11 Best Bald Players in NHL History

The NHL is associated with a lot of things. Speed, toughness, tenacity, etc...

One of the things that people love to discuss about hockey is the players' hair, specifically the mullet.

The guys with the unbelievable hair all get great attention for their flowing locks, while the guys not blessed with such great hair genes get left out.

Well their time has come. Here are the names that baldness has made us forget.

11. Ryan Getzlaf

Ryan Getzlaf is still young in his NHL career, but he has already established himself as one of the premier power forwards in the game.

He currently averages a little under 70 points a season but could greatly improve on that depending on how his next 10 years in the league go.

Though he is young, Getzlaf can easily be considered one of the best balding players of the game.

10. Brian Rafalski

Brian Rafalski is perhaps one of the most underappreciated defensemen of all-time.

He always played an incredibly consistent game that was responsible in his own end and dangerous in the offensive end.

He was a key part to the three Stanley Cup Championship teams he was part of.

9. Al Iafrate

Though Iafrate definitely sported one of the worst hairstyles ever to be seen in the NHL, he was quite a talented defenseman.

One of the things that gets him on this list was his powerful shot that held the NHL All-Star Skills Competition record for several years at 105 mph.

Zdeno Chara now holds this record, but you almost have to think that there is an asterisk by that record because Iafrate made his record shot with an all wood stick.

Now all players have some kind of graphite shaft that increases torque and won't shatter. Imagine how fast Iafrate's shot could have been if he had one of these high-tech shafts from today.

8. Pavol Demitra

Pavol Demitra never got enough credit for how talented he was.

He had his best years in St. Louis, where he topped 80 points three times in his career, even breaking the 90-point pinnacle.

He took a little while to break into the NHL, otherwise his career point totals would be higher, but they are still impressive enough to earn him a spot on this list.

Demitra was also among the KHL players who tragically lost their lives in a plane crash earlier this summer.

His contributions to the game of hockey are not forgotten, and he is sorely missed.

7. Jean-Sebastian Giguere

Jean-Sebastian Giguere holds an impressive distinction of being one of only five players in the history of the game to win the Conn Smythe for playoff MVP as a member of the losing team.

Giguere did later go on to add that Stanley Cup Championship to his list of accomplishments a few years later.

He might not be the most physically gifted goalie, but he is one that really defied a lot of the odds against him to reach the highest point possible in his sport.

6. Mark Recchi

Mark Recchi didn't break into the league bald, but he did start to head that way even as early as his days in Philadelphia.

By the time he played with the Bruins, his scalp had met its match.

Recchi was almost a point per game player, tallying 1,533 points in 1,652 games over the span of 22 years.

He was part of three different Stanley Cup winners and became one of those glue-guys that brings a roster together.

He had an amazing career and deserves a spot on this list.

5. Mats Sundin

Easily the best bald man to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Mats Sundin comes in at fourth in my countdown of best bald players of all time.

Sundin was one of the best captains of his day and always dealt very well with the difficulties that went along with being the captain in Toronto.

He is the all-time leader for the Toronto Maple Leafs for goals scored (420), assists by a forward (567) and points (987).

He was one of the most consistent producing forwards ever to play, and he deserves his spot on this list.

4. Billy Smith

Billy Smith may not have been as bald as some of the other people on this list, but he definitely had some male-pattern baldness showing in that receding hair line.

Other than that, Billy Smith was one of the best big time goalies that the game has ever seen.

He was part of the legendary Islanders dynasty that won four straight Stanley Cups, something that had never happened before and has yet to happen since.

Billy Smith is one of the best to play the game and takes the third spot on our best bald players of all time.

3. Guy Lafleur

There is no doubting the greatness of Guy Lafleur.

There is also no doubting the receding hairline of Guy Lafleur.

Lafleur was a scoring machine and was a part of several Stanley Cup winning teams during his time in Montreal.

He was a legend of the game.

2. Bobby Hull

Bobby Hull is one of the most prolific goal scorers in the history of the game, and it just so happens he had some problems with going bald.

It seems a bit strange that his earlier photos show him having less hair than many of his late career photos, though it seems less strange when you learn he had a hair transplant.

Don't be ashamed of it Bobby, when you score as many goals as you did, it doesn't matter how much hair you have.

1. Mark Messier

Mark Messier is among the top names in every single major offensive category in NHL history.

His career point total of 1,887 is second only to Wayne Gretzky, who never had issues growing his hair.

Messier has six Stanley Cup Championships, two Hart Trophies and a Conn Smythe to his credit.

Mark Messier deserves to sit atop the best bald NHL players of all time.

Kevin Goff is a Featured Columnist for the Colorado Avalanche and NHL on Bleacher Report. For more NHL news and discussion,