Beginning his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens, John Van Boxmeer was exiled to the then-hockey wasteland of the Colorado Rockies.  A reprieve came for Van Boxmeer when he was traded before the 1979-80 Season for Rene Robert, and the Defenseman became a Buffalo Sabre, where he had the best statistics of his career.

Rob Ray was not expected to score much.  What he was asked to do was to use his fists and intimidation to clear a path for his teammates to score.

Richard Smehlik had a good first two seasons in the National Hockey League, where the Czech blueliner scored 72 Points.  A knee injury took him out of half of the 1994-95 season and the entire 1995-96 season, but he returned, albeit with less of an offensive touch.

Larry Playfair was not your typical hockey pugilist.