The Philadelphia Athletics were a powerhouse in the early 1930s, but the Great Depression led owner Connie Mack to unload his best players to keep the team afloat. As such, there was not a lot of talent left for the Athletics afterward, but Bob Johnson was an exception to that rule.
Debuting at Leftfield in 1933, Johnson played for the Athletics until 1942. With Philadelphia, he would go to five All-Star Games. With the exception of his last season with the Athletics, he has least 20 Home Runs, with three of those years seeing him exceed 30. From 1935 to 1941, he hit the 100-RBI mark and had four .300 seasons. Johnson joined Washington for one season, during which he was again an All-Star, and then completed his career with two seasons in Boston, where he was selected for his seventh and eighth All-Star Games. Notably, in 1944, he would win the OBP and OPS titles, the only times that he would do so.
While Johnson had a good 1945, many of the players who served the U.S. during World War II were coming back, and he elected to retire rather than compete for a job. He could have easily compiled more stats, but at age 39 and 2,051 Hits and 252 home runs, he had a great career.
After three years with the Boston Bruins, Quebec-born Center Andre Savard joined the Buffalo Sabres in 1976, bringing another French Canadian to their roster.
In the 2013 Draft, Rasmus Ristolainen was a highly coveted prospect from Finland, and the Sabres agreed, as they captured him with the number eight pick.
The New York Islanders took Tim Connolly, an American-born Center with the Fifth Overall Pick, in 1999. Two years later, at the 2001 Draft, he was traded within the state to Buffalo for Michael Peca, and like the person he was traded for, injuries would come to define his career.