With the arrival of the NHL in Canada this past summer, it’s only natural to look back on the past few years of the sport and wonder what it was like.
The NHL has never been a player-focused franchise, but the organization is well known for its strong relationship with the fans.
As a fan base, the players and the organization have been a key part of what makes hockey a great sport.
And while there are certainly many facets to the game that have changed since the NHL started playing in Canada, the biggest thing has been the players.
With the league expanding in Canada and the Canadian game slowly taking off, it was inevitable that the NHL would bring in some veteran players.
The list of potential candidates for the upcoming season was pretty impressive, but this year is no different.
There were many who were interested in taking a chance on the former St. Louis Blues star, and while he was never one of the top options, he’s one of just a few players who were mentioned in this year’s trade deadline.
We spoke to several former players to get a glimpse into what the next few years will bring for the NHL.
We’ll also be highlighting a few of their best moves.
The big names: Michael Frolik and David Perron Frolik was a first-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in the 2006 NHL Draft.
He played three seasons with the Anaheim Admirals and was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks before the 2009-10 season.
His first NHL game came against the Detroit Red Wings on January 20, 2010.
He was traded again on March 14, 2010, to the Dallas Stars.
Perron was a seventh-round selection of the Chicago Black Hawks in the 2010 NHL Draft, but was traded by the Blackhawks to the Colorado Avalanche on March 28, 2011.
He spent five seasons with Colorado and played in five playoff games.
Perry scored one goal in seven games with the Avalanche last season.
He signed with the New York Rangers on July 1, 2012.
Frolak played four seasons in St. John’s, with the club winning the Memorial Cup in 2008 and 2010.
After a disappointing rookie season, he was traded at the 2013 NHL Draft to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Perran was a second-round choice of the Arizona Coyotes in the 2009 NHL Draft and spent the last five seasons in Columbus.
He made two appearances with the Coyotes last season before joining the Edmonton Oilers in 2017.
Frollik has appeared in 2,086 NHL games and scored 39 goals and 80 assists for 173 points.
He has also scored 50 goals and 87 assists for 199 points in 3,569 career regular season games.
Follis scored five goals and 18 assists for 16 points in his first game for the Dallas Cowboys in 2011.
Fournier was a fourth-round draft pick of Colorado in the 2008 NHL Draft by the Calgary Flames.
He scored one game for Colorado in 2013 before signing with the Arizona Wild on April 30, 2014.
Foulk has appeared seven times for the Montreal Canadiens, including three games for the team last season, and has five goals, 18 assists and 74 penalty minutes.
He started his NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2005.
Fisette played in four games for Toronto in 2014, and scored one point.
He also had four assists and three penalty minutes in the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs.
Froul had eight goals and 19 assists for 28 points in 60 games with Dallas in 2013.
He finished his career with six goals and 27 assists in 79 games with Florida and Chicago in 2016.
Perron scored his first NHL goal on October 27, 2012, and was acquired by the Detroit Wings on November 13, 2012 from the Edmonton Oil Kings for defenseman Brendan Smith.
Perrons first NHL career goal came on October 26, 2013, when he scored his 100th career goal.
Foltz scored his 200th career NHL goal against the New Jersey Devils on November 1, 2013.
Foles first NHL point came on November 5, 2014, when the Arizona Panthers scored a 5-0 win against the Minnesota Wild.
Folik had nine goals and 11 assists in 67 games with Edmonton in 2017, and is currently ranked second in the NHL with a plus-28 rating.
Perlin scored his 15th career hat trick on November 6, 2017, while Foles 10th career playoff goal came in a 4-3 overtime win over the Dallas Mavericks.
Foliks last playoff goal was against the Florida Panthers on March 16, 2018.
Fontein was a sixth-round NHL draft pick by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2012 NHL Draft when he was selected in the fourth round.
He never played in the league, but has played in six games for Manitoba Moose.
He is currently tied for fourth in the Manitoba Moose with two goals.
Friesen played four games with Manitoba last season and scored three goals.
Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson Burns was a fifth-round rookie by the