Marcel Dionne

He blazed through the minor leagues and was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings as the second overall draft pick. Dionne was quick off the mark in Detroit, setting a rookie record for scoring with 77 points in his first NHL season. Though he stood at a diminutive 5'8, Marcel Dionne was a remarkable talent and by the mid-1970s he had emerged as one of the premier scorers in the National Hockey League. In 1975 he left the Detroit Red Wings and signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Kings. The Los Angeles Kings were not the most talented hockey team and they signed him with a $1.5 million contract over 5 years. Dionne flourished in California, recording six straight 50+ goal seasons as the centerpiece of the "Triple Crown Line" with Dave Taylor and Charlie Simmer.

Marcel would win his only Art Ross trophy in 1979 as he edged out Wayne Gretzky by scoring one more goal. He was also named as the center on the NHL's First All-Star team that season. After 12 very successful years in Los Angeles, Dionne was traded along with Jeff Crossman and a draft pick to the New York Rangers for Bob Carpenter and Tom Laidlaw. Dionne spent parts of the next three seasons with the New York Rangers before retiring in 1988-89. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992 and remains the Los Angeles Kings all-time leader in goals (550), assists (757) and points (1,307). Many experts consider Marcel Dionne to be the best NHL player, never to have won a Stanley Cup championship.