Bobbys father, Doug Orr, also was a hockey prospect. Closest Norris Finish: Second (1964, 1969). Jeff Brown was another power play specialist whose lack of a complete defensive game kept him moving. During the 1998 playoff run he had 15 points in 22 playoff games and won his second cup in a row with the Red Wings at the grand old age of 37. 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. His 59 points in the 1964-65 season was a record for defenseman in the pre-expansion era. Available for both RF and RM licensing. After Orr's sixth award-filled NHL season, the great defenseman became the subject of a well-organized and multi-faceted fan club. 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. He managed 103 points once becoming the fourth NHL defenseman ever to do that after Orr, Coffey and Potvin. 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 is also the second-highest-scoring U.S.-born player in NHL history, behind Mike Modano. Salming was named to the NHL first All-Star team once, the second All-Star team five times and played in three All-Star Games. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. Al Iafrate was a huge train of a defenseman. Pronger is a man whose offensive production increases in the playoffs. Wednesdays events at the Capitol building in Washington D.C. are literally unprecedented. He scored 20 goals in the 1999-2000 season. The list of defenders in NHL history with two Norris Trophies and a Conn Smythe Trophy includes only Bobby Orr, Larry Robinson, Brian Leetch, Nicklas Lidstrom and Duncan Keith. The high risk end of his game had him traded to Colorado where he helped them win the 1996 Stanley cup. His stoicism was supplemented with a fitness level that allowed him to play 40 minutes a game late into his career. Clancy made up for that by scoring. While offensively brilliant, Housley was average to mediocre in his own end, as he has a career plus/minus rating of minus-53. I'm not sure if we'll ever see another . Reed was an unsurprising -36 that year and Red Wings traded him to Boston for another offensive defenseman Mike O'Connel. This slide show is designed to honour and rank those offensively skilled players who have played defense in the NHL. His best statistical season in the league came while playing with Mario Lemieux and company in 1992-93. He was a better skater and play maker early in his career but even at the end he could shoot and he could hit. Wayne Carletontook possession for Boston and shoveled the puck into the slot where it bounced around before eventually being cleared to the point. His offensive credentials were notarized the next year when he scored five goals versus the Red Wings in a 9-1 rout. For his career, Orrs nine regular-season hat tricks remain a record for NHL defensemen. Create an account. He was also an ageless wonder, as he played quality hockey right up until his death at the age of 44. 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. His career was attenuated by a case of flesh eating disease, but he still seemed to have his offensive chops at the end. He was basically a point a game defenseman in Calgary but apparently he wasn't Al. Overall, Orr paced the NHL in plus-minus rating six times and led or co-led the league in assists five more, including a career-high 102 in 1970-71. 10. Park was also named the best defenseman in the ground breaking series. Before he was a coach, Randy Carlyle played 17 seasons as a defenseman in the NHL. Impressively, he amassed more than 100 points for a sixth consecutive (and last) season. Save up to 30% when you upgrade to an image pack. Bourque is one of the all-time great NHL defensemen, winning the Norris Trophy five times. As knee surgeries limited him to just 10 games, Orr endured a most frustrating 1975-76 season. Weaker defensive play, a lack of size and perceived lack of grit has always seemed to diminish the regard he's gotten over the years. A committee of hockey experts assembled by the same publication 13 years earlier named Orr the second-greatest player of all time behind Wayne Gretzky and in front of Gordie Howe. He took home the Hart, Norris, Art Ross, and Conn Smythe Trophies and his first Stanley Cup . He is a creative offensive force on the point for the Canadiens. He was a great skater and supremely confident with the puck. He scored 20 and had 82 points for his first and only point a game season. A defenseman starts out behind his own net and skates through an entire team to score a goal. During the postseason the defenseman went on to produce 26 goals and 66 assists (92 points) in 74 playoff appearances. Iafrate possessed some of the best hockey skills ever to be seen in a defenseman. Playing against the completely unknown Russian speedsters in the seminal Summit Series in 1972, Park was never at a loss. He managed to contribute offensively for almost his entire career. 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. He was an offensive star with Chicago and always near the top of the league in scoring among defensemen. 4. Ian Turnbull broke into the league during the height of Bobby Orr fever in 1973. Al MacInnis developed into a complete offensive defenseman as his career progressed, but it was his shot that got him to the NHL. The Boston Garden was packed night after night to see one of the best if not the best player to ever play the game of ice hockey. 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. Lightboxes. Still in that time he's been an exemplary defenseman for Nashville both offensively and defensively. He also won the Hart Memorial Trophy as regular-season Most Valuable Player three consecutive seasons (1969-70 through 1971-72). He set the record for assists by a defenseman in a season with 46 in 1959, and became the first defenseman in history to amass 500 points. Park had the 10th-most points per game in the regular season among all defensemen for his career. Howe's longevity has to be a factor for me. He was long overshadowed on a team full of future Hall of Famers. In total, No. A big party started in Boston Garden. It felt like a five-player stampede moving toward you and at his pace. He and Al MacInnis became one of the best power play point combinations in hockey. Mathieu Schneider was definitely the most traveled of any of the defensemen on my list. It is unlikely that all of Orrs awards can fit into a single trophy case. MacInnis is the third-highest scoring defenseman in NHL history. The Ducks look to be hoping his numbers with them will closer to the .686 points per game he's managed since coming back from Slovakia. He was known as a non-conformist in an era, the 1950s, when conformity was king. 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. Nobody who ever laced up skates played the game better than No. 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. Helping lead Canada to the title with seven assists in two goals in seven games earned Orr tournament MVP honors. 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). Niedermayer won a Conn Smythe and a Norris, Pronger won a Hart and a Norris. The Hall of Famer established himself as one of the greatest defensemen of the '50s and '60s. The 19 goals in Detroit and 3 in Bostonmarked his last +20 goal season. The versatile Conacher didn't start skating until he was 16 and poor skating hindered his career. A revolutionary player who forever changed the role of defensemen, Orr is widely considered one of hockey's greatest players. Though his highest goal total in a season to date is 16 he looks to have the potential to score 20 in a season. "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. Another Bobby Orr Was Drafted to the NHL. His considerable goal scoring ability improved in the post season where he managed to score almost a quarter of a goal a game. So rather than penalizing him for playing so long I want to reward the offensive skill he did show for over 1006 NHL games. Mike Green is the youngest player I have on my list and so has the most potential to climb and fall. Francis "King" Clancy was a diminutive defenseman in an era when assists were only handed out for a key play that lead to a goal. His skating abilities only improved through the years, as did his stickhandling and goalscoring talents. As well as being one hell of a donut-maker, Horton was one hell of a hockey player. If it had gone by me, its a two-on-one, said Orr. Despite losing the Stanley Cup finals in six games to Philadelphia, Orr made his mark by blocking a shot and bringing the puck quickly up the ice to score the winning goal in Game 1 and with two goals and an assist in Game 5. 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. 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. The legendary Pilote was Chicagos answer to Doug Harvey. Detroit had their best playoff run in two decades making it to the conference final the next year. Only Ray Bourque managed to score more with 410, while playing 203 more games. 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. During the playoffs, that increased to .23 goals per game near the very top of career performances for defensemen. He was famous for his ability to steal the puck from attacking forwards. 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 . He quarterbacked the power play in Tampa Bay and he was able to keep up with the high priced talent that was there. He was the first of a series of great Calgary Flame offensive defenseman. Nobody played the game like him. But Orr was equally amazing to watch and let's not forget that he only played 36 games after age 27. He was a second round pick for the Sharks (30th overall) in 1991 and he joined the team for 1992-93 season. Now here they are, the 50 greatest offensive defensemen of all time. He was a strong skater with a great point shot and nose for the net. Pratt's point per game total of .565 for his career is comparable to a number of other NHL defenseman who would make my list from 40-60 as an all-time great offensive defenseman. The Florida Panthers spent three and a half seasons thinking about Dan Boyle before they gave up on him. Nobody played the game like him. Offensive defensemen were popularized with the coming of Bobby Orr in 1966-67. He was one of the best offensive defensemen of all time. Orr was also quite happy to hit and to drop the gloves. His .217 goals per game in the playoffs put him among the top 10 defensemen who had played at least 50 playoff games. He started in Buffalo with 19 goals and 66 points. Carlyle scored an impressive 647 points in 1,055 regular season games. He showed all the toughness and spring steel durability that would be expected from Gordie Howe's son. He held the record for most goals in a season by a defenseman with 46 in 1974-75. Horton was described by his opponents as one of the strongest players and heaviest hitters to set foot in the NHL. His career featured five 20 goal or better seasons. 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. Stock photos, 360 images, vectors and videos. Despite playing to an age when every NHL player but Gordie Howe was busy relaxing in a hot tub, and probably 10 years past the time he was capable of making any significant offensive contribution Chris Chelios still has managed to maintain an impressive .574 points per game average for his entire career. 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. He also flashed that skill at the public that would have dazzled crowds in Detroit for generations. Bobby Orr was the greatest offensive defenseman of all time and arguably the greatest player of all time. Ray Bourque would be next with five wins. He played 37 games that first season and had 23 points. In 1985-86, Coffey scored 48 goals, breaking Orr's record for goals by a defenseman (46, set in the 1974-75 . Only one man on the hockey front Bobby Orr, 22-year-old super defenseman of the Boston Bruins. He won the James Norris trophy in his last year in New Jersey. Crossword Answers for "Bobby __ one of the greatest midfielders" 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. His .605 points per game added up over 19 seasons. Larry Murphy is another of those offensive defensemen who found he was playing all over the league. His shot from the point was also a feature on the power play. He was a great skater and playmaker with a very useful point shot. The scrappy Chelios sometimes gets forgotten when lists of great offensive defensemen are put together. 1 in all-time NHL postseason points-per-game . Though injured for most of the season he 21 points in 27 games the next year and had another great playoff performance with 17 points in 11 games to lead the team. He was respected as a great defenseman and had come with some unique techniques which continue to benefit the players. Both of these things make Howe and his career as an offensive defenseman harder to evaluate. Ice hockey never saw a better, more complete player than Bobby Orr. His skill as a defenseman let him become the first NHLer to have a 20-year career in the league, all with the Bruins. 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