Already a Stanley Cup Champion (with Chicago) when Dustin Byfuglien was traded to the Thrashers in what would be their last year in Atlanta, he was moved back to his natural blueline position and essentially became a more valuable hockey player.

Ilya Kovalchuk plied his trade with the Atlanta Thrashers for seven and a half years, and while the Russian forward played for a team that wasn’t exactly exceptional, he was a star for the franchise.  

One of the better offensive defensemen of the 1980s, Randy Carlyle saw his career take off when he got traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Carlyle won the coveted Norris Trophy in 1981 and was consistently among the top points performers amongst defensemen in the 80s. Carlyle’s career pinnacle may have been as a head coach when he led the Anaheim Ducks to their first Stanley Cup in 2007. It is possible that should they combine his efforts on both sides of the bench, Carlyle could receive a solid look from the Hall.

While Nikolai Khabibulin actually has a losing won/loss record in the NHL, nobody can say that he did not have a very good career in the National Hockey League.  The “Bulin Wall” may never have been considered the top goaltender in the league (or maybe even in the top three), but he was always better than most of his peers and did backstop the Lightning to a Stanley Cup, becoming the first Russian to do so. Throw in the fact that he also had an excellent performance leading the Russians to the Olympic Gold Medal, and you have the makings of a fringe candidate for the Hall of Fame.

In the mold of a player he grew up watching (Cam Neely), the Massachusetts-born Keith Tkachuk became the American power forward of his generation.

Along with Ulf Nilsson, Anders Hedberg became one of the first European stars in North America when the pair joined the Winnipeg Jets of  the World Hockey Association.  Hedberg would be named the Lou Kaplan Trophy winner as the WHA’s version of the rookie of the year and was a Second Team All-Star who scored 53 Goals and an even 100 Points.  Hedberg would go on an incredible run as a Jet as their top goal scorer, putting the puck in the net 50, 70, and 63 times over the next three years, with the 70 being league-leading.  The Swedish sensation would be a First Team All-WHA selection all three of those years, and he is the all-time leader in the World Hockey Association in Goals per Game.

Teppo Numminen did not receive a lot of press during his NHL career, as he spent the majority of his time with the Winnipeg Jets, who would later become the Phoenix Coyotes.  Having said that, Numminen is one of the few players to have played twenty seasons in the National Hockey League and at the time of his retirement his 1,327 was the most played (since broken) by a European player, though sadly for Numminen, he still holds the record for the most games played without wining a Stanley Cup.