European Hockey: Top 10 Lockout Defectors

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Sep 22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Yevgeni Medvedev (82) passes out of his zone against the New York Rangers during the first period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

European hockey has evolved in some sorts over the last decade. Ever since the NHL lockout of 2004-05, we’ve seen an increase in players calling Europe home.

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For the longest time, European hockey was thought of as a destination for guys who didn’t have enough skill to make it in the NHL. It was also a place for players who had few options left to play, who could still make a career for themselves.

Over the last decade, we’ve seen players being signed out of European Hockey almost every year. This year we’ve seen guys like Artemi Panarin, Yevgeny Medvedev, and Steve Moses among others make the hop across the pond. Other guys in recent years have been Jonas Gustavsson, Damien Brunner, and Fabian Brunnstrom.

Back in the day, the best talent from around the world was present in the NHL. Nowadays, most of the best talent is found in the NHL, but some of that talent can also be found in European hockey leagues. To understand the difference, all one needs to do is look at the rosters from these teams in these leagues.

The KHL is the most prominently talented league with the most ex NHL talent. You can also find some of that talent in the Swedish Elite and SM-Liiga (Finnish Elite). Some of the smaller leagues in Germany (DEL), Austria, Norway, etc are also home to ex NHL players.

Consider this the first installment of a few pieces dedicated to European hockey. Today’s piece has a specific focus. With the 2015-16 NHL regular season now upon us, it marks exactly 10 seasons since the NHL dropped the puck after a year long lockout to changed our game forever.

In this new modern day cap era where skill has been the focus up and down the lineup, tough guys were pushed out of the game. Our game got faster and quicker and brought with it a host of rule changes to keep up with the pace of the game.

But one thing was missing 10 years ago when the NHL dropped the puck again. They lost scoring talent. As skill and speed has increased over the past decade, scoring has gone down. But could the European hockey movement be to blame?

Today we take a look at the top 10 players that we lost to the 2004-05 lockout. We’ve set a few guidelines though. The player needs to have stayed in Europe after the 2004-05 lockout. Any players who made an appearance with a North American club (AHL, ECHL, etc.) are excluded. We’re doing this to better accurately measure the talent that was lost. If a guy made a comeback attempt with a NA team and couldn’t hack it, then its not really lost talent is it?

The ranking of our top 10 is based on the potential scoring that was lost in the NHL. While some guys who had better careers rank a little lower, it is based on what we think they had left in the tank to produce at the NHL level.

Before we get into our honorable mentions and our top 10. Let’s take a moment to look back at the players who retired following the lockout. Some of these guys probably had 1-3 years (maybe more) left in the tank, so it makes you wonder what could have been with a few of them.

Trent Klatt
In 2003-04 with the Kings, Klatt put up 43 points in 82 games. He was 32 when he retired. In 782 NHL games played, Klatt tallied 343 points.

Vincent Damphousse
In 2003-04 with the Sharks, Damphousse scored 41 points in 82 games. An exellent career spent between Toronto, Montreal, and San Jose was cut short at 36. In 1378 NHL games played, Vinny Damphousse produced 1205 points.

Brian Holzinger
Spent most of his career between Buffalo and Tampa Bay. He spent a bit of time in the AHL during the 02-03 season, but came back and put up 21 points over 61 games with Pittsburgh before being traded to Columbus where he managed 1 goals over a 13 game span. He retired following the lockout season.

Donald Audette
He was only 34 when the lockout forced him to retire. His game was trending down his last few seasons but had a great NHL career. He produced 509 points over the course of his 735 NHL game career.

Magnus Arvedson
Another career cut far too short at 32 years old. Arvedson spent his first six years with the Senators before playing the 2003-04 season with Vancouver. He had 39 points in 01-02, 37 points in 02-03, followed by 15 points in 41 games with Vancouver the year before the lockout.

Joe Juneau
An old warrior that most should remember. He put up 102 points with the Bruins in 1992-93. His production dwindled his last few seasons with the Montreal Canadiens. He retired when he was 36. In 828 career NHL games, Juneau tallied 572 points over 828 games.

Scott Pellerin, Ted Donato, Jody Hull, Sean Pronger (lockout year in Europe then retired), Karl Dykhuis (two years in Europe then retired), and Stephane Quintal (lockout year in Italy then retired) are all guys who were bouncing back and forth between the NHL and AHL before they retired.

Next: Honorable and Special Mentions

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