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.
If you go by just totals in the NHL, you wouldn’t think that a total of 384 points over seven seasons equates to a Hall of Fame career. However, in the case of Sergei Makarov his professional career did not start until he was thirty one years old. Prior to that, Makarov was one of the most dynamic forces for the Soviet Union; the nation that scared the world on the ice and off. Makarov was part of the feared KLM line (with Igor Larinov & Vladimir Krutov) which was considered the best line in International hockey.