A very good goalie that lost out on the Hart trophy to Wayne Gretzky in 1981, Mike Liut seemed destined for a stellar career after his impressive 1980-81 season. That year, he won the Lester B. Pearson award (MVP as selected by their peers) and would be the starting goalie for the 1981 Canada Cup Canadian contingent. Liut’s career tapered off, and he was unable to keep up the prediction that so many made about him in the early 80s. Still, he racked up 294 career NHL wins and was one of the top netminders of the 1980s.

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.

A fifteen-year veteran of the National Hockey League, Keith Primeau probably would have had a few more had it not been for post-concussion syndrome.  Primeau was known as a player who was good at almost every aspect of his game (not necessarily great, just very good), and he was a two-time NHL All-Star who had four 60 Point Seasons.  Primeau would also represent Canada in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and the 1998 Olympics.

Though the focus on the 1970s Buffalo Sabers lay with the French Connection line, Danny Gare showcased a few seasons that matched what any sniper was doing at the time. Gare enjoyed a pair of 50-goal seasons and was even the co-goal-scoring champion in the 1979-1980 campaign. The scrappy star’s game tailed off after being traded to Detroit, but Gare had enough impact to have his jersey retired in Buffalo. It is unlikely, though, that he can receive a similar accolade in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.