Who is the best player of all time who NEVER played in the NHL?

Question by Lady Wildcat: In your opinion, who is the best player of all time who NEVER played in the NHL?
I’m too young to have seen him play, but I would vote for Valery Kharlamov.

He was the Soviet Union’s best player in the 1970s, and from what I read, was regarded as one of the best players in the world back then.

He always gave the NHLers fits whenever they played “summit” games against the Russians. In that famous 1972 “summit series”, the only way Team Canada could stop him was by Bobby Clarke breaking his ankle.

I’ve seen film clips of him playing against NHL players, and he was pretty amazing.

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