Seymour Knox is the man who brought the National Hockey League to the city of Buffalo. Knox initially sought a franchise in the first wave of NHL expansion in 1967, but had to wait until 1969 for the second wave. His franchise was dubbed the Sabres, and they instantly became a fixture in the Western New York sporting world. The Sabres made the Stanley Cup finals in 1975, and though they did not win, Knox was named the Executive of the Year. Seymour Knox would serve on the Board of Governors for 25 years and was also a Director for the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. The induction of Seymour Knox to the Hockey Hall of Fame was a no brainer.

As part of the Montreal Canadians “Big Three” defence corps, Guy Lapointe was a member of six Stanley Cups. He was an offensively gifted player who would top the 60 points mark three consecutive seasons and remained an asset on the defensive side. He was a devastating force on the power play and equally adept with punishing checks. Lapointe would be a Post Season All Star four times, but again that is secondary to the six Cups he helped the Habs win in the 1970’s.

A lifetime servant for Amateur Hockey, Fred Page worked his way from local organizations to the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. He became an executive there in 1958, and would become its President in 1966. Page would be instrumental in bringing Canadian amateur teams to play in Europe. As the Canadian representative to the IIHF, he would later serve that organization as the Vice President for three years. Afterwards, Page would help form the Pacific Coast Junior Hockey League, and was its Executive Director until he passed away in 1997.

A very successful businessman in the Pacific Northwest, Frank Griffiths brought his business savvy to the National Hockey League in 1974 when he purchased the Vancouver Canucks. Although the Canucks never won a Cup, he made them profitable and competitive. Griffiths may not have sought the spotlight like other owners, but behind the scenes on the audit committee and other franchises to make them fiscally viable. He also served as Vice Chairman of the NHL for eight years, again in a way that was under the radar. Griffiths may not have been well known to the casual (or even many sophisticated NHL fans), but it was men like him that made the National Hockey League a far more valuable entity.