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.

As one of the top offensive defenseman of his era, Doug Wilson was a stalwart on the Chicago Black Hawks blue line for well over a decade. Wilson was capable of creating and capitalizing on many scoring chances while still being a more than capable defender. He won the Norris Trophy in 1982 and was on seven All Star squads. Wilson could not only play the game, but he had a mind for the business of it as well. He served as President of the NHLPA and long after his playing career ended he became the GM of the San Jose Sharks. He has not been inducted to the Hall yet, but his chances are still decent.

Claude Provost is the answer to a few unwanted trivia questions. He is currently the man whose name is etched on the Stanley Cup Trophy the most times without being in the Hockey Hall of Fame. He also has the most All-Star appearances of any non-Hall of Fame Member. It could be because Claude Provost was primarily a checker (though about as good as they came) and maybe because he was on a star studded Montreal Canadians dynasty that he got forgotten by the Hall. Though he was on those outstanding Habs teams, Provost was a key part of that success and earned all of his names on Lord Stanley’s Mug; all nine of them.

As part of Buffalo’s vaunted “French Connection” line, Rick Martin was part of the most exciting lines in hockey in the 1970s. Martin was a lethal sniper and once he mastered his defensive skills was one of the better two-way players in hockey. With two 50 goal seasons (not exactly easy in the ’70s) and as a perennial All-Star, Martin should have enjoyed some success in the ’80s and have a steady decline into his 30’s the way most star players do. Sadly, a brutal injury in November of 1980 essentially put an end to his career, and he only played a handful of games after. Had Rick Martin made it through at least a few of the free-wheeling 80’s, his career stats would have likely been padded sufficiently to make the Hall. Currently, he remains one of the top stars of the 70’s on the outside looking in.