Hi there! To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. He had trouble translating that into offense and then injury cut short what could have been one of the great offensive careers of a defenseman. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Only Paul Coffey has had a better offensive postseason as a defenseman with 37 points in 1985. He'd been moved to St Louis by Winnipeg. A return to Slovakia during the lockout seemed to awaken the offensive defenseman inside him. Out of that group . During his Boston years, Esposito led the league in goals six times and in scoring five times. The quick skating Housley was an offensive force for the Sabres and he played forward as well as defense for them. He was a first-team All-Star three times, a second-team All-Star three times and played in seven All-Star Games. No other NHL defenseman has ever managed to score more than .3 goals a game. I expect him to move up on this list as his career progresses. Ultimately, he wound up playing in seven NHL All-Star Games. Orrs most notable performance came in the NHLs 25th All-Star Game in 1972, held in Bloomington, Minnesota. He was an offensive talent on the blue line that may never be matched. This is the only recognized rookie card of hockey's most legendary defenseman. His best point total was in 2006-07 when he had 69 with the Ducks. Far from a one-season wonder, Orr was the first defenseman to score 30 goals in a season (1969-70), then the first to notch 40 (1974-75). But Orrs most memorable moment, in union with the remainder of his storied career, brought hockey back to the forefront in the city. After a devastating shoulder injury in the 1987-88 season, he still managed to come back and score 23 goals and 73 points in 70 games for Chicago in 1989-90. Note: Defensemen who hit their prime before the trophy was introduced will not be included in this list (Eddie Shore never won a Norris, just because he retired before it was established). He favoured long passes out of his own zone after drawing the forecheckers into him. The 22 goals and 79 points he managed that year were his career best. This prompted many fans to look back at what legendary NHL defenseman Bobby Orr did months ago. Orr created space on the ice where seemed as though there was none. He had the skills to rush from end to end and the desire to do it. BU's Thomas Whalen celebrates hockey great and the Big Bad Bruins of 1970 in new book. When he retired in 1966, he was 20th all-time in scoring for any position. He and his mostly offensive skills won seven James Norris trophies as the league's best defenseman. On top of that, the Bruins advanced to the postseason for the first time in nine years. Orr combined speed, strength, skill and hockey savvy at both ends of the ice. During the 1980-81 season he had 83 points to finish second in team scoring behind Rick Kehoe. Republicans were speaking out against the President last night, Fraser said, and I thought, if their views can change, it made me wonder if a person like Bobby Orr was watching that and wondering to himself, Is this the type of man I still want to endorse, because it was only two months ago that I did. . He lead the Oilers in scoring during their abortive Stanley Cup run. Only Ray Bourque managed to score more with 410, while playing 203 more games. The young defenseman was already turning heads with his ability to score goals and win fights. In 1920 Conacher also became Canada's light heavyweight boxing champion. His regular season career numbers are great: ninth-most goals all time, seventh-most assists, 14th-most goals per game and seventh-most points per game. Known as a devastating hitter, shutdown defenseman and long-time Devils captain, Stevens memorable and iconic career spanned 22 seasons and 1,635 games, and it's hard to believe that in that much time, he never won a Norris Trophy. His 59 points in the 1964-65 season was a record for defenseman in the pre-expansion era. 4. He is just ahead of Paul Coffey, who had 196 points in 194 games. He was a strong skater with a great point shot and nose for the net. Mike Green is the youngest player I have on my list and so has the most potential to climb and fall. Expectations were high for this first round pick. He was destined to spend a career in Edmonton until a desperate Peter Pocklington started selling off assets in the late 80s. Ice hockey never saw a better, more complete player than Bobby Orr. The multi-sport athlete was also a rugby, baseball, lacrosse and hockey star. Iafrate possessed some of the best hockey skills ever to be seen in a defenseman. After a stint in the minors during his second season, Turnbull put his offensive game together in his third year, scoring 20 goals and 56 points. Dit managed to help the Bruins win a cup again in 1941. He was a late season addition in 1993-94 and had six goals and 15 points in their run to the Stanley Cup finals versus the New York Rangers. The Ducks look to be hoping his numbers with them will closer to the .686 points per game he's managed since coming back from Slovakia. Without a devastating point shot it's his mobility and playmaking that set him apart from other defensemen. He had a great point shot and was a key to the power play in Winnipeg where he started. Park was a bit of a pocket Potvin for the Rangers, exercising a similar physical presence. Carlyle scored an impressive 647 points in 1,055 regular season games. Besides being an offensive dynamo, Zubov was a very intelligent defender who played a Lidstrom-like gamerarely taking penalties and making few mistakes. Opinion. His .173 goals per game for his career put him in a goal scoring class with the likes of career point men like Sergei Zubov and Larry Murphy. Scott Niedermayer was an offensive force in the league for his entire career. Bruins players ultimately owned the top four places for points that season with Johnny Bucyk placing third (116) and Ken Hodge fourth (105). Orr is one of three players (Guy Lafleur in 1976/77 and Gretzky in 84/85) to win the Hart . Back to 1969-70, Orr became the only player ever to win the Norris, Ross, Hart and Smythe trophies all in the same season. Orrs goal didnt just put an end to a 29-year Stanley Cup drought in Boston. Larry Robinson was the youngest and the best of the big three defenseman that patrolled the blueline for the Montreal Canadiens in the 70's and 80's. He holds numerous Toronto team records including: most career regular-season assists (620), highest career plus/minus rating (plus-155) and most career regular-season goals and points by a defenseman (148 and 768). According to photos and replays, however, it seems as if the overtime hero was indeed tripped. A student of the game he was hard to rattle on the point, invariably making the right play when called upon. Ray Borque burst on to the scene in Boston with 17 goals, 65 points and a Calder Memorial trophy as the league's best rookie. McDonald coached Orr in peewee and bantam hockey. Olausson's best season saw him score 20 goals in 1991-92 in Winnipeg. "He brought others with him. Chelios's second season in Montreal he had 64 points in 74 games. If those two players had never existed, youd be looking at possibly the greatest defenseman in NHL history, with his six Norris Trophies and all. Buy images; Sell images; His legacy isn't complicated. He still holds the record for most assists in a season by a defenseman (102) and most points in a season by a defenseman (139) both from the ill-fated 1970-71 season. He managed an impressive 80 goals in his 494-game career. Pronger is a man whose offensive production increases in the playoffs. The record held until Chicago Blackhawk star Pierre Pilote broke it with 59 points in 68 games in the 1964-65 season. While not the goalscorer some of these offensive defensemen are, his skating ability made him capable of end to end rushes that were a trademark with the lanky Robinson. Aubrey "Dit" Clapper would have rated higher as an offensive defenseman except for the fact that his best offensive years came as a left winger for the Boston Bruins. Closest Norris Finish: Third (1987, 1993). It is the most recognizable highlight in Boston sports history. He didn't begin getting the respect he deserved until the second half of his career and didn't win his first Norris Trophy until. He finished out his career winning a cup as a depth defenseman with the Red Wings in 2002. Robinson won two James Norris trophies. Since Oct. 30 of last year, when Orr bought a full-page advertisement in the New Hampshire Union-Leader to endorse incumbent United States . When you look at his first 16 seasons in the league Chelios managed to average three quarters of a point a game. Reed Larson was a mainstay with the Detroit Red Wings. Coach Dick Irvin feared Harvey would end up coughing up the puck in front of his own net, but it almost never happened. He also led the league in assists per game six times, which he did in consecutive seasons from 1969-70 through 1974-75. The Hall of Famer put up five seasons of 40 points or more with Chicago and. That same year, Zubov scored five goals and assisted on 14 others in the postseason to help the Rangers win their first Stanley Cup in 54 years (he won another Cup with Dallas in 1999). Twenty-three different defensemen have won this award since its inceptionfrom Red Kelly to Bobby Orr to Denis Potvin to Nicklas Lidstrom, with Orr leading the way with eight wins. With what has transpired over the past months (not to mention what the President has done over the course of his life) and especially what took place at the Capitol on Wednesday, fans of the great player, including former NHLer Matt Fraser are demanding that Orr repudiates his endorsement to Trump. The Leafs gave up on him early. Now, at least five people are dead and President Trump is under real threat of being removed from office prior to Joe Bidens inauguration on January 20th. During the Boston Bruins 1969-70 season, Orr netted a remarkable 33 goals and 87 assists in 76 games. He played 37 games that first season and had 23 points. Closest Norris Finish: Second (1977, 1980). In these cases I'm relying on anecdotal evidence. United States diplomat who did the groundwork for creating the United Nations (1871-1955) United States naval officer who commanded the `Constitution' during the War of 1812 and won a series of brilliant victories against the British (1773-1843) 3 letter answer (s) to hockey great bobby ORR Canadian hockey player (born 1948) Brad Park suffered from but also benefited from being the second-best defenseman in the league during the Bobby Orr era. Jeff Brown was another power play specialist whose lack of a complete defensive game kept him moving. He had 50 points in 66 regular season games and then 199 in 22 playoff games. Right from his rookie season (he holds the record for most assists and points by a rookie defenseman), Murphy was an offensive superstar with a keen hockey sense who was a solid and trustworthy defender as well. Brad Park was one of the most talented two-way defensemen in history. As I went across, Glenns legs opened. Besides his deft puck-handling and precise passing, Orr, who famously wore number 4, had a presence that made any team he played for better the moment he stepped on the ice. He moved east-west but was constantly looking for the spot where he could move north south and he invariably found it. The talented Gonchar is the definitive power play quarterback, confident and creative at the point with a fine hard, accurate shot. Nobody who ever laced up skates played the game better than No. Players from that era were severely limited in what they were allowed to do offensively and often ostracized or traded if they tried to do more. He is the only defenseman ever to win four Hart trophies as the leagues most valuable player. he became the Jets best player leading the team in scoring from the back end three years in a row. Howe's longevity has to be a factor for me. Because of this, these defensemen are often overlooked because of an absence of Norris wins, as it leaves a void in an otherwise incredible career. He was an enthusiastic offensive skater with a great shot. Playing against the completely unknown Russian speedsters in the seminal Summit Series in 1972, Park was never at a loss. He was a runner up for the Hart Memorial trophy as the leagues MVP twice. Bourque was Boston's other great defenseman, a magisterial, super smooth stalwart who nonetheless has always been cloaked in a touch of shadow. Not only was he one of the best at reading plays, he was also more than capable of contributing offensively. I'd love to hear from anyone who has thoughts or even memories of some of those earlier offensively talented defensemen forced to play in a much more circumscribed role. So I got a little lucky there.Blues defenseman Jean-Guy Talbot also took a one-handed swipe at the puck as Orr skated it to the corner, proceeding to dish it to Sanderson who was still waiting below the goal line. So rather than penalizing him for playing so long I want to reward the offensive skill he did show for over 1006 NHL games. For the first time in his long public life, hockey's greatest all-time player is affiliated with more than just the game and his revolutionary role in it.. Harvey is a long story for another day, as the. Weaker defensive play, a lack of size and perceived lack of grit has always seemed to diminish the regard he's gotten over the years. If you left him to run you almost never got a chance to notice them. Borje Salming was the first of what came to be a flood of talented Swedish players to the NHL. Eighty games were the most he ever managed in a single year. 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great defenseman was overshadowed by bobby orr