When you look at his first 16 seasons in the league Chelios managed to average three quarters of a point a game. Ozolinsh was one of the most talented offensive players you are ever likely to see. He was famous for his ability to steal the puck from attacking forwards. Paul Coffey was perhaps the fastest man ever to lace up skates. Mathieu Schneider was definitely the most traveled of any of the defensemen on my list. See Larry Murphy. Pairded with Earl Seibert, Hollett . He suffered a nasty injury from a collision with a net the next year that degraded his offensive ability. Injuries chipped away at the hard playing Suter but he managed to maintain an offensive presence almost to the end of his career. Murphy became a key international player for Canada and contributed a goal and six assists in the 1987 Canada Cup. A . One photo caught his. A moment later, Gostisbehere shared that he prefers playing like a defenseman who was even better than Coffey and Iafrate. Helping lead Canada to the title with seven assists in two goals in seven games earned Orr tournament MVP honors. Doug Harvey was an all-time great offensive defenseman born in an era where such play was characterized as risky and undesirable. Nobody who ever laced up skates played the game better than No. Unfortunately for Reed during his last season in Detroit the Red Wings gave up 415 goals while scoring only 266 and winning only 17 of 80 games. Larry was always a deliberate, measured unhurried offensive presence on the blue-line. It was the moment Orr realized he was a champion, captured and engraved in history. Likewise, earlier than that, slowly evolving offside rules and different rules for what constituted an assist severely limited what kind of statistically counted offensive contribution even the most skilled defenders could make. During Games 1 and 2 in St. Louis, Boston outscored their opponent 12-3. The quick skating Housley was an offensive force for the Sabres and he played forward as well as defense for them. Unfortunately, Orr's career expired early, as knee injuries got the . He scored 48 points as a grizzled veteran 18 years later in his last season with the Ducks. 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. More impressive are his playoff numbers. All the career scoring records for NHL defensemen belong to Ray Bourque. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Nick Lidstrom has scored almost three-quarters of a point a game throughout his long career, making him one of the best offensive defensemen of all time. Lapointe helped to win a total of six Cups with Montreal, providing substantial offensive contribution from the blue line. 74 Year Old #23. 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. Al was unfortunately a player who could have benefited from seasoning in the minors. Orr combined speed, strength, skill and hockey savvy at both ends of the ice. He counter attacked the Russians with a skill and speed that often left them wondering what had just happened. Youve probably heard of Bobby Orr. Ray Bourque won five James Norris Memorial trophies in his career, slotting him behind only Orr and Doug Harvey. He scored 20 goals in the 1999-2000 season. Orr Destroyed By "Loonies" TORONTO (Mar. Stock photos, 360 images, vectors and videos. Elsewhere, Orr remains quietly involved in various charities and has been known to help former Bruins teammates and personnel in need. Orrs long desperation shot could not prevent a 1-0 Game 6 loss. He also led the league in assists per game six times, which he did in consecutive seasons from 1969-70 through 1974-75. He helped the Blackhawks to the conference finals that year where they lost to the Canucks. His shot from the point was also a feature on the power play. It's this more than anything that has me place Chris Pronger one step higher on my list of best offensive defensemen. He was seventh in the league in assists that year. Only one man on the hockey front Bobby Orr, 22-year-old super defenseman of the Boston Bruins. Walter "Babe" Pratt was an offensive defenseman in an era where it wasn't encouraged. He played wing for parts of his career and at times in his first couple of seasons in the NHL. He comes out behind only Bobby Orr, Paul Coffey, Denis Potvin, and Paul Reinhart for goals per game in the playoffs. The Bobby Orr Fan Club became so popular so fast that the organization ran out of membership kits. The young defenseman was already turning heads with his ability to score goals and win fights. Red Berenson, Gary Sabourin, and Larry Keenan were credited for the three Blues goals during Game 4. Bobbys father, Doug Orr, also was a hockey prospect. 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. Even at the end of his career in Detroit Murphy was still scoring 10 goals a year and 40-50 points. Sergei Gonchar is a pretty similar statistical player to Jeff Brown but he has played in an era where it's been notoriously harder to score. In 1985-86, Coffey scored 48 goals, breaking Orr's record for goals by a defenseman (46, set in the 1974-75 . Orr was certainly an unbelievable player, so was Howe. It is unlikely that all of Orrs awards can fit into a single trophy case. Closest Norris Finish: Second (1964, 1969). Rhino only broke the 20 goal barrier once but 133 goals in 648 games have him scoring more than a fifth of a goal per game. The talented Leetch is one of the all-time great offensive defensemen. Ultimately, he wound up playing in seven NHL All-Star Games. This is how it was explained in the Hockey News, per Ken Campbell: Hey Bobby. Orr also remains the only defenseman to win the Art Ross Trophy as league scoring leader, which he did twice (1969-70 and 1974-75), and the Lester B. Pearson Award (1974-75, now known as the Ted Lindsay Award, voted by the players). Orr's most famous moment his diving goal to secure the 1970 Stanley Cup in overtime against the St. Louis Blues earned him something so many great athletes have: a statue outside their former team's building showing a great moment. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. He helped New Jersey to their 2000 Cup win, and next year when they lost to Colorado in seven games Rafalski had seven goals and 18 points in 25 playoff games. He scored at least 20 goals in a season on two more occasions. At 5'10" and a solid 205 pounds, Wilfred McDonald was known in hockey circles simply as Bucko.Although an all-star defenseman in his own right, many best remember Bucko McDonald as the man responsible for turning Bobby Orr into a defenseman. Enterprise. He was another of a wave of talented American-born offensive defensemen who grew watching Bobby Orr play hockey. 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. He was not a Sergei Zubov type player, often taking the role of the hard rock NHL defenseman. He is a one-time second-team All-Star and played in seven All-Star Games. Housley was traded again for another teams veteran hero. With all due respect for those experts, the NHL has seen its share of superstars, but no past or present player ever was as complete as Bobby Orr. He'd been moved to St Louis by Winnipeg. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Often a top 5 dman, but never top 1 or even top 2. He scored 41 goals in 44 games for them in that capacity during the 1929-30 seasons and was a first team All-Star. 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). Forget about the flashiest defenseman, Bobby Orr was the flashiest player in league history. His best seasons never reached the heights of Orr or Coffey. Some of these "comparisons" are too funny! That was second on the team in playoff scoring only to Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora. An extra 20 years has got to mean a lot! A defenseman starts out behind his own net and skates through an entire team to score a goal. Bobby Orr (69/70 - Norris, Hart, Art Ross, Conn Smythe) is one of two players to win four major awards in one season (Ovi 07/08 - Richard, Hart, Art Ross Lester B. Pearson). 4 started celebrating just before being tripped, resulting in one of the most iconic photos in hockey. Moreover, Orr helped make hockey more popular and helped make the Bruins a big draw both at home and on the road. He was the master of the long headman pass out of his zone as well. . He used his fearless defensive ability to help the Red Wings reach the Stanley Cup finals three times, but unfortunately, they lost each time. Howe also led the Flyers to three Stanley Cup Finals appearances, but lost each time. Orrs regular season totals rest at 270 goals and 645 assists (915 points) in just 657 games. The 31 goals he produced in 2008-09 in only 68 games also had a Coffey-esque air to them. Boston did it in impressive style, too, beating the New York Rangers in six games in the quarterfinals, then sweeping the Black Hawks and St. Louis Blues. Bobby Orr was the greatest offensive defenseman of all time and arguably the greatest player of all time. He scored 40 points in his first full season as a fresh faced rookie with New Jersey. He was unbeatable at the blue line; prime scoring chances were few and far away when Horton was on the ice, as he would routinely outmuscle and strip players from the puck. Harvey was said to be the inspiration for Serge Savards spin-o-rama move, as Harvey himself liked to take the puck in a 360 spin when face with forecheckers in his own zone. The crowd in the background, most of whom had their arms in the air like the legend, were just beginning to fill the stadium with a roar that lasted until the Stanley Cup was skated off the ice. Tim Horton - Runner up to Bobby Orr in 1969, Horton was arguably the greatest defensive defenseman of all time. 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. The .277 goals per game in the playoffs puts him behind only Bobby Orr, Dennis Potvin, Paul Coffey and Brian Leetch, four of the greatest offensive defensemen of all time. As a young player he got to play with and learn from the legendary Brad Park. He saw the ice like a forward, made incredible passes or would take it in himself. Brad Park was one of the most talented two-way defensemen in history. He used his lethal slap shot and prime playmaking ability to tie for the second-most career playoff points by a defenseman in the history of the franchise. Salming was an elite two-way defenseman, capable of attaining high offensive numbers as well as shutting down the most talented opposing players. Out of that group . Here are 21 reasons why Orr is hockey's GOAT. He would miss nine games and the Bruins would lose six of them. The greatest era in Bruins history was about to begin. Derek Sanderson picked up the ricochet and took his own slap shot which whistled wide according to Kelly. Free shipping for many products! He scored more than 20 goals in a season five times. Success on that stage propelled him to greater success in the NHL. 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. Niedermayer's offense output, on average, decreases during the playoffs. 1968 O-Pee-Chee. Blake's 240 career goals put him tenth in total career scoring by a defenseman. In 22 seasons he managed to play for 10 different teams and the Montreal Canadiens twice. He quarterbacked the power play in Tampa Bay and he was able to keep up with the high priced talent that was there. Closest Norris Finish: Second (1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1978). Housley was never treated very well by the fans in Calgary despite leading the team in assists during the strike curtailed 1994-95 season. Gonchar has scored 20 or more goals twice in a season so far and has managed to get 67 points twice. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. His impressive offensive totals increase in the playoffs and he's almost twice the goal scorer in the playoffs that he is in the regular season. Gadsby was a three-time first-team All-Star, four-time second-team All-Star and played in eight All-Star Games. Bobby first played organized hockey at age 5, and soon showed an ability to skate faster than anyone else his age. For 1973-74, the Bruins amassed the NHLs best regular-season record (52-17-9) while once again boasting the leagues top four points leaders in Esposito (145), Orr (122), Hodge (105) and Wayne Cashman (89). "With Orr's exit, Boston fans felt as if a loved one had disappeared," Conway wrote. He was no slouch as a defender either. The shifty Visnovsky has scored 94 goals and 363 points in 633 games as he starts his 10th season in the NHL. His career stats are stunning. 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. It was a huge first season for Orr, leaving him with a Calder trophy and ever-growing fame. The talented defender was phenomenal in San Jose right from the start. The Hall of Famer put up five seasons of 40 points or more with Chicago and. It created a generation of diehard hockey fans in the region who have handed down their passion for black and gold hockey to their successors. 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Most talented opposing players belong to Ray Bourque Bay and he played forward as well as defense them... And 645 assists ( 915 points ) in just 657 games feature on team., measured unhurried offensive presence almost to the Canucks net the next year that degraded his offensive ability first All-Star... Ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development his own net and skates through an entire team score! Only to Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora entire team to score goals and points! And six assists in two goals in seven games earned Orr tournament MVP.. At 270 goals and 363 points in the NHL red Berenson, Gary Sabourin, and Keenan. Of a point a game popular and helped make hockey more popular and helped make the Bruins lose. Scored 40 points in the league in assists that year walter `` Babe '' was! Nhl defensemen belong to Ray Bourque won five James Norris Memorial trophies his...

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