Slow News Summer has drifted into Some News September, and pretty soon this space is going to be well and truly in regular season countdown mode. We’ll have the usual previews, oddly specific predictions, and the annual reader contest. Just this morning, I took the bizarro-meter out of storage and fired it up, just to see if it would last us another season. We’re almost there.

But not quite yet, so today let’s check one more reader question off our offseason to-do list. This one was first asked about five years ago — yes, sometimes it takes that long for the muse to visit — and was simple enough: Which season produces the best six-man roster of players who played their last game that year?

We can do this. Three forwards, two defensemen and a goalie, based on players who saw their final NHL action in a given season. That’s the sort of question that combines history, research, and remembering some guys, all of which are some of my favorite things.

But I’ll admit I had one concern heading into the project: I was pretty sure I already knew the answer. It would end up being 2003-04, because that was the double-cohort year caused by the lost lockout season that produced one of the greatest Hall of Fame classes ever. So we had already had our winner, and any suspense would come from seeing who could come the closest.

Except, spoiler alert, the 2003-04 season makes the list, but doesn’t win. We’ll get to that.

For now, we’ll dig back to the dawn of the expansion era in 1967-68, and try to find the 20 best lineups of players who said goodbye to the NHL. Let’s start with …

No. 20: 1984-85

We get a few big names onto this squad before it starts to fade. But hey, at least our goalie almost won an All-Star Game MVP.

Forwards: Darryl Sittler, Steve Shutt, Terry O’Reilly

Defense: Brad Park, Jim Schoenfeld

Goalie: John Garrett

There are other options on the blue line, including Marty Howe. But I’m taking Schoenfeld because he could sing, he makes fine cover art for a hockey history book, and he won’t let the referees pick on us.

No. 19: 2013-14

What do you get when you combine two of the most universally beloved forwards of all time with a workmanlike blue line and a crusty goaltender who didn’t like anyone? Part of me is glad we don’t have to find out.

Forwards: Teemu Selanne, Daniel Alfredsson, Saku Koivu

Defense: Ed Jovanovski, Derek Morris

Goalie: Tim Thomas

By the way, the Canadiens should get over themselves and their whole “You have to be a Hall of Famer” thing and retire Koivu’s number. Then again, teams are weird about this stuff.

No. 18: 1999

We all know who retired in ’99. The question is whether enough other great players followed him to make this squad a contender. The answer: Not really.

Forwards: Wayne Gretzky, Dino Ciccarelli, Dale Hunter

Defense: Jamie Macoun, Craig Ludwig

Goalie: Ron Hextall

Gretzky is Gretzky, and our two journeymen blueliners would at least know how to get the puck off the glass and out. Meanwhile, I’m not sure Ciccarelli, Hunter and Hextall are good enough to make this team a contender, but I do know that anyone who beats them is going to feel it in the morning.

No. 17: 2014-15

This team is basically carried by the two Martins, Brodeur and St. Louis. And it’s more than enough to get them into the top 20.

Forwards: Martin St. Louis, Daniel Brière, Dany Heatley

Defense: Sergei Gonchar, Kimmo Timonen

Goalie: Martin Brodeur

By the way, that’s the only time “Brodeur” and “St. Louis” should be used in the same sentence, am I right, Devils fans?

No. 16: 2011-12

This is probably the weakest forward line on our list, and the goaltending isn’t great. But man, that blue line would be just about unstoppable. Could two players drag the rest of the group into contention? These two might, sure.

Forwards: Jason Arnott, Jason Blake, John Madden

Defense: Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Pronger

Goalie: Dwayne Roloson

Sure, just a guy with seven Norris Trophies paired with the last defenseman to win MVP. Good luck to everyone who’s going to try to get a shot on net against this squad.

No. 15: 2000-01

Another group that’s basically all about the blue line, with this pairing being so good that I didn’t even consider Larry Murphy for a spot.

Forwards: Tony Granato, Ron Sutter, Joe Murphy

Defense: Ray Bourque, Paul Coffey

Goalie: Kirk McLean

Those are the two highest-scoring defenseman in NHL history, if you’re wondering, and they’re each over 250 points up on third spot. Coffey was arguably the smoothest skater ever, and Borque remains my pick for the second-best defenseman ever.

No. 14: 2009-10

This is yet another stacked blue line, but this time with a fun forward line that will feature two pure goal scorers and some multi-Selke winning (you could go with Jere Lehtinen over Brind’Amour if you prefer). There are some contender vibes here, but one position kills us.

Forwards: Paul Kariya, Keith Tkachuk, Rod Brind’Amour

Defense: Chris Chelios, Scott Niedermayer

Goalie: Cristobal Huet

Huet doesn’t just land the job; he’s kind of the only option unless you think I’m talking myself into Vesa Toskala, which, for the record, I am not.

Peter Forsberg played in his final NHL game with the Avalanche on February 12, 2011. (Frederick Breedon / Getty Images)No. 13: 2010-11

We can thank two games of an unsuccessful comeback attempt for getting us our top forward, which allows us to ice a line of three Hall of Famers. None on the back end, though, unless Red Wings fans get their way someday.

Forwards: Peter Forsberg, Mike Modano, Mark Recchi

Defense: Adam Foote, Brian Rafalski

Goalie: Chris Osgood

If it weren’t for Forsberg’s aborted comeback in 2011, he’d be on Team 2008 with Dominik Hasek, but not much else. He probably made the right call.

No. 12: 1988-89

It feels kind of suiting that the season that saw the seismic shift of Gretzky going from Canada to California also ended up being a changing of the guard in terms of star players hanging up their skates.

Forwards: Marcel Dionne, Lanny McDonald, Bob Gainey

Defense: Craig Hartsburg, Ken Morrow

Goalie: Billy Smith

As with a few teams, our blue line doesn’t inspire confidence in terms of keeping the puck out of the net. But that’s OK, because we make up for it with one of the greatest defensive forwards of all time, plus a goalie who was so dirty that nobody will want to go near him.

No. 11. 1997-98

We’ve got three legitimate Hall of Famers on the forward line, and one somewhat less popular pick on the blue line.

Forwards: Jari Kurri, Mike Gartner, Pat LaFontaine

Defense: Kevin Lowe, Al Iafrate

Goalie: Andy Moog

Are Iafrate and Moog good enough to carry their weight on this team? Maybe, maybe not, but they have us this and this, so you will show them some respect.

No. 10. 2021-22

The most recent year on our list features three guys who are already in the Hall of Fame, plus at least one more name that will join them soon. The last forward spot came down to Jason Spezza or Dustin Brown, and only one of them has a statue.

Forwards: Joe Thornton, Ryan Getzlaf, Dustin Brown

Defense: Zdeno Chara, Duncan Keith

Goalie: Carey Price

We did say we were going by the last game played, so the fact that Price is still technically active enough to be traded doesn’t bother us. But if you have an issue with it, the criminally underrated Tuukka Rask is our backup.

No. 9: 1973-74

We run into some controversy here with Frank Mahovlich, who did indeed play his final NHL game in 1974 but who then went on to play a few more in the WHA. Maybe that doesn’t fit the spirit of the thing, but we’ll allow it because we need the help up front to supplement a very strong back end.

Forwards: Frank Mahovlich, Alex Delvecchio, Bruce MacGregor

Defense: Tim Horton, Jacques Laperrière

Goalie: Gump Worsley

Five Hall of Famers and a guy named Bruce. Honestly, it kind of works.

No. 8: 2006-07

I’m doing something I rarely do in these sorts of posts, and giving a slot to a non-Hall-of-Fame player over a guy who did get the call up front. Sorry, Pierre Turgeon, chalk it up to chemistry as we instead reunite two-thirds of the Legion of Doom (and play them with a defenseman who never gave them an inch).

Forwards: Eric Lindros, Joe Nieuwendyk, John LeClair

Defense: Darius Kasparaitis, Oleg Tverdovsky

Goalie: Eddie Belfour

The blue line would probably jell pretty nicely, but it’s still the weak link in an otherwise strong squad.

No. 7: 1978-79

Hockey’s loss is this squad’s game, as we get two immortals whose careers ended earlier than they could have in Bobby Orr and Ken Dryden.

Forwards: Yvan Cournoyer, Jacques Lemaire, Pit Martin

Defense: Bobby Orr, Eddie Westfall

Goalie: Ken Dryden

RIP to Dryden, a guy who was both in the conversation for best goalie ever and also one of the smartest and most influential minds the sport has ever known.

No. 6: 1970-71

This ends up being our oldest team, and it’s a very good one. That makes some sense when you think about the timing — the 1967 expansion doubled the number of jobs available in the NHL overnight, which presumably convinced a few legends to hang around for an extra season or two. We don’t have much depth, and we run into another WHA defection with Bathgate, but otherwise, it’s tough to do much better than this group if you love your old-timers.

Forwards: Jean Beliveau, Andy Bathgate, George Armstrong

Defense: Jean-Guy Talbot, Al Arbour

Goalie: Glenn Hall

Also, more players should wear glasses during NHL games. I feel like somebody doing that these days would actually come across as weirdly intimidating.

No. 5: 2002-03

We’ve got three dynamic forwards up front, plus another one on the blue line, and a guy who thought he was a power forward in net. We also have Ken Daneyko chipping pucks off the glass and shaking his head and wondering how it came to this.

Forwards: Pavel Bure, Doug Gilmour, Theo Fleury

Defense: Phil Housley, Ken Daneyko

Goalie: Patrick Roy

Seriously, though, give me that forward line in NHL ’94 and I will absolutely wreck you.

No. 4: 2008-09

The forwards are so stacked that we don’t have room for Hall of Famer Jeremy Roenick, who’ll have to settle for centering our black aces alongside Claude Lemieux and Markus Naslund.

Forwards: Joe Sakic, Sergei Fedorov, Brendan Shanahan

Defense: Sergei Zubov, Teppo Numminen

Goalie: Curtis Joseph

I took Joseph in net, although some of you might prefer Olaf Kolzig. Apparently, those two are destined to battle it out forever in these things.

No. 3: 2003-04

So here’s the year I figured would be the runaway favorite, since it basically covers everyone who didn’t feel like waiting around while the NHL took a full season off. And yep, some huge names retired that year. But none of them were goalies, which keeps this team from being the top-to-bottom monster that it should be.

Forwards: Mark Messier, Ron Francis, Adam Oates

Defense: Al MacInnis, Scott Stevens

Goalie: Arturs Irbe

It’s also worth noting that the five slam-dunk HHOF skaters are pretty much the only true legends from this year, with the next best players being guys like Vincent Damphousse and Stumpy Thomas. That’s fine for our purposes, as the five studs we do have all fit perfectly into position. But this year fell just short of the juggernaut I expected.

No. 2: 2005-06

And here’s the other side of the lockout’s double cohort, as we get the players who stuck around to give the new NHL a try before realizing it was time to go. It all adds up to an absolutely legendary first line, a very good blue line and a career backup/surprisingly decent GM in goal.

Forwards: Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull

Defense: Brian Leetch, Eric Desjardins

Goalie: Garth Snow

I promise you, I checked the goalie list roughly a dozen times, and Snow is the best we can do. I’m tempted to say we just pull him and send out a fourth forward like Luc Robitaille or Alexander Mogilny. What, are the other teams ever going to actually get the puck off of us?

No. 1: 1979-80

We can thank the WHA for this one, as it keeps two legendary forwards busy enough for late-career returns to the NHL with the Hartford Whalers. That helps us build the single best forward line in this entire exercise, and give them just barely enough support to take the top spot.

Forwards: Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita

Defense: Carl Brewer, Dale Tallon

Goalie: Gerry Cheevers

Like the previous two entries, this one has a weak spot — the blue line. But if I can’t build a team with a superstar at every position, I’ll take the one with a Hall of Fame goalie in a photo finish.

(Top photo of Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull: Denis Brodeur / NHLI via Getty Images)