In 2019, we have sadly lost a great deal of past NHL players. Some of these players only played a handful of NHL games, while some were veteran NHLers, and a few of them had Hall of Fame careers. Either way, each person on this list put their heart and soul into a game we all love to watch. They may no longer be with us, but their memories will live in the minds of hockey fans forever.

Let’s take a moment to honour the NHLers we’ve lost in 2019 and to revisit their contributions to the game of hockey.

Red Sullivan

Geroge “Red” Sullivan had a very interesting NHL career. He began his career in 1950 with Boston Bruins, but it wasn’t until he joined the Chicago Blackhawks in 1954 that he started to have some success. He led the Blackhawks in scoring both seasons he was there.

Sullivan joined the New York Rangers in 1956 and that was the place where he almost lost his life. His spleen was ruptured when Doug Harvey viciously speared him in the ribs. Luckily Sullivan was able to survive the incident. After his playing career was over he became an NHL coach, most notably being the first-ever head coach for both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals.

Sullivan who had been suffering from Alzheimer’s for years, passed away on January 19th at the age of 89.

Gerry Plamondon

Gerry Plamondon was a great example of a player who could dominate the minors but just couldn’t translate those skills to the NHL. In all, he appeared in parts of five seasons with the Canadiens during the 1940s and ’50s. He finished his NHL career with 20 points in 74 NHL games. He played one game for the Montreal Canadiens during the 1946 NHL playoffs which got his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.

Plamondon passed away on January 26th at the age of 95.

Andy Hebenton

Andy Hebenton had a lengthy professional hockey career, spanning 26 seasons. After plying his craft in the minors for several seasons, he finally got a shot in the NHL with the New York Rangers in 1955. He went on to play a then-record 630 straight NHL games. He was known as a very gentlemanly player, winning the Lady Byng Award in 1956-57. Hebenton wrapped up his playing career at the age off 44 in 1975. His 1,076 consecutive games played as a professional is a record that still stands today.

Hebenton passed away on January 29th due to congestive heart failure at the age of 89.

Andre Boudrias

Andre Boudrias was only 5’8″ but he didn’t let his size prevent him from being a solid scorer in the NHL. Early on in his career, he bounced around a few different NHL teams but it wasn’t until he landed with the expansion Vancouver Canucks where his career started to take off. He was the Canucks first offensive star, recording a career-high 74 points during the 1974-75 season. After hanging up his skates in 1978 he became known as one of the best scouts in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils.

Bourdais passed away on February 5th at the age of 75.

Ted Lindsay

Ted Lindsay was given his nickname of “Terrible Ted” for just how mean he was on the ice. He was only 5’9″ and a 160 lbs but he wasn’t afraid to go into the corners with anyone. As good as he was physically on the ice, he was an even better offensive player. Alongside Gordie Howe, he turned to the Detroit Red Wings into a powerhouse in the 1940s and ’50s. Arguably the best season of his career came in 1956-57 when he recorded a career-high 85 points while leading the league with 55 assists.

As much as Lindsay had a Hall of Fame career on the ice, he played a significant role off of it as well. He played an integral role in the creation of the NHL Players Association. His role with NHLPA eventually led him to being traded to Chicago as a punishment. Lindsay spent three seasons with the Blackhawks before retiring in 1960. Four years later he made a comeback to finish his career where it all started in Detroit, After his playing career wrapped up in 1965, he stayed with the Red Wings as a coach and a general manager.

He passed away on March 4th at the age of 93.

Harry Howell

By the time Harry Howell retired in 1976, his 1,581 career professional games were the most ever by a defenseman. He began his Hall of Fame NHL career in 1952 with the New York Rangers. He played 17 seasons with the Rangers and he was known for being very durable, only missing 17 games in his first 16 seasons with the team. The best season of his career came in 1966-67 where he recorded a career-high 40 points while winning the Norris Trophy.

Howell spent the last three seasons of his career playing in the WHA. After hanging up his skates in 1976, he became a manager and coach. His most notable stint was his role as the head coach for the Minnesota North Stars in 1978-79.

He passed away on March 9th at the age of 86.

Chuck Holmes

Chuck Holmes was a solid two-way player who never got much of a shot in the NHL. While his rights were owned by the Detroit Red Wings he spent most of his career playing in the now-defunct WHL. He played well enough with his hometown Edmonton Flyers that he got called up by the Red Wings on two different occasions in the 1950s and ’60s. In 23 career NHL games with Detroit, Holmes registered four points.

He passed away on March 13th at the age of 84.

Len Fontaine

Len Fontaine spent the majority of his professional hockey career playing in the IHL. Throughout his 11 seasons in the league, he won numerous awards and is considered among the best players to ever play in the IHL. in 1971-72 he had a particularly good season in the IHL that it earned him a two year contract with the Detroit Red Wings, He ended up scoring 18 points in 39 games in his first NHL season. Unfortunately, he found himself next season playing for Detroit’s AHL affiliate. After his brief NHL stint, he played eight more seasons in the IHL before retiring in 1983.

He passed away suddenly on March 25th at the age of 71.

Al Staley

Al Staley was apart of the NHL one game club. He spent a few years in the New York Rangers system. His one game of action came during the 1948-49 season, where he registered an assist. After his cup of coffee with the NHL, he spent the remainder of his career playing in the minors and senior leagues.

He passed away on April 7th at the age of 90.

Dmitri Nabokov

Dmitri Nabokov spent his draft year playing on a talented Soviet Wings team of the IHL. It was there where scouts started to take notice of Nabokov ahead of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. He ended up being selected 19th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks. He didn’t make his NHL debut with Chicago until the 1997-98 season where he recorded 11 points in 25 games.

The following season he was traded to the New York Islanders. However, Nabokov couldn’t find a permanent role with the Islanders and would return to Russia for good in 2000.

Nabokov passed away from a severe illness on April 14th at the age of 42.

Denis Dupéré

Denis Dupere spent a few seasons in the minors grinding away before becoming a full-time member of the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1971-72 season. He was used mostly in a fourth-line role where he was known for his grittiness as well as his faceoff skills. The best season of his NHL career came in 1974-75 while with the Washington Capitals. On one of the worst teams in NHL history, Dupere recorded 35 points in 53 games. The highlight of his career was when he represented the Capitals at the 1975 NHL All-Star Game.

He passed away from cancer on April 14th at the age of 70.

Bill Lecaine

Bill Lecaine was one of most prolific minor league scorers in the mid to late 1960s. He spent most of his career playing for the IHL’s Port Huron Wings/Flags franchise. He was named to the IHL All-Star team on multiple occasions. His best year as a pro came in 1965-66 when he recorded a career-high 116 points while helping Port Huron win the league championship. In 1968 he was picked up by the expansion Pittsburgh Penguins. He would play just four games with the team before finishing off his career in the IHL.

He passed away on April 16th at the age of 81.

Red Kelly

Red Kelly was a versatile player as there ever was. He could be a rock-steady stay at home defenseman. He could also be an offensive force from blueline if needed. If injuries piled up with the forwards, Kelly could often be found skating on the wing. He began his career with the Detroit Red Wings back in 1947 playing with the likes of Gordie Howe and Sid Abel. Although Kelly was a trained boxer, he didn’t use his fists out on the ice. He won three out of his four Lady Byng Trophies while with the Red Wings.

After helping Detroit to three Stanley Cup victories, Kelly was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1960. At first, he wanted no part of being a Maple Leaf, even going as far as retiring the day after the trade. His reason for not wanting to play for Toronto dated back to when he was playing in junior. A Maple Leaf scout doubted he would play more than 20 NHL games in his career and that soured him on the franchise. After a whole lot of convincing Kelly would come out of retirement a week later and join the Leafs.

The decision to come out of retirement turned out great for Kelly. As a full-time forward he would win four more Stanley Cups in his eight years in Toronto. Kelly retired after the Leafs last Stanley Cup win in 1967 and would become a head coach for three different NHL teams.

He passed away on May 2nd at the age of 91.

Mitch Wilson

Mitch Wilson was a hard-nosed enforcer who after racking up penalty minutes in the minors got an NHL shot with the New Jersey Devils in 1984. He played just nine games with the Devils before heading back to the minors. His last action in the NHL came in 1986-87 with the Pittsburgh Penguins where he played a career-high 17 games. He would spend the remainder of his career in the minors where he led both the AHL and IHL once in penalty minutes.

He passed away after a battle with ALS on May 18th at the age of 57.

Greg Johnson

Greg Johnson was a star player for the University of North Dakota. He transferred over his speed and great hockey sense from college into a solid NHL career. For the first several seasons of his career, he was used mostly as a role player with Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Chicago. It wasn’t until he was selected by the Nashville Predators in the 1998 NHL Expansion Draft that Johnson was given a bigger role.

In his very first season with the Predators in 1998-99, Johnson recorded a career-high 50 points in 68 games. He would play six more seasons with Nashville which included captaining them for three of them. He played an integral role in helping the Predators clinch their first playoff birth in 2004. He signed with his former team the Detroit Red Wings in 2006 but he had to retire before the season began due to heart problems.

He passed away by suicide on July 7th at the age of 48.

Mike Christie

Mike Christie joined the NHL in 1974 as a free agent signing of the California Seals. The defenseman had the best season of his career with the Cleveland Barons in 1976-77, recording a career-high 33 points. Christie Spent the latter part of his career with the Colorado Rockies, where he served as captain. After just nine games with the Vancouver Canucks in 1980-81, he retired at just the age of 30.

He passed away from kidney disease on July 11th at the age of 69.

Arnie Brown

Arnie Brown was originally a prospect for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but after only playing six games for the team over three seasons, he was shipped out to the New York Rangers. The move to The Big Apple ended up doing wonders for the defenseman’s career. Brown played for the Rangers from 1964 to 1971, where he was mostly known for his defensive prowess. His career started to fizzle out in 1970 after he blew out both of his knees. He tried catching on with a few other NHL teams before retiring in 1975.

He passed away on July 26th at the age of 77.

Paul Meger

After a fantastic junior career, Paul Meger’s professional career got off to a hot start. He was named the AHL’s rookie of the year in 1949-50 after a 26 goal, 66 point season. After scoring 34 goals in 46 games the following AHL season, Meger earned a call-up to the Montreal Canadiens. The 1951-52 season was the first full one for Meager with Montreal. He impressed with 24 goals and 42 points in 69 games.

Unfortunately, Meger couldn’t follow up on the success he had in his rookie season. His career prematurely ended in 1955 when he took a skate blade to the temple. He suffered a broken skull as well as tissue damage to his brain.

He passed away on August 27th at the age of 90.

Ed Stankiewicz

Ed Stankiewicz had a lengthy professional hockey career, it’s just unfortunate that most of it was spent in the minors. In his final season of junior, he was almost a goal per game player. He was a very talented scorer in the minors but only got into six pointless games with the Detroit Red Wings over two separate seasons in the 1950s. He retired in 1965 after a 95 point season in the Eastern Hockey League.

He passed away on September 12th at the age of 90.

Gord Haworth

Gord Haworth was a talented hockey prospect, scoring 82 points in his final season of junior hockey. The Quebec native had a solid first pro season in 1952-53. It was good enough that even got a two-game call up with the New York Rangers. Unfortunately for Haworth he never got into another NHL game after that.

He spent years as a very productive scorer in the Western Hockey League. In 1962 he played an integral role in helping the Sudbury Wolves win the EPHL Championship. After retiring in 1970, he spent a couple of seasons coaching his hometown Drummondville Rangers of the QMJHL.

He passed away from cancer on September 2nd at the age of 87.

Ted Green

Ted Green spent all ten of his NHL seasons with the Boston Bruins. He was known mostly as an enforcer, but he did have a few productive seasons. In 1969, his career almost came to an abrupt end when he was the victim of a vicious stick to the head during a preseason game against the St.Louis Blues. He was left temporarily paralyzed but he made a miraculous comeback to the ice, winning a Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 1972. He played the last seven years of his career in the WHA.

After his playing career was over, Green joined the Edmonton Oilers in 1983 as an assistant. He would remain with the Oilers until 2000, which included a few years as the head coach. He was an assistant coach with the New York Rangers for four seasons before retiring in 2004.

He passed away from a long illness on October 8th at the age of 79.

Danny Grant

Danny Grant grew up in Fredericton, New Brunswick, but he knew to have success in hockey he needed to move where there was better competition. He would move to Ontario to play his junior hockey and it turned out to be a move that paid off big time. He started his first couple of NHL seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, but after failing to consistently get in the lineup he was traded to the Minnesota North Stars.

The trade to Minnesota paid immediate dividends for Grant. After putting up 65 points in his rookie season, he was named the NHL’s rookie of the year in 1968-69. He played six successful seasons with the North Stars before being traded to Detroit. He notched a career-high 50 goals in his first season with the Red Wings. Grant would suffer a major knee injury the following season and would never be the same for the rest of his career.

He passed away from cancer on October 14th at the age of 73.

Dean Prentice

Dean Prentice had a very successful junior career, capping it off with the 1952 Memorial Cup Championship with the Guelph Bitmores. His play in junior attracted the eyes of the New York Rangers, who he went on to play for 11 seasons for. He wasn’t the flashiest player but he always seemed to put points up on the board. He would be traded to the Detroit Red Wings in 1966 and got a chance to play on a line with Gordie Howe. He also had stops with Pittsburgh and Minnesota before retiring at 41 years old in 1974.

He passed away on November 2nd at the age of 87.