.C. where right wing Brett Connolly wanted to hook the little one up with a souvenir.

Problem was, there were a couple bigger kids flankin' her ... and they crushed her dreams TWICE when Brett flipped a puck over the glass.

It was basically the saddest thing ever ... until the girl finally got puck #3 and lit up like the Nintendo 64 kid on Christmas (OK, maybe not that intense).

Washington Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly is glad the fans who heckled him for being a black hockey player were dealt with ... but he says it ain't enough.

"I don't really have all the answers, but something needs to change," Devante told TMZ Sports.

DSP was in the penalty box during a game at the United Center on Saturday ... when a group of nearby fans starting chanting "basketball" at him.

No surprise -- he was triggered.

Those 4 fans were booted from the arena -- and later hit with a lifetime ban -- but Devante told us addressing this one incident doesn't solve the larger problem.

"It shouldn't happen anywhere -- hockey, baseball, basketball -- it shouldn't happen in the world."

FYI, there have been several instances of black athletes dealing with racist fans in recent years.

NHL superstar Connor McDavid is FINALLY legally allowed to drink in America ... and he celebrated by blowing it out at a Vegas nightclub -- with the guys from The Chainsmokers.

The Edmonton Oilers captain hit up XS Nightclub in the Encore hours after beating the Vegas Golden Knights in an overtime thriller ... and got the V.I.P. treatment with a massive welcoming party.

The better news for McDavid ... the Oilers don't play again until Saturday -- so he's got an entire week to celebrate (and recover) before going back to work.

Super realtor Kurt Rappaport is selling the most expensive house ever in L.A. ... and it's his!

Real estate sources tell us ... Rappaport is in escrow to sell his incredible 20,000 sq. ft, six-acre Malibu estate for $120 million. We're told it's broken down so that $85 mil is for the home, and $35 mil for the contents of the house. That would make it the most expensive home sold in Malibu or L.A. ... ever.

We've learned the buyer is Daryl Katz -- the billionaire owner of the Edmonton Oilers hockey team. We're told Katz has been leasing the house for an astounding $750k/MONTH.

One of the most amazing features of the house is the 168 foot swimming pool ... the longest one in California. The house was also featured in Tom Ford's movie "Nocturnal Animals." The house and lush gardens were designed by Scott Mitchell.

Ex-NHL bad boy Sean Avery and Martin Brodeur absolutely hated each other on the ice ... but now that they're both retired, is it time to bury the hatchet over some coffee??

FYI -- the beef goes all the way back to the '08 Stanley Cup playoffs when Avery stood right in front of Brodeur to distract him from blocking the net ... and there's been bad blood ever since.

So we asked the controversial hockey star if he'd ever be willing to grab a cup of joe with Brodeur ... and it's clear he's not about it.

Following in the great tradition of Harry Caray, ex-NHL star Mike Comrie got a little boozy for the Cubs playoff game on Wednesday ... maybe a little too boozy.

Comrie's a big Cubbies fan -- his father is a part-owner of the team -- and with Chicago finally taking it to the Dodgers at Wrigley Field in Game 4 of the NLCS, Comrie celebrated a little extra hard in the stands.

You can see in the footage ... Comrie needed a 7th inning stretch before the 7th inning!

We reached out to Comrie for comment -- and he gave us one of the best statements ever.

Sean Avery got a sweet deal in his drug possession and criminal mischief case ... and if he keeps his nose clean ... it'll be off his record.

Back in September '15, Avery -- who played 10 seasons in the NHL -- was arrested in Southampton Village, NY after allegedly throwing rocks at speeding cars. Cops said they also found prescription pain medication on him.

The ex-NHL star was arrested and charged with criminal mischief and 2 counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance -- all misdemeanors.

Avery -- who was facing jail time -- caught a break ... accepting a deal that will see the charges dismissed if he can go 45 days without getting in trouble, according to Southhampton PD.

The Pittsburgh Penguins stopped by the White House to celebrate their latest Stanley Cup title Tuesday ... and President Trump took a jab at the Golden State Warriors right off the bat.

"By the way, everybody wanted to be here today," Trump said ... clearly referring to his beef with Steph Curry and uninviting the Dubs to the Oval Office.

Ex-NHL player Ray Emery was arrested last month for allegedly getting violent and threatening his then-fiancee Keshia Chante during a 2016 incident ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Emery was arrested Sept. 18 in Hamilton, Ontario, a rep for the John Sopinka Courthouse confirmed to us.

We're told Chante -- a singer and former host of BET's "106 & Park" -- had initially gone to authorities seeking a restraining order against Emery, claiming he had abused her several times from July '16 to Sept. '16.

Sources say Chante presented what she believed to be "hard proof" -- and cops determined there was enough evidence to warrant an arrest for assault.

Ultimately, Emery was taken into custody on Sept. 18 for assault with a weapon and uttering a threat. He was released on bail. He's due back in court later this month.

Emery played in the NHL for 11 years and won a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013. We're told he and Chante dated for 7 years. They were engaged until this summer when Chante publicly announced the wedding was off.

We've made several attempts to reach Emery for comment but they were unsuccessful.

Three major Tampa sports teams are pitching in to remove a Confederate monument from the city's courthouse in the wake of the backlash against similar statues in Virginia.

The statue in the middle of the controversy is the infamous Memoria en Aeterna -- a 106-year-old monument honoring the Confederate soldiers who fought in the Civil War.

Officials recently voted to remove the statue -- but only if removal costs were raised from private donors. The cost was estimated at roughly $150,000.

Enter the NFL's Tampa Bay Bucs, the MLB's Rays and the NHL's Lightning ... which just stepped up.

"Recognizing that this monument does not reflect the values of our community, in collaboration with the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, our organizations have dedicated funds to assist in moving the statue from the public space in front of the courthouse."

"Now more than ever before, we must stand united and committed to diversity and inclusion as we all attempt to heal from the tragedy in Charlottesville."

No word on when the statue will come down.

What's better than making a caddy follow you around the golf course with hot dogs?

How about making the Stanley Cup do it.

Pittsburgh Penguins star Phil Kessel spent his day on the links with the Holy Grail Monday ... fillin' it to the brim with tube steaks!!

In case you're wondering about Kessel's fascination with hot dogs ... there was a rumor he used to eat a wiener a day in Toronto before he was traded from the Maple Leafs.