Players You Didn’t Know Were N.H.L. Legends

Players You Didn’t Know Were N.H.L. Legends

Wayne Gretzky. Bobby Orr. Mario Lemieux. You know the names. Their legends are carved into the Stanley Cup, their jerseys are sacred relics, and their highlights are the stuff of hockey myth. They’re the icons, the guys who didn’t just play the game—they changed it. But what about the other giants? The Hall of Famers with ridiculous stats who, somehow, got lost in the shuffle? What about the legends who were just as dominant but have been unfairly overshadowed by history?

Today, we’re shining a light on the NHL’s forgotten titans—the players whose stories demand to be told. You think you know hockey? Stick around. You’re about to meet some legends you didn’t know you knew.

Number 7 – Marcel Dionne

Let’s just get this out of the way: Marcel Dionne’s numbers are absurd. As of 2025, he’s sixth all-time in league history with 1,771 points and sixth all-time in goals with 731. The list of players who’ve scored more points is tiny: Gretzky, Jagr, Messier, Howe, and Ron Francis. Dionne racked up six seasons with 50-plus goals and eight seasons with over 100 points. He even snagged the Art Ross Trophy in 1980, tying a kid named Wayne Gretzky with 137 points, but winning the award because he scored more goals.

So, with a resume like that, why is he forgotten? It’s a classic case of bad timing and bad luck. Dionne was the star of the Los Angeles Kings‘ “Triple Crown Line,” but he spent his prime in a city that wasn’t a hockey town yet—that wouldn’t happen until Gretzky arrived.

Worse still, despite his brilliance, his teams never made any real noise in the playoffs. He never even got close to a Stanley Cup Final. Playing in the long shadows of the 1970s Canadiens and the 1980s Oilers, one of the most gifted scorers ever was unfairly pushed to the background.

Number 6 – Pierre Turgeon

At number six is a player whose quiet brand of greatness was finally, and rightfully, rewarded after a very, very long wait. For years, Turgeon was the answer to a frustrating trivia question: Who is the only retired player with over 500 goals and 1,300 points that isn’t in the Hockey Hall of Fame? Thankfully, that injustice was corrected in November 2023, when he was finally inducted.

Turgeon was the first overall pick in 1987, a silky-smooth playmaker known for his smarts and pure class. His masterpiece was the 1992-93 season with the New York Islanders.

He went supernova, putting up 58 goals and 132 points and leading the Isles on a wild ride to the conference finals after they stunned the two-time defending champion Penguins. That same year, he won the Lady Byng Trophy for his gentlemanly play.

But Turgeon’s legacy always felt… muted. He was never a flashy guy. He played for six different teams, including the Sabres, Islanders, Canadiens, and Blues, so he never became the face of one franchise. Because he often played on good-but-not-great teams, his consistent excellence just flew under the radar. The fact that he had to wait so long for the Hall of Fame call is all the proof you need that a player with undeniable skill can get overlooked just for being the quiet guy in the room.

Number 5 – Guy Carbonneau

Coming in at number five is a player who represents a whole forgotten archetype: the defensive guru. Today, we know the Selke Trophy is the stamp of an elite two-way forward, but Guy Carbonneau was one of the guys who wrote the blueprint.

In junior hockey, Carbonneau was a prolific scorer, once recording 182 points in a single season. But when he joined the Montreal Canadiens, he was given a choice: learn to play defense, or find a new job. He didn’t just learn; he mastered it. Carbonneau became the best defensive forward of his time, winning the Selke Trophy three times. He was the shutdown center that legendary coach Jacques Lemaire unleashed on the other team’s biggest weapons.

In the 1993 Stanley Cup Final, after Wayne Gretzky ran wild in Game 1, it was Carbonneau who was assigned to shadow him for the rest of the series. The Canadiens won that series.

Guys like Carbonneau don’t light up the highlight reels. Their biggest plays are the goals that never happened, the superstars they drove crazy. But don’t get it twisted: he was a winner. He captained the Habs and won three Stanley Cups—two with Montreal and one with Dallas. His Hall of Fame induction in 2019 was a win for every player who knows that stopping a goal is just as important as scoring one.

Number 4 – Steve Larmer

At number four, we have the definition of consistency: a player who just showed up and dominated every single night: Steve Larmer. For 11 straight seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, from 1982 to 1993, Larmer never missed a single game. His ironman streak hit a mind-boggling 884 consecutive games, a record for a player with a single team. And he wasn’t just taking up a roster spot; he was a star. During that streak, he averaged a point per game, won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, and reached the 1,000-point mark in his career. He was a fantastic two-way winger who played alongside flashier stars like Denis Savard but was the guy you could always count on.

So what finally broke that incredible streak? It wasn’t an injury. It was a contract dispute. Larmer felt the Blackhawks weren’t genuinely trying to win, so he held out and demanded a trade. The holdout ended his streak, but his desire for a ring paid off. He was dealt to the New York Rangers, where he was a key piece in helping them shatter their 54-year curse and win the Stanley Cup in 1994. Larmer is a forgotten legend because his best qualities—dependability and quiet professionalism—are the ones that don’t make headlines.

Number 3 – Bernie Nicholls

Our number three pick is a guy who had one of the most explosive offensive seasons in NHL history, and yet, he’s rarely mentioned among the great goal-scorers. His name is Bernie Nicholls. In the 1988-89 season, Wayne Gretzky’s first in Los Angeles, all eyes were on “The Great One.” But it was Nicholls who led the team in goals. He scored 70 of them.

Let that sink in for a second. Seventy. He is one of only eight players in NHL history to have ever reached that mark. He also chipped in 80 assists, giving him a jaw-dropping 150 points. He joined a club of only six players who have ever reached that milestone. And he did most of this damage playing on the second line. While he benefited from power-play time with Gretzky, the stats show he put up an incredible 101 points on his own, away from The Great One.

So how does a 70-goal scorer vanish from history? He was completely overshadowed. Not only was he playing behind Gretzky, but his career became a blur of different jerseys.

He was traded to the Rangers, then played for the Oilers, Devils, Blackhawks, and Sharks. He never had a single team identity and never got close to that magical season again. Despite racking up over 1,200 career points, he remains one of the most productive players not in the Hall of Fame—a ghost of one of hockey’s greatest offensive seasons.

Number 2 – Johnny Bower

At number two, we have a goalie whose journey to stardom was as fearless as his mask-free playing style. Nicknamed “The China Wall,” Johnny Bower is a Toronto Maple Leafs icon, but his story is all about sheer grit.

He didn’t play his first full NHL season until he was 29, and he didn’t even join the Leafs until he was 34. Before that, he spent years grinding it out in the American Hockey League, becoming a legend there first. He’s still the winningest goalie in AHL history.

Bower’s pro career didn’t even start until after he served in World War II—he’d lied about his age to enlist at just 15. When he finally got his real shot with the Leafs, he made it count. Playing until he was 45, he became the backbone of a dynasty, leading Toronto to four Stanley Cups in the 1960s, including their last one back in 1967. Along the way, he won two Vezina Trophies and became one of the most beloved players in the game.

He was famous for his terrifying poke-check and for playing most of his career without a mask, his face a roadmap of scars and stitches. Bower’s legacy is sometimes overlooked because his NHL stardom arrived so late. He wasn’t some phenom rookie; he was a battle-hardened veteran who paid his dues for more than a decade before finally becoming a champion. He’s living proof that it’s never too late to become a legend.

And that brings us to our number one pick. However, before we proceed, let’s reflect on what we’ve observed. These players prove that a legacy is about more than just flashy goals or being famous. It’s about dominating in every way imaginable—scoring, defending, winning, and pure, stubborn will. They’re the titans who built the foundation of the league, whose records are still standing even if their names have started to fade.

This list is just scratching the surface. The NHL is full of players like these, and now we want to hear from you. Who is the most overlooked legend in hockey history? Did we miss someone whose story needs to be told? Let us know in the comments below. And if you liked this trip down hockey’s memory lane, do us a favor and hit that like button and subscribe for more deep dives.

Number 1 – Henri Richard

The number one most overlooked legend in the NHL is a man whose signature achievement is so massive and mind-bending that it’s almost impossible to believe it isn’t celebrated more. His name is Henri Richard, and he won eleven Stanley Cups. No, that’s not a typo. Eleven. More than any other player in the history of the NHL. His 11 championships, all won as a player, are tied with Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell for the most titles won by any athlete in a major North American pro sport.

He played his entire 20-year career with the Montreal Canadiens, serving as the team’s captain and scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal twice—one of them in overtime in 1966.

So how on Earth does a guy with more championship rings than fingers become “overlooked“? He spent his entire career in the shadow of his own brother. Henri was the younger, minor brother of the immortal Maurice “The Rocket” Richard.

While Maurice was the fiery, larger-than-life icon, Henri was the quiet, steady leader known as “The Pocket Rocket.” He played on Canadiens teams that were loaded with Hall of Famers, from Jean Beliveau to Jacques Plante, and his clutch play was the glue that held multiple dynasties together.

But he was never the main story. The ultimate injustice of his legacy is that the winningest player in hockey history is often remembered as someone’s little brother. He wasn’t just along for the ride; he was a driving force, a giant of the game whose 11 championships have set a record that will almost certainly never be touched.

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Players You Didn’t Know Were N.H.L. Legends

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