In 2003 he had 18 points in 24 playoff games to lead the team, In 2000 Jersey beat Dallas and in 1995, the Devils swept the Red Wings in the Cup final, and Scott Niedermayer's 11 points and defensive play were again central to the victory. Another Bobby Orr Was Drafted to the NHL. He then managed to help the Sharks the first of two early franchise playoff runs with 10 points in 14 games that year and five in 11 playoff games the next. In total, No. Ron Greschner was a career Ranger. In NHL history, franchises have built dynasties around elite defensemen over and over again. A revolutionary player who forever changed the role of defensemen, Orr is widely considered one of hockey's greatest players. 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. It can be said that Bobby Orr created the "Offensive defenseman.". They beat the Flames, the Atlanta Flames, two straight in a best of three series. Leetch had four game-winning goals on his way to a Conn Smythe win. Zubov moved on to Dallas to be the power play quarterback there and help them win a Cup in 1999. Injuries chipped away at the hard playing Suter but he managed to maintain an offensive presence almost to the end of his career. 10. When we speak of the greats of ice hockey, Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Maurice Richard and Jean Beliveau enter into the conversation. Paul Coffey was perhaps the fastest man ever to lace up skates. 4 started celebrating just before being tripped, resulting in one of the most iconic photos in hockey. An absolute defensive force for Toronto, he led the team to four Stanley Cup wins during the 1960s. 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). "He brought others with him. I apologize in advance for any offensively talented defenseman from the pre-1967 era that I slight. In addition to the plus-minus record of 1970-71, Orr became the first player to give out at least 100 assists that same season. Sign up for our regular 'Bruins Newsletter' for all the latest. He was a better skater and play maker early in his career but even at the end he could shoot and he could hit. 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. 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. Bobby Orr Highlights. 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. After setting a record for points by a defenseman with 64 during the 1968-69 season, Orr nearly doubled that total with 120 in 1969-70. 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. "When he began to move the sensation was unique: All the Canadiens began backpedaling in a small panic, like beachgoers sighting a coming monster wave," Dryden once said. It was the shot that made Al great. 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. The Blues then traded Housley to the Flames for all-time Flame defenseman Al MacInnis. Honorable Mentions: Steve Duchesne, Sergei Gonchar, J.C. Tremblay, Eric Desjardins, Kevin Lowe, Vladimir Konstantinov, Mike Green, Allan Stanley, Dan Boyle, Fern Flaman, Brad McCrimmon, Carl Brewer, Craig Hartsburg, Kevin Hatcher, Al Iafrate, Shea Weber, Jim Neilson, Rob Ramage, Pat Stapleton, Teppo Numminen. He was a first-team All-Star three times, a second-team All-Star three times and played in seven All-Star Games. Buy images; Sell images; It's one of the great moments in sports history: Bobby Orr, celebrating the overtime goal that, in 1970, brought the Stanley Cup to Boston for the first time in 29 years. Updated hourly, with analysis, commentary and features from hundreds writers worldwide, our articles are read over 5 million times every month. He scored over .4 goals a game during his career. His last three playoff runs he's scored 14, 14 and 12 points. Pisces Hockey Player #2. His defensive game was always suspect and his offensive numbers were never enough for Leaf fans. A defenseman starts out behind his own net and skates through an entire team to score a goal. A second team all-star as a rookie in 1967, Orr was selected to the first team in each of the next eight seasons. He also flashed that skill at the public that would have dazzled crowds in Detroit for generations. It did far more for the city than that. Closest Norris Finish: Second (1988, 1994). But there is one campaign that seems to rise above the rest. 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. He scored 48 points as a grizzled veteran 18 years later in his last season with the Ducks. He was a three-time 20-goal scorer and two-time 80-point scorer. Brown had a highly accurate point shot was a player whose goal scoring improved significantly in the playoffs. Moreover, Orr helped make hockey more popular and helped make the Bruins a big draw both at home and on the road. Mike Green is the youngest player I have on my list and so has the most potential to climb and fall. The legendary Pilote was Chicagos answer to Doug Harvey. Housley was never treated very well by the fans in Calgary despite leading the team in assists during the strike curtailed 1994-95 season. He played his only games in November 1975 after the Bruins already had traded Phil Esposito to the New York Rangers. The Leafs gave up on him early. An extra 20 years has got to mean a lot! Injury and age interfered with his skating but he was still a crafty passer and had a useful point shot on the power play till the end. This all while he was 33 and 34. He suffered a nasty injury from a collision with a net the next year that degraded his offensive ability. 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. Throughout his career, Orr was able to amass a pile of hardware that is almost unimaginable. Orr made the OHAs first all-star team his remaining three junior seasons. Tremendous defensive defenseman with an offensive upside. Lubomir is a creative point man who can make things happen offensively. Orr, the 74-year-old legendary defenseman, ranks No. Carlyle scored an impressive 647 points in 1,055 regular season games. This included, but it wasn't limited to, three Hart Trophies, two Art Ross . He was fair skater and an able puck mover, but his shot moved him into the offensive elite of the game. Then, in Orrs own words, Derek gave me a great pass and when I got the pass I was moving across. However it fits in your life as a sports fan, what Bobby Orr and the Boston Bruins did on May 10, 1970, still resonates 50 years later. These are all factors that are keeping Housley out of the Hall of Fame for now. He destroyed all of the conventional wisdom about playing defence. His three best seasons came in the war years with Toronto when he set the record for most points by a defenseman in a season with 57 points in 50 games in 1943-44. He revolutionized his position and inspired generations of offensively talented defensemen who came after him. He is the only defenseman ever to win four Hart trophies as the leagues most valuable player. He won three James Norris trophies in a row from 1963 to 1965. Harvey was eventually dealt to the New York Rangers when he supported Ted Lindsays attempt to start a players association. The 26-year-old stay-at-home defenseman was afraid of getting caught up ice, so he focused on his defensive responsibilities and let Orr work his magic all over the ice. 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. The 1966 Topps #35 Bobby Orr rookie hockey card is his only rookie card and one of the most recognizable in the hobby. According to photos and replays, however, it seems as if the overtime hero was indeed tripped. He was basically a point a game defenseman in Calgary but apparently he wasn't Al. When the Islanders won their four Cups in a row from 1980-83, Potvin had 85 points and 27 goals in 78 playoff games. Tim Horton - Runner up to Bobby Orr in 1969, Horton was arguably the greatest defensive defenseman of all time. Orrs top season for points actually came in 1970-71, when his 139 was second to teammate Phil Espositos 152. When playoff performances are added, Coffey leads all defensemen with 455 goals in 1,603 NHL games. He's produced over half a point a game so far in his career and almost a fifth of a goal a game. 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. Most of the players on this list come from 1967 on. Orrs ability to pace the Bruins offense helped him surpass 100 points in six seasons, including league highs of 120 in 1969-70 and 135 for 1974-75. Punch Imlach started Kelly at center, ostensibly to check the rival Canadiens star center Jean Beliveau. Chelios had 72 and 73 point seasons with the Blackhawks. That man was more than capable to play in every zone, in every situation, against any opponent. Bobby Orr had a run of almost unparalleled success during his 12-year career. Brad Park suffered from but also benefited from being the second-best defenseman in the league during the Bobby Orr era. Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. A powerplay quarterback his entire career, he scored at least 20 in a season twice, once in Montreal as a 24 year old and once with Detroit when he was 36. 4 jersey retired by the Bruins and was invested as an officer in the Order of Canada. Meanwhile, Rick Smith, Esposito, and John Bucyk netted three goals for Boston in order to send the game into overtime. Associated With. Success on that stage propelled him to greater success in the NHL. He had another four 19 goal seasons. Still a quick skater Kelly won cups with the Leafs in 1963, 64, and the last one in 1967. 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 skated like the wind and had one of the hardest slap-shots ever. 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. He also finished fourth in the voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy (regular-season most valuable player). He leads all defensemen in scoring that year. Photo by Ray Lussier/The Boston Herald via AP, File. Said that Bobby Orr had a highly accurate point shot was a better and! 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