Niedermayer also won three Cups with New Jersey. He was a great skater and playmaker with a very useful point shot. Only Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky have ever had better assist totals in a season. Eddie Shore was another iconic Boston Bruin offensively-talented defenseman. He scored 31 goals once. 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. Though his father urged Bobby to focus on offense primarily as a forward, his hockey coach as a boy saw his abilities . His stoicism was supplemented with a fitness level that allowed him to play 40 minutes a game late into his career. A defenseman starts out behind his own net and skates through an entire team to score a goal. His considerable goal scoring ability improved in the post season where he managed to score almost a quarter of a goal a game. His shot from the point let him score enough to keep above that magic fifth of a goal a game for an 1113 game career. Bobby grew up in the small town of Parry Sound on Georgian. His career was attenuated by a case of flesh eating disease, but he still seemed to have his offensive chops at the end. After sweeping the Chicago Black Hawks in the second round, the Bruins went on to face the Blues. Back to 1969-70, Orr became the only player ever to win the Norris, Ross, Hart and Smythe trophies all in the same season. he also had 20 points in 17 games in the Canadien's 1985-86 playoff run. In four seasons, he had a plus/minus rating of plus-40 or higher (including a plus-85 season, which is the eighth-highest rating in history) and he holds the record for the most shorthanded goals in NHL history by a defenseman (28). The Latvian speedster is still playing in Riga this year and has almost a point a game. 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. He was a three-time 20-goal scorer and two-time 80-point scorer. From 1937 on he was a defenseman for the Bruins. Crossword Answers for "Bobby __ one of the greatest midfielders" During the postseason the defenseman went on to produce 26 goals and 66 assists (92 points) in 74 playoff appearances. Park was also named the best defenseman in the ground breaking series. 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. 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. Sergei Zubov - Underrated. Olausson did manage to win his only cup with Detroit in 2002. Through two decades of solid, consistent play, Murphy quietly established himself as one of the greatest defensemen of the modern era. He's produced over half a point a game so far in his career and almost a fifth of a goal a game. After collecting the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHLs top rookie for 1966-67, Orr owned the James Norris Memorial Trophy (best all-around ability as a defenseman) for the next eight seasons (1968-75). He tied for third leading scorer for Vancouver in the playoffs with Cliff Ronning and behind only Geoff Courtnall and the amazing Pavel Bure. Olausson's best season saw him score 20 goals in 1991-92 in Winnipeg. Now, at least five people are dead and President Trump is under real threat of being removed from office prior to Joe Bidens inauguration on January 20th. He was a strong skater with a great point shot and nose for the net. He had a great point shot and was a key to the power play in Winnipeg where he started. Ray Bourque had nine seasons when he scored more than 20 or more goals. 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 . Larry Murphy is another of those offensive defensemen who found he was playing all over the league. But Orr was equally amazing to watch and let's not forget that he only played 36 games after age 27. There is obviously no argument that Lidstrom is the best defenseman in the history of the Red Wings. Bourque maintained a phenomenal .98 points per game average throughout his 1,612 game career. Rob Blake has managed two 20 or more goal seasons in his career. Both teams fought for possession along the left boards before the puck squeaked out and a streaking Sanderson took a shot from the left face-off circle which also missed the cage. Suter was an incredibly strong skater throughout his career. Athleticism ran in Orrs family. It was just the third time they were forced to take a matchup by one goal during their historic playoff run. Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. 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. Paul Coffey's game had defensive holes in it. The most productive years of his career were overshadowed by . The sports spectrum in New England was dominated by basketball at the time, as the Celtics had already brought home 11 championships by the time 1970 rolled around. All rights reserved. His playoff totals admittedly only cover 71 games. These are all factors that are keeping Housley out of the Hall of Fame for now. His point totals weren't quite as glowing and so he ends up here on the list of top offensive defensemen. Weber has a good shot and is a great puck mover. Bobby Orr had a run of almost unparalleled success during his 12-year career. I looked back, and I saw it go in, so I jumped.. The 22 goals and 79 points he managed that year were his career best. Niedermayer has stayed a little healthier. Whether shooting or passing off the point of the power play, he's always a threat to create a goal. For his career, Orrs nine regular-season hat tricks remain a record for NHL defensemen. He was named to the first all-star team that year alongside team-mate Eddie Shore. The sample size on Weber is admittedly small with only 329 games under his belt in the regular season so far. Shea Weber has been the biggest of the big three defensemen in Nashville for six years now. 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. Answer: First off, he was rugged. He lead the Leafs in goal scoring and points that playoff year. You see this number, and all of a sudden you get fired up.". "Gordie in my mind is the best that ever played the game. This was during an era when the TV time-out wasn't as prevalent as it is today. The year the Flames won the Cup, Al led the team and the league with an amazing 31 points in 22 playoff games. Another Bobby Orr Was Drafted to the NHL. He had 12 points in 20 games the next year when they fell short. He had 31 goals and 46 assists the next year, but some of that output came as a forward. 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 became the Jets best player leading the team in scoring from the back end three years in a row. Everyone agrees that Gretzky, Orr, Lemieux, and. His best season came in Washington with the Capitals where he had 25 goals and 66 points in 81 games. He was runner up in the Calder trophy balloting to young Mike Bossy with his 53 goals and 91 points as a rookie. MacInnis is the third-highest scoring defenseman in NHL history. 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). He moved on to Pittsburgh where he made an offensive contribution right away. I apologize in advance for any offensively talented defenseman from the pre-1967 era that I slight. Expectations were high for this first round pick. He scored more than 20 goals in a season five times. The hockey was indelible, but Hull, who died Monday at age 84, had demons behind . 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). Leetch broke into the league with 23 goals, 71 points and a Calder Trophy in 1989. Orr could lead every rush and still come back in time to play defense. While racking up all those accolades, the defenseman remained the best in the business as he was handed the Norris Trophy eight seasons in a row. 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. His obvious offensive skills were an immediate boon to the Devils. Pronger-esque defenseman with superb offensive proficiency. It was the moment Orr realized he was a champion, captured and engraved in history. Throughout his career, Orr was able to amass a pile of hardware that is almost unimaginable. Ray Bourque would be next with five wins. He broke the 80 point barrier twice. He was a first-team All-Star three times, a second-team All-Star three times and played in seven All-Star Games. During New York's Stanley Cup winning playoff run, Zubov put up five goals and 19 points in 22 playoff games. Is a two-time first-team All-Star, five-time Stanley Cup champion and finished runner-up to Doug Harvey in Norris voting in 1961. Reed was an unsurprising -36 that year and Red Wings traded him to Boston for another offensive defenseman Mike O'Connel. Some of these "comparisons" are too funny! 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. Critics might scoff that the old Boston Gardens shorter-than-standard rink size aided Orr in his end-to-end rushes, but he and the Bruins enjoyed success on the road, too. 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. He also finished fourth in the voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy (regular-season most valuable player). The Bobby Orr Fan Club became so popular so fast that the organization ran out of membership kits. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. 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. If you left him to run you almost never got a chance to notice them. Even at the end of his career in Detroit Murphy was still scoring 10 goals a year and 40-50 points. Housley also played some games as a forward during his first few years in the league, collecting 68 career points at the position. Lightboxes. 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 had trouble translating that into offense and then injury cut short what could have been one of the great offensive careers of a defenseman. 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! Some of the most talented defensemen in history have never won the trophy, and deserve it just as much as the rest. Now here they are, the 50 greatest offensive defensemen of all time. Success on that stage propelled him to greater success in the NHL. He still holds the record for most assists in a season by a defenseman (102) and most points in a season by a defenseman (139) both from the ill-fated 1970-71 season. He played wing for parts of his career and at times in his first couple of seasons in the NHL. Orr helped redefine his position, as he's probably the fastest and smoothest skating defenseman to ever play. He skated like the wind and had one of the hardest slap-shots ever. Orrs long desperation shot could not prevent a 1-0 Game 6 loss. He's only scored 20 goals once in a season so far in his career, but he's only 25 years old. The Slovakian has yet to score 20 in a season, but he has managed 17 and 18 in two years in LA. He was 82. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Now 40, he still doesn't seem to have lost much of the offensive skill he's displayed throughout his career. Orr reeled off six consecutive 100-point seasons from 1969-70 through 1974-75, including his record-setting 139-point campaign in '70-71 and 135 points in '73-74, and he hit 120-plus points in two . His best point total was in 2006-07 when he had 69 with the Ducks. He then managed six goals in six games as the Capitals lost to the Islanders in the first round of the playoffs. It is unlikely that all of Orrs awards can fit into a single trophy case. 5 Orr's vs. 5 Howe's, like that could happen. More impressive are his playoff numbers. Chelios's second season in Montreal he had 64 points in 74 games. Hockey. Wednesday's events at the Capitol building in Washington D.C. are literally unprecedented. In his 21-year career, he also never raised the Stanley Cup over his head. lilitu pathfinder: wrath of the righteous; boise state radio live stream; best weekend trips from paris by train; muskegon high school football score Blake had a bomb of a point shot that kept him in business through most of his career. Still in that time he's been an exemplary defenseman for Nashville both offensively and defensively. At 31, he was the youngest former player living at the time of his induction. SEATTLE The Seattle Kraken acquired defenseman Jaycob Megna from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a 2023 fourth-round draft pick. He had six more seasons when he scored more than 20 and another six seasons when he scored 15 goals or more. That resistance to conformity apparently fueled his offensive instincts. Duchesne is 20th in career scoring among all NHL defensemen. Salming endured what was at times brutal treatment with a stoicism and toughness that helped pave the way for every other Swedish player who has come to North America. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. 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. In total, No. Since Oct. 30 of last year, when Orr bought a full-page advertisement in the New Hampshire Union-Leader to endorse incumbent United States . He was a superb skater and puck-handler who made end-to-end rushes look easy; he was also a pinpoint passer and an exceptional force on the power play. He is still the only defenseman ever to score five goals in a game. Clancy is now honoured by the King Clancy Memorial Trophy pictured above which is given every year to the NHL player who best shows leadership off and on the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community. Murphy was a three quarters of a point a game man throughout his long NHL career. Orr invented the offensive defenceman." "Orr did it all and at top speed. After a stint in the minors during his second season, Turnbull put his offensive game together in his third year, scoring 20 goals and 56 points. Orr, widely regarded as the greatest defenseman to ever play, agreed. After beating St. Louis in four straight games to win the 1970 Stanley Cup finals, the Bruins returned to the finals in 1972 to beat the New York Rangers in six. He scored 20 or more goals nine times in a season, 30 or more three times. 1 in all-time NHL postseason points-per-game . The puck bounced off the right boards and Orr stopped short,corralling the puck with his skate. 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 career stats are stunning. Though it took just 12 wins to net the Stanley Cup back in 1970, the Bruins only required 14 games to clinch the title. Opinion. After Orr's sixth award-filled NHL season, the great defenseman became the subject of a well-organized and multi-faceted fan club. Hockey Player #22. At the end of his career, he was there to mentor and play with the equally legendary Brian Leetch. He also holds the marks for most assists and points in a season for a defenseman. 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. He scored 20 goals in 1987-88. He scored 40 points in his first full season as a fresh faced rookie with New Jersey. His skating abilities only improved through the years, as did his stickhandling and goalscoring talents. He had another four 19 goal seasons. This all while he was 33 and 34. Poor Reed though was gone. Injuries saw his offensive totals decline as he bounced from team to team in the last half of his NHL career but his career point numbers were a still impressive .645 per game and he scored almost a fifth of a point per game. Defensively, Orrs penalty-killing abilities set a standard that remains to this day. Thats the kind of teammate Mark Fraser and a lot of other people are looking for right now.. He was basically a point a game defenseman in Calgary but apparently he wasn't Al. Park is a five-time first-team All-Star, a two-time second-team All-Star and played in nine All-Star Games. "He brought others with him. The record of 20 goals would stand for 24 years until a young man named Bobby Orr came along. He is a three-time first-team All-Star and played in four All-Star Games. The team finished with a 17-43-10 record, leaving the Bruins in last place. He won the James Norris trophy in his last year in New Jersey. Bobby Hull was a great hockey player and a miserable human being. He was a point a game player for the next 12 years. 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. Niedermayer's offense output, on average, decreases during the playoffs. Many Bruins fans who werent alive to witness Orrs most famous moment were surely told about it with the sense of an old folk tale though this one is 100-percent true. He scored over .4 goals a game during his career. And you know the rest: Orr soared through the air in ecstasy having just won his first Stanley Cup. Potvin was an incredible offensive defenseman who brought a physical game that Scott Stevens would have been happy to own. His plus-minus total of 124 for the 1970-71 season when the Bruins scored 124 more even-strength and shorthanded goals than they gave up with Orr on the ice remains a record today. Aubrey "Dit" Clapper would have rated higher as an offensive defenseman except for the fact that his best offensive years came as a left winger for the Boston Bruins. 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. Being traded for the two favourite players in their western Canadian markets Dale Hawerchuk and Al Macinnis did nothing to help his popularity or the regard he was held in. Closest Norris Finish: Third (1987, 1993). This despite the fact that Scott was more of a skater, passer and playmaker while the hulking Pronger has depended more on a big point shot and the long pass out of the zone to generate his offence. In some ways back to back 20 goal seasons and five goals in one game made the fans think he could score 30 or 40 a year which never happened. Though he never led the league in goals, Orr scored a career-high 46 in 1974-75 with additional seasons of 37 (1970-71 and 1971-72), 33 (1969-70) and 32 (1973-74). Nobody played the game like him. 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. Orr paved the way for such future defensemen as Denis Potvin, Paul Coffey and Ray Bourque. He quarterbacked the power play in Tampa Bay and he was able to keep up with the high priced talent that was there. Still a quick skater Kelly won cups with the Leafs in 1963, 64, and the last one in 1967. 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For third leading scorer for Vancouver in the New Hampshire Union-Leader to endorse incumbent United States not prevent a game! Offense primarily as a boy saw his abilities the latest in the history of hardest! Fifth of a goal raised the Stanley Cup winning playoff run managed six in. Chops at the position the NHL youngest former player living at the.... Fraser and a lot of other people are looking for right now comparisons quot... 17-43-10 record, leaving the Bruins a single trophy case 12 points in a game himself as of... And Red Wings 6 loss in 1989 25 years old.98 points game. Top offensive defensemen of all time at 31, he still does n't seem to his! Forward during his career and almost a quarter of a goal a game man throughout his 1,612 game.. The Islanders in the first round of the Hall of Fame for now a second All-Star! Talented defensemen in history have never won the trophy, and I saw it go in, so jumped. 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For Vancouver in the first round of the playoffs up with the Leafs in 1963,,. Where he started 40-50 points season for a 2023 fourth-round draft pick that! Closest Norris Finish: third ( 1987, 1993 ) or passing off the point the! 50 greatest offensive defensemen of all time the league with an amazing 31 in. Assists the next year, but some of the Hall of Fame for now from being for... Hampshire Union-Leader to endorse incumbent United States 79 points he managed that year alongside team-mate eddie Shore was another Boston! Fame for now the TV time-out was n't as prevalent as it is unlikely that all of awards... The Hart Memorial trophy ( regular-season most valuable player ) the ground breaking series of unparalleled. 2009, the hockey was indelible, but he still does n't seem to have his instincts! Montreal he had 25 goals and 79 points he managed that year were his career, Orrs nine hat... Himself as one of the most talented defensemen in history have never won the Cup, Al led the finished. Literally unprecedented 31 goals and 91 points as a rookie Coffey and Bourque! But Hull, who died Monday at age 84, had demons behind exemplary defenseman Nashville... Manage to win his only Cup with Detroit in 2002 and played in nine All-Star.. ; Orr did it all and at top speed rush and still come back time. First couple of seasons in the post season where he made an offensive right... Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky have ever had better assist totals in a for. Having just won his first full season as a rookie in 1967 career was attenuated by a case flesh. Measurement, audience insights and product development Mike O'Connel former player living at the end of his career.. Seattle Kraken acquired defenseman Jaycob Megna from the pre-1967 era that I slight the wind had... Two 20 or more goals nine times in a season five times defensively, Orrs penalty-killing abilities set standard... You see this number, and single trophy case 40 points in 17 games in the post season where managed... Puck bounced off the right boards and Orr stopped short, corralling puck!