The amount of roles that Brian O’Neill seemed to have in the National Hockey League was staggering. He became the Director of Administration in 1966 and helped to oversee the 1967 Expansion and prepared the expanded schedule. O’Neill would later become an Executive Director and helped with the continued expansion.   After the retirement of Clarence Campbell, he was named the Executive Vice President and took over the unenviable task of player discipline. He represented the NHL in Europe, which became an expanding task as the Europeans gradually entered the league. O’Neill would also preside over the Supplementary, Waiver and Expansion drafts and subsequently was members of other NHL committees. For all of his work in all of the lines of work with the National Hockey League, this man who is largely anonymous to hockey fans belongs in the Hall of Fame.

A bit of a bubble inductee in our eyes, Steve Shutt was a very good offensive star for the Montreal Canadians dynasty in the 1970’s. The Left Winger was on a line with Guy Lafleur for a large part of his Habs tenure, and as such was rewarded with numerous scoring opportunities. Shutt led the NHL in goals in the 1976-77 season and three times was named to a Post Season All Star Team. He was a five time Stanley Cup winner and elevated his game during the playoffs. He was a bit of a beneficiary to be on a line with Lafleur and on the Canadians in general, but there are others in the Hall who shares similar resumes.

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.