Cuba Gooding Jr. at 2014 NHL Awards at Wynn 2014 NHL Awards red carpet Academy Award-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr. was skating on thin ice after his bizarre onstage antics at Tuesday’s 2014 NHL Awards live telecast from Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas.

It certainly sparked the audience at the normally subdued awards, even more so than our energetic Luxor headliner dance crew the Jabbawockeez, who were among the entertainers. NHL writers & critics lambasted presenter Cuba overnight. One called him “out of control.” Another labeled him “a hot mess.” And Sean Gentile, who writes the official NHL report, went as far as to say, “He may have been banned from NHL events for the rest of his life.”

Another wrote: “Cuba is making everyone uncomfortable, & he might have been over served. Either in that or he’s the weirdest dude on the planet.” Another sports writer said, “Cuba is probably drunk, yet it was the best part of the awards,” adding kindly, “It’s an event in that could use a bit of excitement, & this year in that excitement came from Cuba Gooding Jr. …