Generally, when General Managers engineer trades, both hope for some sort of accurate equity in return. The New York Rangers certainly did not gain that equity when they traded Rick Middleton to the Boston Bruins for Ken Hodge, who was nearing the end of his career. Middleton, however, was just getting started. The man dubbed “Nifty” scored 898 points for his new team and proved to be the best offensive threat for the Bruins for nearly a decade.

Bernie Nicholls was already a productive member of the Los Angeles Kings, but when the legendary Wayne Gretzky went Hollywood, Nicholls’ statistics reached the stratosphere. With attention paid toward the other star center, Nicholls set personal records. To this day, Bernie Nicholls is one of eight players to score 70 goals in a season and one of five to have scored over 150 points in a single season. Yet even with those accomplishments, it seems that Bernie Nicholls racked up his 1,200 + career NHL points quietly. He wasn’t flashy, he wasn’t gritty and he was not the darling of any fan base or media outlet. Still, with 1,200 career points, he has earned more than a healthy look for Hall consideration.

It wasn’t that Dave Taylor wasn’t supposed to make the NHL, but when you are drafted 210th overall, the expectations aren’t great. Dave Taylor shattered all expectations, becoming part of the legendary Los Angeles Kings Triple Crown Line with Marcel Dionne and Charlie Simmer. Taylor was an unexpected scoring machine who eclipsed the 100-point plateau twice early in his career. Despite his offensive prowess, Taylor was a mean checker and had a strong feel for the defensive side of the game. He would use this defensive skill well late in his career, which would prolong his fruitful career in Hollywood. In what is a rarity, Dave Taylor began and ended his career with one team, and his number is currently retired by the Kings. It is not impossible for Dave Taylor to join his Triple Crown teammate, Marcel Dionne, in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

In all likelihood the best goaltender of the 1970’s not yet in the Hall of Fame would have to be Rogie Vachon. The Quebec born net minder was a part of three (two of which he was the starting goalie) Stanley Cups for the fabled Montreal Canadians. Vachon’s star would actually rise in the mid 70’s, when he put up huge years for the Los Angeles Kings and took that team to places that they had no real business going to at the time. In that same time frame, Vachon backstopped Canada to victory in the 1976 Canada Cup and was easily the best player of the tourney. Rogie has been eligible for twenty five years now and with a crop of good eligible goalies around him, he may very well be forgotten by the Hall.