I'm not sure if we'll ever see another . He favoured long passes out of his own zone after drawing the forecheckers into him. Pronger has scored goals and points at a fractionally higher rate. 20) Today is Bobby Orr's 73rd birthday. Horton was described by his opponents as one of the strongest players and heaviest hitters to set foot in the NHL. 74 Year Old #23. Next year he scored 26 goals and had 64 points in 81 games. He is a two-time first-team All-Star, three-time second-team All-Star and played in 13 All-Star Games. Associated With. Clancy made up for that by scoring. He's had more success, winning a Cup with Pittsburgh, and still has the potential to put up some good offensive numbers for a few more years. Dit managed to help the Bruins win a cup again in 1941. He scored more than 20 goals in a season five times. The club newsletter even carried an apology for the delay. As I went across, Glenns legs opened. Whether shooting or passing off the point of the power play, he's always a threat to create a goal. He could step up and through defenses before they realized he was moving. He is the WHA career leader in playoff points. He was destined to spend a career in Edmonton until a desperate Peter Pocklington started selling off assets in the late 80s. He also won the Conn Smythe in 1977-78 with 21 points in 15 playoff games to tie with Guy Lafleur for the team playoff scoring lead. He broke in with the Rangers scoring 31 points in 49 games as rookie. One of the most consistent players to ever lace up a pair of skates, Zubov played 16 seasons in the NHL; in 15 of them he scored 30-plus points, in 12 of them he scored 40-plus points, in eight of them he scored 50-plus points and in three of them he scored 60-plus points, including an incredible 89-point season in 1993-94, which led all defensemen. He suffered of course in comparison because no one was Bobby Orr. Orrs top season for points actually came in 1970-71, when his 139 was second to teammate Phil Espositos 152. 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. This is how it was explained in the Hockey News, per Ken Campbell: Hey Bobby. Paul "Rhino" Reinhart was an Atlanta Flame rookie who made the jump with the organization to Calgary. When we speak of the greats of ice hockey, Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Maurice Richard and Jean Beliveau enter into the conversation. Nobody who ever laced up skates played the game better than No. From 1937 on he was a defenseman for the Bruins. 1966 Topps. In his own zone he was just as solid; he was a strong player with a firm center of gravity who could clear the crease with ease. He returned at the start of 1978-79, but lasted only six games. Steven Ellis. Without getting into the entire story, hundreds of Donald Trump supporters stormed the building in what appeared to be an attempt to stop the results of October's election from being certified. Phil Esposito led the team with 13 goals and 14 assists, followed by none other than Orr who tallied nine goals and 11 helpers. In his 21-year career, he also never raised the Stanley Cup over his head. During his last six seasons in the NHL he was racked with injuries which severely curtailed his offensive numbers and adversely effected his career averages. Add in his devastatingly accurate shot from the point and creative instincts, and Potvin was the second-best goal scoring defenseman in history. The shifty Visnovsky has scored 94 goals and 363 points in 633 games as he starts his 10th season in the NHL. The Leafs gave up on him early. He scored more than 20 goals three times in the NHL though that first season he was mostly a winger. Nicklas Lidstrom is the best defenseman of his generation and one of the best of all time. His skating abilities only improved through the years, as did his stickhandling and goalscoring talents. He was a strong skater with a great point shot and nose for the net. Coach Dick Irvin feared Harvey would end up coughing up the puck in front of his own net, but it almost never happened. He started playing from an early age, and his exemplary defense skills made him join the 'Metro Junior A League' as a junior with . He is just ahead of Paul Coffey, who had 196 points in 194 games. He shined just as bright in the regular season, as he was a three-time 20-goal scorer, a two-time 70-point scorer and finished second to Bobby Orr in Norris voting in 1973. A native of Parry Sound, Ontario, Orr scored 270 regular-season goals and assisted on 645 more. Though his highest goal total in a season to date is 16 he looks to have the potential to score 20 in a season. Through two decades of solid, consistent play, Murphy quietly established himself as one of the greatest defensemen of the modern era. He comes out behind only Bobby Orr, Paul Coffey, Denis Potvin, and Paul Reinhart for goals per game in the playoffs. You had to be better than you had ever been.". Impressively, he amassed more than 100 points for a sixth consecutive (and last) season. If you left him to run you almost never got a chance to notice them. He is the best defenseman since Bobby Orr. Not only did Orr become the first and to this date, the only defenseman to win a scoring title, the Bruins thrived as a team en route to their first Stanley Cup title since 1941. Campbell ends his article by pleading with Orr to change his position, hoping that he will be, once again, the player and teammate we all admire. He was skilled with the puck and mobile for a big man but it was the shot that set him apart. Orr, a 1979 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, won the Calder Trophy as the top rookie in the NHL in 1966-67; the Norris Trophy as the best defenseman in the League eight times (still a record) in. His .605 points per game added up over 19 seasons. Poor Reed though was gone. According to Orr, though, his flight through the air was by choice. He suffered a nasty injury from a collision with a net the next year that degraded his offensive ability. Throw in the fact that the slap shot wasn't popularized until Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion had success with it in the early 1950's and it's easy to see why the offensive contribution from defensmen in those era's was often minimal. Kelly started his career in Detroit as a defenseman. But even in defeat, he remained humble and heroic. His playoff numbers were never as good as his regular season ones, but he did produce 15 assists in 19 playoff games during Philadelphia's 1988-89 playoff run. Wayne Carletontook possession for Boston and shoveled the puck into the slot where it bounced around before eventually being cleared to the point. His best seasons never reached the heights of Orr or Coffey. In NHL history, franchises have built dynasties around elite defensemen over and over again. Red Berenson, Gary Sabourin, and Larry Keenan were credited for the three Blues goals during Game 4. MacInnis is the third-highest scoring defenseman in NHL history. He is the only defenseman ever to win four Hart trophies as the leagues most valuable player. Housley was never treated very well by the fans in Calgary despite leading the team in assists during the strike curtailed 1994-95 season. Olausson did manage to win his only cup with Detroit in 2002. He was a first team All-Star 10 times and made the second team once. McDonald coached Orr in peewee and bantam hockey. A . Pronger is a man whose offensive production increases in the playoffs. Cart. The 19 goals in Detroit and 3 in Bostonmarked his last +20 goal season. Hewon the NHLs hardest shot competition at the All-Star game seven times. MOVE OVER, BOBBY. 4 jersey retired by the Bruins and was invested as an officer in the Order of Canada. One photo caught his. He was a first-team All-Star three times, a second-team All-Star three times and played in seven All-Star Games. Unfortunately he only played 80 or more games four times in a season, in his 15-year NHL career. Teams : Mtl, NYI, Tor, NYR, LA, Det, Ana, Atl, Mtl, Van, Pho. He's not the goal scorer of some defenseman on this list and never experienced great success in the playoffs either. He quarterbacked one of the greatest power-plays of all time in Montreal, featuring himself and Geoffrion on the points and Beliveau, the Rocket and Bert Olmstead. Hockey Player #22. Most of the players on this list come from 1967 on. I was really trying to get the puck on net, and I did.. He scored 20 or more goals nine times in a season, 30 or more three times. He moved east-west but was constantly looking for the spot where he could move north south and he invariably found it. To gain inspiration for his basketball games, Boston Celtics great Larry Bird had a pregame ritual of looking up to the banner honoring Orr that hung from the rafters of the old Boston Garden. They increased that margin to a score of 16-4 during Game 3 as the teams headed into what would be the final matchup of the 1970 NHL Playoffs. The most exciting play in hockey is the end to end rush. Forced to play in Sweden and Finland for four years after graduating from university, Brian Rafalski was finally given a chance by the New Jersey Devils. Everyone agrees that Gretzky, Orr, Lemieux, and. He played 37 games that first season and had 23 points. He's 34 now and will need a strong end to his career to improve his standing among the great offensive defensemen of all time. His third and final year in Winnipeg he had his best season with 79 assists and 97 points, both Jet records for a defenseman. Despite all of this, Park played at a time where Bobby Orr was breaking records every night, and therefore, never got the true recognition that he deserved. He was 82. His shot from the point was also a feature on the power play. Playing against the completely unknown Russian speedsters in the seminal Summit Series in 1972, Park was never at a loss. He added 26 goals and 66 assists in eight postseason runs and was a two-time Stanley Cup winner for the Boston Bruins. Eighty games were the most he ever managed in a single year. He scored 20 and had 82 points for his first and only point a game season. Lubomir is a creative point man who can make things happen offensively. Robert Orr, AKA Bobby Orr, was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes - but sadly, he's not a defenseman. Closest Norris Finish: Second (1964, 1969). He had as rough a ride as any player I've ever seen play the game. Available for both RF and RM licensing. Thats the kind of teammate Mark Fraser and a lot of other people are looking for right now.. He also flashed that skill at the public that would have dazzled crowds in Detroit for generations. Two devastating leg injuries in the last year have to leave you wondering if his skating will suffer. Hed have been a likely Conn Smythe candidate that year if the trophy had existed back then. Though only 14, Orr thrived against players as old as 20. He's a player who could easily slip off this list with a couple of bad seasons. He was an offensive talent on the blue line that may never be matched. And you know the rest: Orr soared through the air in ecstasy having just won his first Stanley Cup. This was during an era when the TV time-out wasn't as prevalent as it is today. He also won the Hart Memorial Trophy as regular-season Most Valuable Player three consecutive seasons (1969-70 through 1971-72). Despite being overshadowed by the likes of Ray Bourque, Paul Coffey and Chris Chelios, who were all hitting their primes at the same time as him, he still was a second-team All-Star three times, played in three All-Star Games and finished in the top five in Norris Trophy voting four times. 5 Orr's vs. 5 Howe's, like that could happen. Greschner provided continuity for the Rangers during the 80's. Orrs 102 assists is the 12th-best assist total in NHL history for any player. Detroit tried to trade Kelly to the Rangers in 1960 but Kelly retired rather than report. Helping lead Canada to the title with seven assists in two goals in seven games earned Orr tournament MVP honors. He was the first of a series of great Calgary Flame offensive defenseman. Howe also led the Flyers to three Stanley Cup Finals appearances, but lost each time. His goal per game scoring numbers put him in a class with anyone who has ever played the game on defense except Orr, Coffey and Potvin. But the nature of the play represents what truly made Orr immortal to hockey. Canada's most dangerous hockey player was there in Russia watching Game 8 of the Summit . He additionally played in four All-Star Games. His obvious offensive skills were an immediate boon to the Devils. A defenseman starts out behind his own net and skates through an entire team to score a goal. This image of the Bobby Orr Flying goal black and white photo has been personally autographed by NHL legendary Boston Bruins defenseman Bobby Orr. He was beaten out by the 24-year-old Petr Stasny, who had 109 points with the Nordiques that year for the Calder Memorial trophy as rookie of the year. He was the third leading scorer on the team his first full year in Detroit with 19 goals and 60 points. His best statistical season in the league came while playing with Mario Lemieux and company in 1992-93. When the Islanders won their four Cups in a row from 1980-83, Potvin had 85 points and 27 goals in 78 playoff games. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 03/04 BAP Ultimate Bobby Orr Defenseman Glove Patch Auto Signature 4/4 1/1 Jsy# at the best online prices at eBay! Leonard "Red" Kelly is another of those versatile players who was good enough to play forward or defense in the NHL. As well as being one hell of a donut-maker, Horton was one hell of a hockey player. He leads all defensemen in scoring that year. "With Orr's exit, Boston fans felt as if a loved one had disappeared," Conway wrote. He was drafted eighth overall by the Bruins in 1979, playing in Boston for 21 seasons. Eddie had a will to play and a knowledge of the game that made him a great if eccentric teacher of hockey skills years after he stopped playing. This slide show is designed to honour and rank those offensively skilled players who have played defense in the NHL. He was the master of the long headman pass out of his zone as well. He scored 40 points in his first full season as a fresh faced rookie with New Jersey. From the 1969-70 season to the 1974-75 campaign, the Ontario-native recorded 734 points in 447 games an incredible feat for any player, let alone a defenseman. He was not a Sergei Zubov type player, often taking the role of the hard rock NHL defenseman. Again only he, Bobby Orr and Brian Leetch have ever managed that feat as career defensemen who played over 50 games in the playoffs. He scored 23 goals and 81 points with the Flames 1992-93 and 20 goals and 67 points with the Blackhawks in 1995-96. Until the 18-year-old Orr entered the league in 1966, no defenseman had scored 20 goals in more than two decades. He had 71 points in 78 games for Dallas in 2005-06. Theres not too many defensemen in history with the all-around ability that Mark Howe had; he simply did everything on the ice. During the playoffs, that increased to .23 goals per game near the very top of career performances for defensemen. He was a stick handler, play maker and scorer of the first calibre. 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. The following year Turnbull lead a Salming-less Leaf team past the Kings and to an upset of the heavily favoured New York Islanders in the second round of the playoffs. His best point total was in 2006-07 when he had 69 with the Ducks. Its time for Orr to step up and to speak out against Trump and his sycophants just as forcefully as he did two months ago. Robert Gordon "Bobby" Orr (March 20, 1948-) is widely considered among the top three greatest hockey players in the history of the NHL, and most certainly the greatest defenseman the league has ever seen. Bobby Orr - The man many consider the greatest hockey player ever - and certainly the greatest defenseman in NHL history - Orr played his first two seasons with the Boston Bruins, winning eight straight Norris Trophies, three Hart Trophies, two Conn Smythe Trophies, and a pair of Art Ross Trophies as the only defenseman ever to lead the . Teams: LA, Phi, Que, Stl, Ott, Stl, LA, Phi, Det. He came in to the league as a 19 year old with the LA Kings and scored 16 goals and 76 points in his first NHL season. He was an good playmaker who also managed to score 20 goals or more in a season four times. It was the moment Orr realized he was a champion, captured and engraved in history. Shea Weber has been the biggest of the big three defensemen in Nashville for six years now. His skills were critical to early Islander success, especially in 1975-77 where he almost singlehandedly lead the team on long playoff runs. Before then that offensive output was Standard Operating Procedure for Chris. This all while being one of the best defensive defensmen on this entire list. He had 31 goals and 46 assists the next year, but some of that output came as a forward. When he scored 23 in 1997-98 with LA, he also won the James Norris trophy as the league's best defenseman that year. Orr won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Stanley Cup MVP both times with nine goals and 11 assists in 1970 and five goals and 19 assists in 1972. That resistance to conformity apparently fueled his offensive instincts. As a sophomore he scored 18 goals and 67 points in the regular season. 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). The wisdom at the time was Swedish players would not endure rough play and if hit enough would go back home to Sweden. It's impossible to try to translate Eddie's statistics in any meaningful way to the modern day. Housley was traded again for another teams veteran hero. 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. Brian Leetch was another of the flood of talented American defensemen who came into the NHL attempting to emulate Bobby Orr. Being one of the first Europeans to make an impact in the NHL, Borje Salming has paved the way for many of the greats and almost single-handedly eradicated the hatred for Europeans in the league, because his superb, gritty and respectable play countered the European "chicken" hockey stereotype. He was no slouch as a defender either. The Cup was a result of Orrs most memorable moment his flying goal. Doug Wilson is the first of the defensemen to produce more than .8 points per game for over a 1,000 game career. He had enough offensive skills though to see him picked for both the 1981 and 1987 Canada Cup Canadian teams. By his third season Borque was a point a game NHL defenseman. He was known as a non-conformist in an era, the 1950s, when conformity was king. His playoff numbers were even better. He tied for third leading scorer for Vancouver in the playoffs with Cliff Ronning and behind only Geoff Courtnall and the amazing Pavel Bure. This all while he was 33 and 34. 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