In the National Hockey League, Ziggy Palffy did not have the pleasure of playing for many good teams, as he was only in the playoffs for three of his twelve seasons in North America.  Still, in a career split with the New York Islanders and Los Angeles Kings (and a final NHL campaign in Pittsburgh), Palffy had five seasons of 85 Points and averaged 1.04 Points per Game.  Palffy could have had a longer career in the NHL, but after a brief retirement, he played for the Slovak Extraliga for years.

From the Czech Republic, Tomas Vokoun had a fantastic career in the NHL, most notably with the Nashville Predators, where he had three straight seasons where he finished in the top ten in Vezina Trophy voting with a 10th, 8th, and 4th place finish in the 2003/04, 04/05, and 06/07 respectively.  The year after, the two-time NHL All-Star would play for the Florida Panthers and would lead the league in Goalie Point Shares.

Right when Todd Bertuzzi was hitting his stride in the National Hockey League, he derailed his career. His attack on Steve Moore from behind (which ended his career) caused Bertuzzi to be suspended for over a year. When he returned, he was not nearly the productive player he was, as the burly forward was a two-time All-Star and a power play stud prior to the suspension. Stat-wise, Todd Bertuzzi finished his career with very good numbers, but it could have been so much more.

Here is another interesting one.  The always-controversial and outspoken Tim Thomas was quite a story, becoming an elite netminder at the age of 34 and having two spectacular seasons in pro hockey, when most players have hung up their pads.  Thomas is one of the rare players to win two Vezina Trophies and backstopped the Boston Bruins to a Stanley Cup win; however, the reality is that his run at the top was too brief to cement a Hall of Fame spot…though stranger things have happened.