What does it mean to be an unforgettable hockey player? I would assume the answer to that question would be a player who had a high impact on the game. A player who leads his team to championships. A player who other NHLers model their game after or live in admiration of their accomplishments. That is what I would assume. Unfortunately you can be all of those things and still fall through the cracks of the memories of many if not most hockey fans. You don't believe me? Here are the stats:

549 Career Goals
1249 Career Assists (2nd all time)
1798 Career points (4th all time)
2 Stanley Cups
3 Lady Byng Awards (most sportsmanlike player)
1 Frank J. Selke Trophy (best defensive forward)
1 King Clancy Memorial Trophy (leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution in his community)

This is all very impressive but despite his 23 seasons of playing he was only honored with 4 all star game appearances and when The Hockey News Magazine published their top 100 hockey players of all time guess who got left off the list. Sadly many of the people who are reading this may still not know who I'm talking about. I'm talking about the most forgotten or soon to be forgotten player who has ever played in the NHL. His name is Ron Francis. He doesn't deserve to be forgotten and I hope writing this article may keep his memory alive just a little bit longer. When people talk about the NHL greats they always mention Gretzky, Orr, Howe, and Lemieux and that is deservedly so but I submit to you that Ron deserves to be mentioned in the same breathe with those names. If only he hadn't been so nice and humble then maybe the media would have payed him more attention.

Learn more about this author, Kirk Perry.
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