Although Norm Ullman never won a Stanley Cup, it was not because he didn’t give everything he had as shown by him being the leading scorer in the playoffs twice. That was no surprise as Ullman was always a good scorer and had sixteen seasons where he at least put the puck in the net twenty times, and he did win the goal scoring title in 1965. Eight times, Ullman would finish in the top ten in scoring and would retire with 1,221 points (and 130 in the WHA). Had he not been in the shadow of more famous teammates, our bet is that Norm Ullman would be a bigger name today.

A former backup NHL Goaltender (he played in 95 games), Emile Francis played in the minors before moving on to coaching. Francis would work his way to the New York Rangers system and eventually took over the helm for New York and coached that team to their best record in decades. He would also take over as the team’s General Manager and would follow suit with the same role for the St. Louis Blues, turning them into a serious contender. As respected as Francis was as a Coach and a GM, it should be noted that he never won a Stanley Cup in those roles. Should he not have won at least one, before he got selected to the Hall of Fame, as building a Stanley Cup contender in large and mid-size markets is not as hard as doing it in a smaller one? Just a thought.

Playing the vast majority of his career with the Boston Bruins, John Bucyk exemplified class and skill throughout his lengthy NHL career. Bucyk may never have been considered the best Left Wing during his day (as evidenced by only two All Star Selections) but he was a very consistent producer and retired ranked number four in points when he retired. 

“The Big M”, Frank Mahovlich had a very productive career, though the way he was constantly booed by the Toronto Maple Leafs (while he played for them), you would never have known it.