Forgotten NHL players of the 2000s

Wayne Gretzky retired at the end of the 1998-99 season. Perhaps that was an omen. The 2000s was the roughest decade for the NHL. It began with the neutral-zone trap and clutch-and-grab techniques at the forefront of the NHL, sucking scoring, and fun, out of the sport. Then, an entire season was lost to a lockout. After that lockout, though, the NHL rose from the ashes. Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby debuted. New stars were born into a higher-scoring league. There were also players who were quite good in the 2000s, serving as key cogs on teams, but weren’t franchise icons like Ovi and Sid the Kid. Here are some of the most memorable players of the 2000s that have been somewhat forgotten.

Mike Knuble (1 of 20)

After playing at the University of Michigan, Knuble was a 25-year-old rookie who played on the fourth line for the stacked 1997-98 Red Wings team that won its second Cup in a row. It seemed like he was in line for an unremarkable career, but it turns out Knuble was just a late bloomer. From the 2002-03 season through the 2010-11 season, Knuble scored over 20 goals every year. He hit 30 goals twice, once with Boston, and once with Philadelphia. From inauspicious beginnings Knuble put together a career where he played in over 1,000 games, most of them in the 2000s, tallying over 500 points.

Alex Kovalev (2 of 20)

Like Knuble, Kovalev bounced around in the NHL. However, beyond that, the two had little in common. Knuble was a late-blooming, high-effort play. Kovalev was a first-round pick who debuted with the Rangers as a teenager. He was one of the five-best stickhandlers of his generation, so slick on the ice. On the other hand — and Kovalev is Russian, so that could have played a role in perception — he had a reputation for not giving it his all, moping and complaining at the drop of a hat. He also scored over 30 goals four times in the 2000s and finished eighth in the Hart voting in the 2007-08 season.

Jonathan Cheechoo (3 of 20)

The Maurice Richard trophy, given out to the top goal scorer since the 1998-99 season, has been won by a who’s-who of elite goal scorers. Alex Ovechkin, Auston Matthews, Jarome Iginla, the list goes on. Then, there’s Cheechoo. In the 2005-06 season, the first after the lockout-lost campaign, Joe Thornton was traded to the Sharks. He won the Art Ross and the Hart. The biggest beneficiary of his arrival? Cheechoo, who scored 56 goals to lead the NHL. He had a few good seasons, but couldn’t sustain it. By the time he turned 30, Cheechoo was playing in the AHL, and he would end his career playing in the KHL.

Wade Redden (4 of 20)

In the 1999-2000 season, Redden finished 11th in the Norris voting. It was the first of six seasons in a row wherein he finished in the top 12. He was quite a good defenseman, but there is an element of his career that Redden would probably like to be forgotten. Though his play had dipped with the Senators, the Rangers signed him to a six-year, $39 million deal that almost immediately became probably the worst contract in the NHL. Within two seasons Redden was waived, and he became the highest-paid player in the history of the AHL.

Brian Rafalski (5 of 20)

Well, when you play your entire career in the 2000s, and play your entire career with the Devils and Red Wings, you’re going to be around success. Indeed, Rafalski played on three Cup-winning teams. The rare defenseman to finish in the top 10 in both the Norris and Lady Byng voting, Rafalski was also a robust point producer. Four times he had over 50 points in a season.

Marty Turco (6 of 20)

Rafalski was a Michigander who played college hockey at Wisconsin. Turco is from Ontario, but he played college hockey at Michigan. He burst into the NHL with the Stars as an elite backup goalie. As a rookie Turco played in 26 games, but led the NHL in save percentage and GAA. Two seasons later he would do that again, but in 55 games. That led to him finishing as the runner-up in the Vezina voting, the first of three seasons in a row where he finished in the top five. In the 2000s, Turco was one of the stars in Dallas, but outside of there, he’s not remembered as well as he arguably should be.

Simon Gagne (7 of 20)

If not for injuries, Gagne…well he’d still probably be on a list like this, but his career numbers would be more robust. In every season where he played more than 65 games, Gagne had at least 20 goals. Four times he hit the 30 mark, and twice, in 2005-06 and 2006-07, he had over 40 goals. Notably, when he scored 47 goals he led the NHL with 33 even-strength goals, so he wasn’t just racking up easy power-play tallies. When healthy, Gagne was a force for the Flyers in the 2000s.

Marc Savard (8 of 20)

Savard was not a center known for his defensive stoutness, but he made up for it with his scoring acumen. He’s fun to bring up talking about the 2000s because he had one of the best seasons in Atlanta Thrashers history when he notched 97 points. The next season he had 96 with the Bruins. Savard was actually poised to remain a key part of the picture for Boston into the 2010s, but he suffered a concussion in the 2010-11 season that ended his career at the age of 33.

Scott Gomez (9 of 20)

Let’s see, debut, win the Calder, and win a Stanley Cup the same season? Yeah, Gomez had quite the rookie campaign with the Devils. He was routinely a guy who would net you 60 to 70 points when he was with New Jersey, a team not known for its scoring acumen. Of course, he was then part of the Rangers’ big swing at free agency post-lockout, and while he had 70 points his first season there, the movie didn’t work out. After two seasons with the Rangers he moved on to the Canadiens, and from that point on it was a swift decline, the sort that leads to a player this good being forgotten.

Sheldon Souray (10 of 20)

Playing in the same era as Zdeno Chara hindered Souray in one way, because his incredible slap shot was overshadowed by his Czech compatriot’s offering. Souray made good use of his slapper, though, at least once he escaped New Jersey. Even once he joined the Canadiens, it took Souray a couple seasons to contribute. Then, he had three seasons in a row with double-digit goals. In fact, Souray would have two 20-goal campaigns in the 2000s, one in Montreal and one in Edmonton (where he also once set a new “unofficial” record for hardest slap shot).

Sergei Gonchar (11 of 20)

Sergei Zubov is in the Hall of Fame. Will Gonchar make it, or is he destined to be one of the best defensemen in the Hall of Very Good? In nine out of 10 seasons in the 2000s, Gonchar finished in the top 10 in Norris voting. On the other hand, he never finished higher than fourth. Gonchar was always one of the best, but never the best. It’s been a decade since he retired now, and Gonchar, having moved around in his career, seems unlikely to have his number retired anywhere. Hockey fans of the 2000s will remember Gonchar, but he’s not going to be talked about like Nicklas Lidstrom or even his former teammate Kris Letang.

Tomas Vokoun (12 of 20)

The Predators took Vokoun, with all of one NHL game to his name, in the Expansion Draft. For a few seasons he was the backup to Mike Dunham, but eventually Vokoun would become the first goalie of note in franchise history. He made the All-Star Game. He helped lead the Preds to the playoffs for the first time. He had three top-10 finishes in the Vezina voting. Vokoun was then traded to the Panthers, paving the way for Nashville icon Pekka Rinne, but in four seasons with Florida he had a .923 save percentage. He also led the NHL in losses twice because well, it wasn’t a great time for the Panthers.

Brendan Morrison (13 of 20)

If you’re a college hockey fan (of a certain age) you may remember Morrison as a Hobey Baker winner. Not every Hobey winner has had much of an NHL career, but Morrison was a good player for a while. He was also a classic “third guy on a great line.” Morrison centered Vancouver’s famed line featuring Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi. For six seasons in a row he finished with over 50 points. Also, remarkably, he played in all 82 games in each of those seasons. Morrison was an iron man, but he was more than that clearly.

Alex Tanguay (14 of 20)

Tanguay was never going to be the center of attention in Colorado in the 2000s. Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg were there. Hell, Milan Hejduk was like a slightly-better version of Tanguay as well. Side note: Could Hejduk have made this list? We felt maybe he was too well-remembered. Tanguay was a guy who had at least 25 goals four times with the Avalanche, but never hit 50. He was not merely a product of his teammates, though. Tanguay joined the Flames for the 2006-07 season and set a personal high with 81 points.

Tomas Holmstrom (15 of 20)

You think Morrison and Tanguay had shadows cast over them? Holmstrom spent his entire 15-season career with the Detroit Red Wings. He played from 1997 through 2012. Sure, that means he won four Cups, and means he’s a beloved cult figure in Detroit, but he was always surrounded by Hall of Fame talent. “Homer” had the role of creating traffic in front of the net, of screening the goalie on the power play. It wasn’t glamorous, but the Swede still had five 20-goal seasons in the 2000s.

Dan Boyle (16 of 20)

Maybe if Boyle had gotten to New York before the tail-end of his career he might be a bit more famous. Instead, his peak came in Tampa and in San Jose. Six times between 2002-03 and 2010-11 he had at least 50 points. Boyle finished in the top five of the Norris voting twice, once with the Lightning and once with the Sharks. He was maybe all-offense, questionable-defense, but Boyle was a fun player to watch.

Dion Phaneuf (17 of 20)

When Phaneuf finished third in the Calder and eighth in the Norris voting as a rookie for the Flames, it seemed like the defenseman had a bright future. He did…for a bit. Phaneuf finished sixth in the Norris voting the next year and was the runner-up the year after that. He had one more good season in him, but then he really started to drop off. Phaneuf flamed out in Toronto, and was worse in Ottawa. His last season in the NHL he was an afterthought with the Kings, and was out of the league by 33. Still, those first few seasons were remarkable.

Manny Legace (18 of 20)

Legace was a polarizing figure in Detroit. Playing largely as a backup or as a 1-A goalie, he had excellent regular-season numbers. The one time he played more than half the games in a season he finished fifth in the Vezina voting. On the other hand, the two times he was a starter in the playoffs for the Wings he struggled, and obviously Wings fans had grown accustomed to postseason success. After his final playoff disappointment, Legace moved onto St. Louis, where he had a couple good years before a couple forgettable seasons as a backup.

Brian Gionta (19 of 20)

At a time when American hockey talent was a little down, fans of Team USA would say, “Um, well, we have Brian Gionta.” That sums it up well. He was a player you were happy to have around, but never too enthused about. He had seven seasons in a row with over 20 goals. In the 2005-06 season he had 48 goals. Gionta was far from a playmaker — one remarkable season he had 21 goals and only eight assists — but he lit the lamp time and time again. Plus, he did score four goals during the 2006 Winter Olympics. Go USA!

Olli Jokinen (20 of 20)

There is a decent chance you, either actively or passively, rooted for Jokinen. The most notable thing about the Finn is that he played for 10 teams in his career. However, his heyday came in the 2000s, and also with the Panthers. He spent seven seasons with Florida, his longest run with any franchise. In 567 games he picked up 188 goals and 231 assists. Jokinen was even the Panthers’ captain for a bit! Yeah, in time it became, “Jokinen plays for that team now?” but in the 2000s, he was the face of Panthers hockey.