great defenseman was overshadowed by bobby orr

Orr, the 74-year-old legendary defenseman, ranks No. These greats and others deserve all due respect for their major contributions to their sport. Fred Olausson was not as spectacular an offensive defenseman as the five we've looked at already, but he managed to be a useful offensive defenseman in the NHL for much longer than they did or have so far. Robinson managed just under .7 points per game over a 20 year career. In total, No. Mike Green is the youngest player I have on my list and so has the most potential to climb and fall. Ever since Bobby Orr came into the National Hockey League in 1966 and singlehandedly changed the concept of how to play defense, people have been waiting for . Zubov moved on to Dallas to be the power play quarterback there and help them win a Cup in 1999. A defenseman starts out behind his own net and skates through an entire team to score a goal. 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. This all while he was 33 and 34. The former Minnesota Golden Gopher and Herb Brooks protege, played for some of the worst Red Wing teams of all time. Don Awrey kept the play alive and sent a slap shot towards the net that was blocked. He scored 48 points as a grizzled veteran 18 years later in his last season with the Ducks. When he scored 23 in 1997-98 with LA, he also won the James Norris trophy as the league's best defenseman that year. 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. His shot from the point was also a feature on the power play. he also scored 21 goals that year breaking 20 for the first time. His last major highlight was his final NHL goal (and point) in Detroit on Oct. 28. He's also the only player to score five goals in a game on five shots. Olausson's best season saw him score 20 goals in 1991-92 in Winnipeg. Pratt won the Hart trophy as the most valuable player in the league the same year he set the record. One photo caught his. Injuries ended his career with the North Stars much too early. Often a top 5 dman, but never top 1 or even top 2. 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. A revolutionary player who forever changed the role of defensemen, Orr is widely considered one of hockey's greatest players. Closest Norris Finish: Second (1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1978). Other great defensemen such as Red Kelly and Doug Harvey preceded Orr, but the latter inspired with his speed and artistry on the ice. In NHL history, franchises have built dynasties around elite defensemen over and over again. 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. Some examples of his scoring prowess are: seven 20-goal-plus seasons (including one 31-goal season), 12 60-point-plus seasons (including a 66-point rookie season and a 97-point season), 338 career goals and 1,232 career points (both totals fourth all-time for defensemen, behind Bourque, Coffey and MacInnis). His 396 goals were the second-most ever in a defensemans regular season career. Mark Howe had a combination of creativity and toughness that doesn't seem to exist anymore. Bourque is one of the all-time great NHL defensemen, winning the Norris Trophy five times. Before he was a coach, Randy Carlyle played 17 seasons as a defenseman in the NHL. Reinhart grew superfluous as the third offensive defenseman with the addition of Al Macinnis in 1981 and Gary Suter in 1985. He had another four 19 goal seasons. 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). A . He was a defenceman who played with skill in every part of the rink. The record of 20 goals would stand for 24 years until a young man named Bobby Orr came along. Park had the 10th-most points per game in the regular season among all defensemen for his career. He was an good playmaker who also managed to score 20 goals or more in a season four times. 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. Whether shooting or passing off the point of the power play, he's always a threat to create a goal. 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. Ian Turnbull broke into the league during the height of Bobby Orr fever in 1973. He was famous for his ability to steal the puck from attacking forwards. These are all factors that are keeping Housley out of the Hall of Fame for now. He is a creative offensive force on the point for the Canadiens. Nobody played the game like him. He scored 15 goals or more for seven straight years. He was also a stellar stick handler and could keep the puck away from checkers with skill. His skating abilities only improved through the years, as did his stickhandling and goalscoring talents. He has 202 goals in what has been a 1002 game career. Orr scored that goal after completing a give-and-go with Derek Sanderson, and it remains one of the most unforgettable moments in hockey history. Though the season ended in a first-round playoff loss to the Black Hawks, it still proved most productive for Orr. Orr's peak from 1968-74 was tremendous. Howe's longevity has to be a factor for me. Closest Norris Finish: Second (1964, 1969). He also holds the marks for most assists and points in a season for a defenseman. Ron Greschner was a career Ranger. He retired, early for a Howe at age 40. During the playoffs he scored goals at a higher rate then in the regular season. "He brought others with him. 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). Chelios's second season in Montreal he had 64 points in 74 games. 10. The Original Six era featured a conservatism of play that frequently quashed any offensive creativity from defensemen. Defensive short-comings kept him from being chosen for Canada's Olympic team and may start to effect his game and ice time in Washington. He was 82. Available for both RF and RM licensing. 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. Larson followed this season up with 18 goals the next year five seasons in a row where he scored more than 20 goals as a defenseman. If you left him to run you almost never got a chance to notice them. Despite a history of injuries, particularly to his left knee, Orr managed to twice play a full slate of games for the Bruins with 76 in 1969-70 and 80 in 1974-75. The goal ranks up there with memories of the Boston Red Soxs 2004 World Series championship, the New England Patriots first Super Bowl win, and the Boston Celtics incredible streak of eight consecutive championships from 1959 to 1966. Cale Makar Quickly Gaining Reputation as Great Defenseman. Chambers: Wayne Gretzky is right about Cale Makar. 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Published on January 8, 2021 at 4:43 a.m. 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 sample size on Weber is admittedly small with only 329 games under his belt in the regular season so far. And you know the rest: Orr soared through the air in ecstasy having just won his first Stanley Cup. This slide show is designed to honour and rank those offensively skilled players who have played. He had 50 points in 66 regular season games and then 199 in 22 playoff games. Upon his retirement, the Hockey Hall of Fame waived its usual three-year waiting period to induct Orr in 1979. He lead the Leafs in goal scoring and points that playoff year. Along with Bobby Orr, he is the only defenseman to rank in the top 25 in career scoring, despite playing fewer than 1,000 games. Hes the only defenseman ever to win the Art Ross trophy as the leagues leading scorer and he did it twice in 1969-70 and in 1974-75. Pisces Hockey Player #2. He's evolved into one of great contemporary Canadian born offensive defensemen in the league. This list then will be highly weighted towards defensemen who have played in the last 45 years in the NHL. His .605 points per game added up over 19 seasons. 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. Throughout his career, Orr was able to amass a pile of hardware that is almost unimaginable. That combined with his performance in the Olympics where he was arguably Canada's best defenseman indicates a player capable of raising his game when the stakes get higher. Hi there! His career was attenuated by a case of flesh eating disease, but he still seemed to have his offensive chops at the end. Horton was offensively gifted as well and also a model for consistency, as he recorded 20-plus points 15 seasons in a row during the defensive defensemen era. He was a great skater and supremely confident with the puck. Likewise his season where he managed at least half a point a game was over a decade ago 1998-99 again with Chicago. Not only was he one of the best at reading plays, he was also more than capable of contributing offensively.

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