"Good" North American players with long post-NHL careers in the minor-pro Leagues

[The Panther]

This happens with a lot of European players in the NHL for obvious reasons, which is that they want to go home, or closer to home, to finish off their playing days. But what about North Americans?

I noticed today that Mike Keane, who had a great NHL career from 1988 to 2004, played in the AHL from 2005 to 2010. That really surprises me. He played with the Manitoba Moose, in his hometown, until he was nearly 43 years old, as a pro player. I'm not sure why, other than he loved playing.

What about other North American players who had long post-NHL careers in minor-pro?

(I'm not looking for borderline NHL-ers here, but legit NHL players, or stars, who had long and successful NHL careers.)

Click to read more...

 

[Normand Lacombe]

Ron Duguay- After his last NHL game with LA in 1989, Duguay played a season in Germany. That was followed by two seasons with the San Diego Gulls of the IHL.

Derrick Smith- Last played in the NHL early in the 1993-94 season with Dallas. He would play a total of five more seasons in the IHL and ECHL before retiring in 1999.

 

[BadgerBruce]

Andy Hebenton. I’m not sure if anyone else is close.

He played 8 seasons with the Rangers and another with Boston, actually held the NHL iron man record for many years (630 consecutive games), won the Lady Byng and on another occasion finished second, and put up 391 NHL points in those 9 seasons. 1 NHL all-star game appearance, too.

And when he left Boston after the 1963-64 season, he went on to play 10 full seasons in the Western Hockey League (mostly with Portland), winning the Fred J. Hume award for gentlemanly play 5 times, including his last 4 consecutive seasons as a pro.

At one point he’d played 1,076 consecutive regular season professional games (NHL and minors combined). There’s a neat Sports Illustrated story from 1967 available in the SI vault:
The Thousand and One Nights of Andy Hebenton

Edit: when Hebenton left the NHL as the league’s Ironman, he was not eligible for an NHL pension, which required 10 seasons of service. 9 seasons and 630 games didn’t cut it. Shameful.

 

[crobro]

Charlie Simmer

 

[The Panther]

Edit: when Hebenton left the NHL as the league’s Ironman, he was not eligible for an NHL pension, which required 10 seasons of service. 9 seasons and 630 games didn’t cut it. Shameful.

Wow, good answer. And yeah, that is shameful!

(I always found sad how the Rangers assigned Marcel Dionne to the IHL in 1988-89, albeit he only played 9 games before retiring.)

It's surprising enough (to me) that Jimmy Carson played for the Detroit Vipers (IHL) a bit in 1996-97 after he was done with the NHL, but it's shocking to me that he came back again the next season (1997-98) to play 49 games (Is that a full season in the IHL? I don't know).

 

[Normand Lacombe]

Journeyman defenseman Ric Jackman. Won a Stanley Cup in his final NHL season with Anaheim in 2006-07. Here are the teams that Jackman played on the next five years:

2007-08 -EC Red Bull Salzburg- Austria and Leksands IF - Sweden
2008-09- Leksands IF - Sweden
2009-10 - EHC Biel-Bienne- Switzerland
2010-11 - Utah Grizzles- ECHL and HC Slovan Bratislava-Slovakia
2011-12 - Anyang Halla - AsianHL

 

[BadgerBruce]

Hall of Famer and perennial Top 10 all-time player Doug Harvey seems to qualify here.

He played 15 full NHL seasons, the last 2 with the Rangers, wrapping things up in 1962-63.

Beginning in 63-64, he went on to play 5 full seasons in the minors, 4 in the American League and 1 in the Central League, before getting 1 last NHL season with the Blues in 68-69.

 

[brachyrynchos]

Rod Langway played his last NHL in February '93, retired for for a year before signing on with the Richmond Renegades (ECHL) and playing his first game in Feb '05. The Renegades GM at the time was former Caps teammate Craig Laughlin who approached Langway who was still felt like playing and helped Richmond win the Riley Cup. '95-96 he plays in the IHL as a player/assistant coach for the San Francisco Spiders. Doesn't play for a year but then plays with Providence (AHL) in '97-98, and pretty sure he wore a hemet that year.
'94-95 Richmond: 6-0-0-0, 9-1-1-2 in playoffs.
'95-96- San Francisco: 46-1-5-6.
'97-98 Providence: 10-0-1-1.

 

[a79krgm]

Bruce Boudreau. Set records in the OHA. A promising young player with the Leafs. Spent his career playing in every minor league city on the map … and one stint with the fictional Hyannisport Presidents

 

[wetcoast]

This thread screams Rob Brown doesn't it?

Rob Brown at eliteprospects.com

 

[Passchendaele]

This thread screams Rob Brown doesn't it?

Rob Brown at eliteprospects.com

His pre-NHL numbers are insane.

I'm dumbfounded every time I take a glance at them.

He set the WHL all-time record for points in a season, and he was still eligible for two more seasons. He didn't mooch off anyone else either. He had more assists than the 2nd scorer on his team had points.

Oh, and he started his Jr. career full-time at age 15.

It's hard to believe this guy didn't have HOF talent. But yes, the word is he wasn't precisely driven to work hard to carve for himself a long NHL career (and was a poor skater on top of that).

 

[wetcoast]

His pre-NHL numbers are insane.

I'm dumbfounded every time I take a glance at them.

He set the WHL all-time record for points in a season, and he was still eligible for two more seasons. He didn't mooch off anyone else either. He had more assists than the 2nd scorer on his team had points.

Oh, and he started his Jr. career full-time at age 15.

It's hard to believe this guy didn't have HOF talent. But yes, the word is he wasn't precisely driven to work hard to carve for himself a long NHL career (and was a poor skater on top of that).

I watched him play and progress in the WHL, he had loads of talent just didn't have the drive or skating to translate that into a star NHL career as the league was changing.

Most likely would have fared much better in the 70s.

 

[Dingo]

Didn’t Glenn Anderson merc himself around Europe while still NHL-capable?

 

[Normand Lacombe]

Didn’t Glenn Anderson merc himself around Europe while still NHL-capable?

He played just one year in Switzerland before hanging them up.

 

[Normand Lacombe]

Yves Racine last appeared in the NHL in 1997-98. After that season, Racine played an additional 8 seasons overseas on clubs in Finland and Germany.

 

[hypereconomist]

Tony Tanti played another six seasons in Germany after his NHL career
Derek Plante played another seven seasons doing a tour of Europe after his NHL career


If he qualifies as a non-borderline NHL player, Tom Kostopoulos is still playing in the AHL even though it's been five seasons since his last NHL appearance.... Mike Keane style

 

[Iron Mike Sharpe]

In addition to Doug Harvey, there were a number of guys who had been NHL stars or regulars in the mid-50s to early 60s who ended up playing in the WHL or AHL for a number of seasons, before having mini-career revivals in the NHL with the 67 expansion:

Andy Bathgate
Bronco Horvath
Jean-Guy Gendron
Don McKenney
Charlie Burns
Ken Schinkel
Al Arbour
Andre Pronovost
Larry Popein
Gerry Melynyk

probably a few others...

 

[SharksAttack]

Does Eric Perrin count?

 

[Vujtek]

If we go back to the earlier days of NHL, then Eddie Shore would be one that partly fits the bill and will probably be the best player that deserves a mention in this thread. After a long and highly succesful NHL-career, he went on to finish his playing career in AHL by playing two and half seasons there. It's a specific situation as he was also the owner/GM/coach for the team he played for but still he partly fits what's being asked in this thread. Here's more on the Shore situation:

A shrewd businessman, Shore quietly purchased the bankrupt Springfield Indians of the Can-Am League (later became the American Hockey League) in 1939 for $42,000. The Detroit Red Wings had also wanted the team. "They were too late," laughed Eddie, who was ridiculed at the time but turned the franchise into a very lucrative venture.

Shore negotiated a deal with Boston's general manager, Art Ross that would permit him to play for the Bruins in emergencies at the same time as he would manage the Indians. The deal was specific that Eddie would not be playing for his AHL team. Shore hoped that Boston would eventually allow him to play for the Indians. But the Bruins shocked the hockey world, including Eddie Shore, when they traded him to the New York Americans instead, receiving Eddie Wiseman and cash on January 20, 1940. Angered, Eddie Shore struck a deal with the Americans that allowed him to play in all of New York's games and in as many Springfield games as he could manage.

Through the remainder of the season, Shore played regularly for the Americans while simultaneously owning, managing, coaching and playing for the Indians. The workload was astronomical for the thirty-eight year old, and after collecting just five points for New York, Eddie Shore retired from the NHL. He did, however, continue to play for his AHL Indians for two more seasons before retiring so he could concentrate more fully on the executive side of the business. Shore also secured ownership stakes in the San Diego Skyhawks in the Pacific Coast Hockey League, Fort Worth Rangers in the United States Hockey League and the New York Americans hockey club of the NHL.

Legends of Hockey - Spotlight - One on One with Eddie Shore

 

[crobro]

Jacques Lemaire in Switzerland and Bob Gainey in France

Gary Unger in Britain

Al Secord

Rick Vaive

 

[Iron Mike Sharpe]

Rick Blight, who was the Canucks' leading scorer in 76-77 & second place in 77-78, fell quickly to the bottom of the depth charts as the Canucks started drafting & trading for much better players. He spent his last three seasons in the minors before hanging up the skates at 26.

Paul Gardner, after leading the NHL in power play goals for two straight years, spent his last three years in the AHL, setting offensive records.

There were also a lot of guys back in the day who became Player-Coaches in the minors, guys like Vic Stasiuk & Marcel Pronovost, a lot of others...

 

[Iron Mike Sharpe]

Jim Morrison - 8 straight NHL seasons [52-60], followed by a split NHL/AHL season, then 8 straight seasons in the AHL [61-69] never coming up for air... then... get this... two full seasons with the Penguins [69-71] at age 37-38... then back down to the AHL for two more years, just to even things out in time for his 40th birthday & retirement.

 

[Iron Mike Sharpe]

Jerry Toppazzini, who played in the NHL 52-64 & once led the Bruins in scoring, spent his last 4 years in the AHL, WHL & IHL.

Ed Litzenberger, who was a star, played a few seasons in the minors to end his career. Fern Flaman, Bill Mosienko & Leo Labine, too.

 

[weaponomega]

Dan Paille played a couple seasons in Sweden after 500+ games in the NHL and a cup in Boston. I think he may have played longer overseas if not for concussions.

 

[babylonzoo]

Mike Bullard in Germany for landshut. Pretty solid there