They make the transition for various reasons. Some have unresolved contract disputes. Some have been told they’re too old and not needed anymore. Some just need to experience something different. For whatever the reason, many National Hockey League players are choosing to play in Europe instead of hanging up the blades.

The season in Europe tends to be shorter with a less gruelling schedule than that in the NHL. The game tends to not be as physically demanding as the North American game, either. This makes for a great playing environment for the NHL veteran that’s getting on in years.

The North American game goes until mid-April before beginning the playoffs. The European elite leagues tend to be mostly done their playoffs by that time. After regular season play was finished, eight former NHL stars truly stood out in their leagues throughout Europe.

Manny Legace played in the NHL from 1998-99 to 2009-10. Legace was originally drafted by the Hartford Whalers eighth round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, 188th overall. Manny never played for Hartford, but he did played for the Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues and Carolina Hurricanes. Legace was part of the 2002 Stanley Cup winning Red Wings.

This season, playing for the Iserlohn Roosters in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), Legace had the league’s sixth best goals against average, at 2.51. Manny also recorded three shutouts and a .919 save percentage.

Pavol Demitra played 848 NHL games from 1993-94 to 2009-10. Demitra played in three NHL All-Star games and was the recipient of the Lady Byng Trophy in 2000 as the league’s most gentlemanly player. Pavol played with the Ottawa Senators, St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks. Demitra has represented his native Slovakia on the world stage many times, including three Olympic Games and four World Championships. Not bad for a ninth round pick in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft.

Demitra played this season in Russia’s KHL with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Pavol finished fifth overall in total points in the KHL with 60 in 54 games. For a little perspective, the league leader had 80 points and second place had 66.

Jan Hlavac played a total of 436 games in the NHL with the New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning and Nashville Predators. Originally, Jan was a second round pick of the New York Islanders in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, 28th overall.

This season, playing for Linköping in the Czech Republic’s Extraliga, Hlavac finished tied for fourteenth in points. Jan had 37 points in 43 games. However, it took the player he was tied with 54 games to contribute his 37 points.

Fred Brathwaite played goal in the NHL from 1993-94 to 2003-04. Brathwaite was a member of the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets. Fred’s ‘second career’ began during the 2004-05 season in Russia’s RSL. He returned for two seasons to play for the Chicago Wolves of the AHL before heading back to Europe to stay for good.

This season, Brathwaite played his fourth season with Adler Mannheim of Germany’s DEL. Fred finished fifth in the league for goals against average with 2.50, .01 better than Manny Legace.

Glen Metropolit seemingly had just become a regular in the NHL before he jumped ship to Europe for the 2010-11 season. Metropolit played 407 NHL games from 1999-00 to 2009-10 with the Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, Atlanta Thrashers, St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens.

During a previous three year stint in Europe from 2003-04 to 2005-06, Glen led Switzerland’s National League A in points in 2005-06 with Lugano. He returned to the National League A this season, this time with Zug, and once again led the league in points with 53 over 47 games.

Petr Nedved played nearly 1000 total games in the NHL from 1990-91 to 2006-07. Nedved was a second overall pick of the Vancouver Canucks in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. Petr played for the Canucks, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, Phoenix Coyotes and Philadelphia Flyers.

The 2010-11 season marked Nedved’s fourth since returning to his native Czech Republic. This was his third with HC Liberec (his home town) of the Czech Extraliga. Petr has been the team captain since joining. At 39 years old, Nedved still has the scoring touch, placing third in the league for total points with 55 over 45 games.

Martin Straka is a year younger than Nedved but has had a somewhat parallel career to his countryman. Straka neared the 1000 game mark in the NHL before leaving for the Czech Republic to start the 2008-09 season. Martin has now played three seasons with his hometown team, HC Plzen of the Extraliga and has been team captain right from the start.

Straka was a first round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft and played with the Penguins, Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers. This season, Martin finished six points ahead of Petr Nedved in total points and in second place in the Czech Extraliga.

Last of all, a fairly well known goaltender by the name of Dominic Hasek is timelessly leading the way from his place between the pipes in Russia. Hasek had an illustrious NHL career that spanned from 1990-91 to 2007-08 and the number of accolades he achieved is too numerous to list. Hasek began his NHL career with the Chicago Blackhawks and played for the Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators along the way.

At 46 years of age, it is rumoured that Hasek will be back next season to play another year with Spartak Moscow in Russia’s KHL. This season, Dominik played the bulk of the games for Spartak and led the league in shutouts with seven.

Those are just a few of the former NHLers that excelled this season in Europe. The several elite leagues throughout the continent feature dozens of players that have NHL experience.