NHL's All-Time Best Journeymen Players

The journeyman is a player that travels from team to team throughout his career, never really finding a place that will keep him around for the long term.

These players can sometimes have a difficult time establishing solid careers because they are always on the move, but there are some out there who performed admirably.

Here are the all-time best NHL journeymen.

Carl Voss

The original NHL journeyman played back when there were only 10 teams in the NHL.

Carl Voss managed to play for eight of the 10 teams in the league while also going back and forth with the IHL.

Voss wasn't a stellar scorer, but he had some success, winning the Calder Trophy in 1933 and a Stanley Cup in 1938.

Voss played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, St. Louis Eagles, New York Americans, Montreal Maroons and Chicago Blackhawks in his NHL career.

Mike Sillinger

From the original journeyman to the ultimate journeyman.

No person in NHL history has played for more teams over the course of their career than Mike Sillinger has.

The teams that Sillinger laced up for are the New York Islanders, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, Phoenix Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Detroit Red Wings.

There were also a couple of stops in the AHL over the course of his career as well.

Sillinger may have gotten around, but that means he was always in demand somewhere. When teams don't need what you have to offer anymore, you don't get signed.

Sillinger put up respectable numbers through his career wherever he went.

Zarley Zalapski

Zarley Zalapski was a solid defender that knew how to chip in offensively. Zalapski was also a guy who knew how to play a physical game and get his nose dirty from time to time.

Zalapski hit the 20-goal mark once in the NHL, which is a huge number for a defender, and he was over 10 goals a couple of other times in his career.

Zalapski played with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Hartford Whalers, Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens before moving down to the IHL and then back over to Europe.

In addition to being an effective player, he also has a fun name to say.

Paul Henderson

Paul Henderson was a pretty darn good player in his time playing hockey. He was a regular 20-goal scorer and even cracked 30 a couple of times in his career.

Henderson played in both the NHL and the WHA with some small stints in minor hockey toward the end of his career.

Though he was a good player, Henderson is not remembered for what he did in either the NHL or the WHA.

Henderson is best remembered for scoring the game-winning goal and series-winning goal in the 1972 Summit Series between Canadian NHL All-Stars and the Soviet national team.

Not only did he have the winning goal in the final game, he had the game-winning goals in each of the last three games of the eight-game series, when Canada trailed 3-1-1 to the Soviets, all while on Soviet ice.

Henderson remains hockey royalty in Canada for that very reason.

In his career, Henderson played for the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Toros (WHA), Birmingham Bulls (WHA) and the Atlanta Flames.

Ulf Samuelsson

Ulf Samuelsson is one of the most infamous players in the history of the league, and there is no doubt about his effectiveness.

Samuelsson was dirty but effective in his playing days. He was never a scorer, but wracked up a ton of penalty minutes (2,453) throughout his career.

He is best remembered for his knee-to-knee hit on Cam Neely that changed the scope of Neely's career.

Samuelsson played in the Swedish Elite League, on the Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers.

Miroslav Satan

Miroslav Satan was a very skilled power forward during his time in the NHL.

Satan spent most of his career with the Buffalo Sabres but jumped around to teams later in his career.

Satan provided great scoring depth for the Pittsburgh Penguins during their Stanley Cup Championship back in 2009.

Satan played for the Edmonton Oilers, Buffalo Sabres, played in Slovakia for a couple of years, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins.

Kevin Dineen

Kevin Dineen had a solid NHL career that saw him score 355 goals and take over 2,000 penalty minutes.

Dineen scored 30 goals multiple times throughout his career and even cracked the 40-goal mark a couple of times.

His production fell off a great deal as he got older and the league changed, but he was still an effective player.

Dineen played for the Hartford Whalers, Philadelphia Flyers, the Whalers again, Carolina Hurricanes, Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets.

Mathieu Schneider

Mathieu Schneider was a very good defenseman that could do everything for his team. He could play a strong, physical game in his defensive zone and could also chip in offensively.

Schneider broke 50 points three times in his career and was almost always a lock to get at least 30 points for his team.

Schneider played for the Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Phoenix Coyotes, Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks.

Pavol Demitra

Pavol Demitra was a skilled forward who moved around a lot during his career. Demitra is best remembered for his time with the St. Louis Blues, where he was a regular 20- to 30-goal scorer.

During his time with the Blues, he also recorded his career-best numbers in point production in 2003, when he tallied 93 points.

In his time with the NHL, Demitra played with the Ottawa Senators, St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks.

Demitra also spent time in the AHL, the IHL, Czech and Slovakian Elite Leagues and the KHL.

Brian Boucher

Brian Boucher is the first goalie on our list and has been around the block several times.

Boucher has never really been able to establish himself as a No. 1 goalie for an extended amount of time on any of the teams he's played for.

But that shouldn't lead anybody to believe that he hasn't been a good goalie.

As a matter of fact, Boucher is the NHL record-holder for the longest shutout streak by a goalie, when he didn't give up a goal for 332 consecutive minutes. That is five-and-a-half games.

Boucher has played for the Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets and San Jose Sharks.

Boucher has also been up and down from the AHL during his career.

Owen Nolan

Owen Nolan was the definition of a power forward during his time in the NHL and was a force to play against.

He is best remembered for his time with the San Jose Sharks, serving as their captain for several years. His leadership abilities have always been well respected throughout the league.

Nolan is also responsible for one of the coolest All-Star Game moments in hockey history.

Nolan played for the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maples Leafs, Phoenix Coyotes, Calgary Flames and Minnesota Wild.

Dwayne Roloson

Dwayne Roloson is nearing the end of his NHL career, which has seen him go all over the place.

Roloson is a very good positional goalie that has always shown fantastic reflexes.

He came very close to the Stanley Cup during his time with the Edmonton Oilers, when he led the eighth-seeded Oilers on a Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Finals.

They may very well have won it all had he not been injured early in the series.

Roloson has played for the Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild, Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning.

He also had several stops in the AHL early in his career.

Doug Weight

Doug Weight is one of the better leaders and two-way forwards of the modern era of the NHL. He was great on faceoffs and a professional in every sense of the word.

Weight spent the last days of his NHL career serving as the captain of the New York Islanders.

He played for the New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks and New York Islanders.

Weight also spend a couple of seasons playing in the German Elite League (DEL).

Doug Gilmour

Doug Gilmour was a consistent scorer in the NHL for a long time. He cracked 100 points several times throughout his career and was always viewed as a leader on his teams.

Gilmour played for many years and got to play with several teams.

Gilmour was a part of the St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens.

Of course, my favorite memory involving Gilmour doesn't involve him scoring any goals.

Joe Nieuwendyk

Joe Nieuwendyk is another guy that spent 20 years in the NHL and got to play for a ton of teams.

A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Nieuwendyk scored 564 goals and had more than 1,100 points in his great career. He was a part of three Stanley Cup-winning teams during his career.

Nieuwendyk played for the Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers.

Nieuwendyk spent most of his career with the Flames and Stars but jumped around during each of the last few years of his career.

Esa Tikkanen

Esa Tikkanen was a part of the great Edmonton Oilers dynasty of the 1980s.

He was a part of five Stanley Cup-winning teams and played with skill and grit not often seen in European players of the time.

After playing with the Edmonton Oilers, Tikkanen spent time with the New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals.

He also spent some time playing in several European leagues over the course of his career.

Dave Andreychuk

Dave Andreychuk had a great career in the NHL and was one of the most underrated players of his time.

Andreychuk was a big guy who played as a power forward that knew how to score goals throughout his time.

His experience became a great asset and added to his leadership as he led the Tampa Bay Lightning to their Stanley Cup Championship.

Andreychuk was also a multiple time 30 and 40 goal scorer, even breaking 50 goals once in his career.

Andreychuk played for the Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning through his career.

Mark Recchi

Mark Recchi played for several teams in his career and was a vital part of each of them.

Recchi was a three-time Stanley Cup winner and was known for his tenacity and his fantastic leadership skills.

Recchi is best known for the many years he spent with the Flyers, but he made enough of a name for himself that contending teams were always interested in bringing him into their lineups.

Recchi played with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens, Carolina Hurricanes, Atlanta Thrashers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins.

Jeremy Roenick

Jeremy Roenick is one of the better American-born players that the NHL has ever seen.

Roenick was well-known for actions both on and off the ice, occasionally getting into some verbal sparring with other players or officials.

He was and is a personality in every sense of the word.

Roenick saw action with the Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks.

Brad McCrimmon

Brad McCrimmon was one of the better defensive defensemen in the history of the game.

He was a responsible defenseman that also took part in the physical aspect of the game, as his 1,416 career penalty minutes will tell you.

His most impressive stat is his career plus/minus. McCrimmon finished with a career number of plus-444, which is good for 10th best in the history of the game.

McCrimmon played for the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers and Phoenix Coyotes.

Tim Thomas

Tim Thomas is one of the best feel-good stories in the history of the NHL.

He is one of the ultimate journeymen that never found a place on the team that drafted him and drifted around the minor and European leagues before finally getting a shot somewhere.

The rest is history as Thomas has become one of the elite goalies in the game today, winning a Vezina, a Stanley Cup and a Conn Smythe Trophy for his work.

Thomas was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques but never played for them. He had played for AHL, IHL and ECHL teams in North America, as well as both the Swedish and Finnish Elite Leagues, before he ever got a chance with the Bruins.

Adam Oates

Adam Oates was one of the sweetest pure passers that the NHL has ever seen.

It's no wonder that so many teams wanted him to play for their squads, as he surpassed 100 points four different times in his career.

Oates was one of those players who managed to make players better because of his amazing vision.

Oates played for the Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Edmonton Oilers.

Chris Pronger

Chris Pronger hasn't always been the most liked guy in the league, but he's always been respected because of his ability.

The 6'6" defender is a graceful skater, physical player and huge shooter, automatically improving the defense of any team.

Pronger has always been a media favorite thanks to his sense of humor. The way he plays the game has also endeared him to the fans of his teams.

Pronger has seen action for the Hartford Whalers, St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks and Philadelphia Flyers.

It's surprising that in this era of hockey, an elite defenseman like Pronger never found a long-term home.

Brett Hull

Brett Hull was one of the most prolific scorers ever to play the game of hockey.

The guy just knew how to put the puck in the net and could do it seemingly at will.

Brett Hull is third all-time in goals scored (741) and is one of only two other players that has even come within a whiff of Wayne Gretzky's single-season goal-scoring record, when he scored 86 in 1991.

Brett Hull isn't thought of as a journeyman player, and he did spend the majority of his career with the St. Louis Blues, but he definitely qualifies.

Hull played for the Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings and Phoenix Coyotes throughout his career.

Hull is easily the best journeyman player in NHL history.