#5 Jaromir Jagr - Jagr was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins 5th overall in 1990 and went on to team up with Mario Lemieux and become one of the most feared duos in NHL history. With 1,599 career points Jagr sits second in career scoring at his position. His best year was in 1995-1996 when he scored 62 goals and recorded 149 points. Jaromir won the Art Ross as the leagues top scorer five times and won the Hart as league MVP in 1999. A nine time all star, Jagr played his career with three franchises the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitols and the New York Rangers. Playing in 169 career playoff games Jagr recorded 77 goals and 181 points, he won two Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh. Along with great goaltending by Dominic Hasek, Jagr led his Czech Republic team to Olympic gold in 1998. There is no question that Jagr was one of the flashiest and most dynamic players of his generation and he belongs on this list.

#4 Mike Bossy – With the 15th overall choice in the 1977 NHL entry draft the New York Islanders selected Mike Bossy.  Bossy didn’t disappoint winning the Calder as top rookie in the league in 1978, recording 91 points in his first campaign. Bossy was part of the great Islanders dynasty, winning the Conn Smythe in 1982 as MVP of the playoffs. He recorded an amazing 160 points in only 129 career playoff games. Mikes career was cut short by injury and only played 752 regular season games, but he did record 1,126 points. Bossy never averaged less then a point a game in a single season, and quickly became one of the most consistent players in NHL history. In 10 NHL seasons Bossy recorded 100 plus points and 50 goals 7 times. If injuries hadn’t cut his years short Bossy way have been the best Right Winger of all time.

#3 Guy Lafleur – Lafleur was fast and dynamic every time he set foot on the ice. He was a legend at the famed Montreal Forum and a fan favorite all across the province of Quebec. Guy recorded six straight 100 points seasons between 1975 -1980 and was widely considered the best player in the league. 560 goals and 1,353 over his career that ranks him 5th among right wingers in NHL history. He led the league in scoring three times and won the Hart as league MVP twice in 1977 and 1978. While leading Montreal to the Cup, Guy won the Conn Smythe recording 26 points in just 14 games. Arguable his best season was in 1976-1977 when he scored 136 points while being an amazing plus 89. Lafleur was one of the, if not the best player of the 70′s and is easily one of the best right wingers in National Hockey League history.

#2 Maurice Richard - Guy Lafleur was a legend in Montreal, Maurice “The Rocket” Richard was God like. “The Rocket” was the definition of a sniper, he became the first NHL’er to ever score 50 goals in a single season in 1944-1945. Richard was a first team all star eight times and won the Hart Trophy in 1947. Maurice played in 13 straight all star games between 1947 and 1959 proving that he was one of the best players around. “The Rocket” was the first player to record 500 career goals, ending with 544 and retired as leagues top point getter with 965 points. He was also a tough player, not afraid to get into the mix, he had more then 100 penalty minutes in a single season five times. “The Rockets” numbers don’t look like that much compared to the numbers players are putting up today, but it was a different game in his generation. He was the best player in the original six era and he led Canadians to a lot of Stanley Cups.

#1 Gordie Howe - “Mr. Hockey”, Gordie Howe is a living hockey legend. He was the picture of longevity, he loved the game and played as long as he physically could. He played 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings between 1946 and 1971. He wasn’t done there he played six seasons in the WHA, and returned to the NHL along side his sons in the 1979-1980 season. Gordie played professional hockey in five decades, he completed this feat by dressing for one game with the Detroit Vipers (IHL) in 1997-1998. Howe retired from the NHL as the leader in both goals and points with 801 goals and 1,049 points. He led the league in scoring six times and was the MVP six times. In 1968-1969 Howe recorded 100 points for the first time, 44 goals and 59 assists and may have been his best season. Mr. Hockey was tough and not scared to get in a fight and throw his weight around. Interesting fact about Gordie is that he could use both hands and shoot both left and right handed. Gordie Howe represents hockey with great pride and passion and in many ways is the best thing to ever happen to the game, “Mr. Hockey” is a legend.

As stated earlier the right wing position is the deepest in all of hockey. Players like Brett Hull, Brendan Shanahan, Lanny McDonald and Mike Gartner could have easily made this list. The right wing position has hall of famers from all generations and eras. It is hard to compare the players from the 50′s to the players of today, but it is fun to look at. Whether it is Gordie Howe’s longevity or Jaromir Jagr’s pure talent these men are all NHL legends.

The six cities that were selected were California Seals , St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota North Stars and Philadelphia Flyers. Unlike other professional sports leagues in North America, the NHL choose add all teams in one season. The biggest fear upon expanding the league was that the play would weaken with double the amount of players in the league. To fill the new rosters the NHL held an Expansion Draft in the summer of 1967, and each of the new six teams would pick 20 players from the existing NHL rosters. Some big names found their way to new franchises the Los Angeles Kings selected the legendary Terry Sawchuk from Toronto, the Maple Leafs also lost Bob Baun to the California Seals. Bruins goalie Bernie Parent went to Philadelphia and Glenn Hall moved from Chicago to St. Louis. The NHL also increased it schedule having each team play 74 games, increased from 70 games. The top four teams from each division would make the playoffs, and you would have to win three seven game series to win the Cup.

When the 1967-1968 season started it was clear the original six teams were still by far the class of the league. The Montreal Canadians won the regular season title and ended up facing the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Final. Montreal easily beat St. Louis in four games to claim Lord Stanley’s Cup. The Chicago Blackhawks forward Stan Mikita led the league with 87 points and claimed Most Valuable Player honors, Rogatien Vachon and Gump Worsley of Montreal split the best goalie honor and Bobby Hull led the league with 44 goals. The Oakland Seals (California Seals) were the worst team in league finishing with only 15 wins and missed the playoffs by 22 points.

In the 1967 season a young defenseman from Boston named Bobby Orr won the Calder Trophy (top Rookie), but in the 1968 season you really saw what he was going to become. He won his first Norris Trophy (top defenseman) and he would go on to win eight straight Norris’. Orr’s skill and talent would go on to change the game for ever, and is widely considered the best defenseman in NHL history. He was faster and stronger then most NHL players and he used those skills to score the famous Cup winning goal in 1970.

The Original NHL expansion in 1967-1968 expansion was a success for the league. Four of the franchises still play in their original locations Philadelphia, Los Angeles, St. Louis and Pittsburgh. The Philadelphia Flyers won the first Cup from an expansion team in 1974 and once again in 1975 led by forward Bobby Clarke and goalie Bernie Parent. Philadelphia has become one of the best hockey markets in the world, with devoted fans who love their tough Flyers.

In 1970 the NHL expanded again and added the Vancouver Canucks and the Buffalo Sabres. The expansion continues in 1972-1973 adding the Atlanta Flames and the New York Islanders and once again in 1974-1975 adding the Kansas City Scouts and the Washington Capitols. By this time some of the franchises were having troubles and would be relocated. The league now had 18 teams located all over North America, but not all the locations were selected well. The California Golden Seals had to move to Cleveland and Kansas City had to move to Colorado. Even after the move the original California franchise, that was now in Cleveland was forced to merge with the North Stars in Minnesota. The 70′s was a turbulent time for the NHL, lots of new teams and current teams finding new locations.

The 1970′s were ruled by the Montreal Canadian’s dynasty, Montreal won multiple cups. Led by exciting forward Guy Lafleur, defenseman Larry Robinson and solid goaltending by Ken Dryden. Lafleur was a first overall pick by the Canadians and played his first season in the 1971-1972 season. By the 1974 season Guy had become one of the if not the best player in the NHL and was a fan favorite at the infamous Montreal Forum. In the 1974-1975 season Lafleur almost doubled his career high in points in a season recording over 50 goals and 100 points, he would go on repeat those numbers for the next 5 years. For six straight years Guy was on top and leading the best team in the NHL, on his way to becoming the highest scoring player in Canadians history. Marcel Dionne was another player who was on top of his game in the 70′s, playing with both the Red Wings and the Kings he scored 40 plus goals six times in the decade. Unlike Lafleur, Dionne never had the team success with Los Angeles or Detroit.

In 1967 the NHL decided to expand and really has never stopped since. The decision to put 6 teams in to the league in one season was controversial, but ultimately successful. Four of those original six expansion franchises exist in their original form. The NHL continued to expand to its original state, with some great moves and some moves that didn’t work out. The truth of the matter is that if the NHL doesn’t expand in the 60′s we will never know what would have happened, but you can be assured the league benefitted from it. The expansion years caused a changing of the guard in the NHL, new owners, new players and eventually the need for European players.