His stoicism was supplemented with a fitness level that allowed him to play 40 minutes a game late into his career. He quarterbacked the power play in Tampa Bay and he was able to keep up with the high priced talent that was there. Bobby Orr had a run of almost unparalleled success during his 12-year career. "Bobby Orr was better on one leg than anybody else was on two," Canada teammate Darryl Sittler said. The former Minnesota Golden Gopher and Herb Brooks protege, played for some of the worst Red Wing teams of all time. He also finished fourth in the voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy (regular-season most valuable player). In a 12-year NHL career that began in 1966, he revolutionized the role of the defenseman before he retired in 1978 at 30. "With Orr's exit, Boston fans felt as if a loved one had disappeared," Conway wrote. The Cup was a result of Orrs most memorable moment his flying goal. During the 1980-81 season he had 83 points to finish second in team scoring behind Rick Kehoe. When the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994, it was notMark Messier or Mike Richter who was the Most Valuable Player in the playoffs. His big offensive weapon was the point shot as was reflected in his almost a fifth of a goal a game he scored during his career. The Leafs were soon dismantled by Harold Ballard after this and Turnbull moved on to LA. His career featured five 20 goal or better seasons. That resistance to conformity apparently fueled his offensive instincts. A revolutionary player who forever changed the role of defensemen, Orr is widely considered one of hockey's greatest players. He also won four Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh and Detroit. Bobby Orr is a former Canadian ice hockey player, counted among the best players of the game. The photo was snapped by photographerRay Lussier as Orr flew through the air like a Superman, his arms outstretched and an ecstatic expression on his face. He was a stick handler, play maker and scorer of the first calibre. He's tied for Kevin Hatcher for 13th in goal scoring. Potvin broke into the league with 17 goals and 54 points in 77 games to win the Calder trophy. 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. Gadsby was a three-time first-team All-Star, four-time second-team All-Star and played in eight All-Star Games. 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. Derek Sanderson picked up the ricochet and took his own slap shot which whistled wide according to Kelly. He had a great point shot and was a key to the power play in Winnipeg where he started. If the James Norris was available, Eddie would have won four at least and probably would have equalled or surpassed Orrs eight and Harveys seven and Lidstroms six James Norris trophies if the award had been given out when he played. When playoff performances are added, Coffey leads all defensemen with 455 goals in 1,603 NHL games. 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. 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. The team finished with a 17-43-10 record, leaving the Bruins in last place. Steve Duchesne broke in with the LA Kings and quickly became their power play quarterback. Though only 14, Orr thrived against players as old as 20. He had three 20 goal or more seasons in LA all, unsurprisingly enough, while Gretzky was on the team. 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. He followed this up with a 15 point in 16 game playoff performance as the Flames swept Chicago and beat Philadelphia in seven games before losing to the North Stars in their first playoff year in Calgary. 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. Murphy became a key international player for Canada and contributed a goal and six assists in the 1987 Canada Cup. He managed an impressive 80 goals in his 494-game career. Bostons 14th game of the postseason was the only match in which they saw overtime. He is a creative offensive force on the point for the Canadiens. he also had 20 points in 17 games in the Canadien's 1985-86 playoff run. Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr and Mario Lemieux, seated next to each other, talking about their legacy. Greschner provided continuity for the Rangers during the 80's. Kelly started his career in Detroit as a defenseman. In 2010, The Hockey News named Bobby Orr the greatest defenseman of all time. I was really trying to get the puck on net, and I did.. He was the best offensive defenseman on that team. 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. Bet . Orr on '72: Best player misses greatest win. He had another four 19 goal seasons. Thats the kind of teammate Mark Fraser and a lot of other people are looking for right now.. The same way teams were forced to design defenses around Brett Hull, they forced to rush the point to keep Al MacInnis from getting that cannon off. Save up to 30% when you upgrade to an image pack. THATS the kind of teammate you want??? Rafalski has been one of the NHL's best defensemen for the last decade. Just like the citys hero, hockey itself took flight in Boston. Names like Eddie Shore (who was often Hollett's defensive partner), Dit Clapper and Art Coulter dominated the era. Visnovsky has managed to average .572 points per game for his career so far. His skills and size on the back end helped them win the cup in 1938-39. Is a seven-time Stanley Cup winner, one-time Conn Smythe winner, named to second All-Star team once, played in four All-Star Games and finished in the top five in Norris Trophy voting four times. Not only was he one of the best at reading plays, he was also more than capable of contributing offensively. Despite all that Howe played in the NHL, mostly as a defenseman for 15 seasons. Ice hockey never saw a better, more complete player than Bobby Orr. Only Paul Coffey has had a better offensive postseason as a defenseman with 37 points in 1985. Offensive defensemen were popularized with the coming of Bobby Orr in 1966-67. 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). His playoff totals admittedly only cover 71 games. Bobby Orr Highlights. The hall of fame end to end rusher, was the second best offensive defenseman of his era behind only Doug Harvey. 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. Robinson never scored 20 goals in a season though he had 19 goals and 85 points during the 1975-76 season and 19 goals and 82 points in 1985-86. He had a couple big playoff runs scoring 19 points in 23 games for Colorado when they won the Cup in 2001. 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. 2023 Attraction Web S.E.C. "Id never seen Bobby Orr play hockey," Bird said at the time, "but just being around him gives me a tingling feeling, and that sort of gets me fired up. Injuries chipped away at the hard playing Suter but he managed to maintain an offensive presence almost to the end of his career. The club newsletter even carried an apology for the delay. Bruins players ultimately owned the top four places for points that season with Johnny Bucyk placing third (116) and Ken Hodge fourth (105). He scored over a quarter of a goal a game for an NHL best 410 career games. Athleticism ran in Orrs family. 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. His .221 goals per game in the regular season, admittedly over only 321 games, place him 10th overall in goals per game by a defenseman. Free shipping for many products! He scored 40 points in his first full season as a fresh faced rookie with New Jersey. Paul Coffey's game had defensive holes in it. It is unlikely that all of Orrs awards can fit into a single trophy case. Orr is one of three players (Guy Lafleur in 1976/77 and Gretzky in 84/85) to win the Hart . "Gordie in my mind is the best that ever played the game. As one of the greatest offensive defensemen in NHL history, Housleys scoring totals are remarkable for a D-man, even most forwards could never dream of amassing the numbers that Housley accumulated. Ken Dryden, Hall of Fame goalie for the Montreal Canadiens, summed it up best. Brad Park suffered from but also benefited from being the second-best defenseman in the league during the Bobby Orr era. Available for both RF and RM licensing. As a young player he got to play with and learn from the legendary Brad Park. 74 Year Old #23. The record of 20 goals would stand for 24 years until a young man named Bobby Orr came along. Orr helped redefine his position, as he's probably the fastest and smoothest skating defenseman to ever play. Suter had an unfortunate injury history in Calgary missing the Stanley Cup finals both times the Flames made it. He retired, early for a Howe at age 40. "Absolutely," Orr, 68, said. Bobby Orr, byname of Robert Gordon Orr, (born March 20, 1948, Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada), Canadian American professional ice hockey player who was the first defenseman to lead the National Hockey League (NHL) in scoring. Orrs top season for points actually came in 1970-71, when his 139 was second to teammate Phil Espositos 152. Part of the problem with a career that spans eras is that the beginning can be lost in the mists of time. By his third season Borque was a point a game NHL defenseman. He had 22 goals and 85 points on that offensive juggernaut that year and thought he was on his way to winning his third cup in a row in Pittsburgh. I'm not sure if we'll ever see another . Brad Park was one of the most talented two-way defensemen in history. 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. Orr, the 74-year-old legendary defenseman, ranks No. The wisdom at the time was Swedish players would not endure rough play and if hit enough would go back home to Sweden. Hartsburg could play in big games, obviously on the international stage and as well in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Only Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky have ever had better assist totals in a season. His 11 points in 10 playoff games were second on the team only to Darryl Sittler's 12. Only Coffey's 37 points is a better postseason total among defensemen. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Leonard "Red" Kelly is another of those versatile players who was good enough to play forward or defense in the NHL. The addition of Steve Yzerman in 1983 was the beginning of the climb back to competence. But Orrs goal goes beyond winning the Stanley Cup. Boston Bruins defenseman Bobby Orr is airborne after scoring the goal that won the 1970 Stanley Cup, May 10, 1970. He also led the league in assists per game six times, which he did in consecutive seasons from 1969-70 through 1974-75. 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. Chelios had 72 and 73 point seasons with the Blackhawks. 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