#2 - Bobby Orr

Bobby Orr (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #2)

Adjusted Stats

1966-1967 Bos            71 GP    16 goals   34 assists   50 points   0.70 PPG
1967-1968 Bos            51 GP    13 goals   24 assists   38 points   0.75 PPG
1968-1969 Bos            72 GP    23 goals   48 assists   71 points   0.99 PPG
1969-1970 Bos*          82 GP    38 goals   99 assists   137 points 1.67 PPG
1970-1971 Bos            82 GP    38 goals   106 assists 144 points 1.76 PPG
1971-1972 Bos*          80 GP    39 goals   84 assists   123 points 1.54 PPG
1972-1973 Bos            66 GP    29 goals   71 assists   100 points 1.52 PPG
1973-1974 Bos            78 GP    32 goals   91 assists   123 points 1.58 PPG
1974-1975 Bos            82 GP    42 goals   82 assists   124 points 1.51 PPG
1975-1976 Bos            10 GP    5 goals     12 assists   17 points   1.70 PPG
1976-1977 Chi             21 GP    4 goals     18 assists   22 points   1.05 PPG
1978-1979 Chi             6 GP     2 goals      2 assists     4 points     0.67 PPG

Adjusted Playoff Stats

1967-1968  Bos           4 GP     0 goals      2 assists     2 points     0.50 PPG
1968-1969  Bos           10 GP   1 goal       7 assists      8 points    0.79 PPG
1969-1970  Bos*         14 GP   8 goals      10 assists   19 points   1.32 PPG
1970-1971  Bos           7 GP     5 goals      6 assists     11 points   1.57 PPG
1971-1972  Bos*         15 GP   5 goals      18 assists   22 points   1.49 PPG
1972-1973  Bos           5 GP     1 goal        1 assist      2 points     0.35 PPG
1973-1974  Bos           16 GP   4 goals      14 assists   18 points   1.10 PPG
1974-1975  Bos           3 GP     1 goal        5 assists     5 points     1.83 PPG

Career - 701 GP, 281 goals, 671 assists, 953 points, 1.36 PPG
Career-Highs - 42 goals (74-75); 106 assists (70-71); 144 points (70-71); 1.76 PPG (70-71)
Average (12 seasons): 58 GP, 23 goals, 56 assists, 79 points, 1.36 PPG
Peak Avg. (67-75): 74 GP, 32 goals, 76 assists, 108 points, 1.45 PPG, 2 Cups

Playoff Career - 74 GP, 25 goals, 63 assists, 87 points, 1.18 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 8 goals (69-70); 18 assists (71-72); 22 points (71-72); 1.83 PPG (74-75)

Accolades - 3 MVP Awards, 8 Norris Trophies, 2 Art Ross, Calder Trophy, 2 Conn Smythes
All-Star Teams - 8-time 1st-team, 1-time 2nd-team
2-time Stanley Cup Champion

The best offensive-defenceman of the moment (forget the fact that he is, when he's off his game, a giveaway waiting to happen) is the Washington Capitals' Mike Green. Here are Green's adjusted averages over the past three seasons:

Green: 75 GP, 25 goals, 50 assists, 75 points, 1.00 PPG, +23

Pretty damn good. A point a game, and an average of +23 for the year (I feel Green is a little bit underrated defensively, but those who watch him regularly will tell you that the +23 is a product of the Capitals scoring a ton while Green is on the ice, not of his defensive prowess).

Now here's Orr's adjusted averages for the stretch of six years from 1969-1975:

Orr: 78 GP, 36 goals, 89 assists, 125 points, 1.60 PPG, +81

For six seasons, at the dawn of the 1970s, when hockey was arguably at its most competitive (this was the era of the great Canadiens' teams; the competitive Blues and Sabres expansion teams, and of course the Broad Street Bullies), Bobby Orr averaged 125 points and a +81. As a fucking defenceman!

There can be no debate that those six seasons revolutionized the way the game was conceived of in a way that no player had before, has since, or possibly ever could again. I would go a step further to say that Orr's six-year stretch wasn't just the most influential that any player has ever had...it was the best six-year stretch in hockey history. Yes, even better than Gretzky's 80s days, because Orr had to also focus on his defensive responsibilities, and to watch video of Orr (thank you, Youtube!) is to recognize how amazing at both ends of the ice Orr truly was.

Another testament to Orr's greatness can be found in the careers of two other Bruins: Phil Esposito and Johnny Bucyk. Both benefited immensely from Orr's passing dominance...you can see the way the seasons from 1967-1975 are outliers in both of their careers. In the case of Esposito, he probably would have been a great player anyway, but not as good as he ended up being (for the first five years pre-Orr and the next five after-Orr, Espo was essentially a point-a-game player). In the case of Bucyk, a guy who for a decade had been merely a 50-to-60 point grinder all of a sudden started scoring 90+, and in one incredible year, 120.

There's a tendency to think, as time goes on, that the great players of past eras wouldn't really be able to hold up to today's standards. And while there's no doubt that athletes evolve and get faster and stronger, let's not make the mistake of thinking that Orr was playing in some inferior era. When you have time, do yourself a favour and watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSDw3tMa7ec

If you look closely, the other players trying to catch Orr seem to be skating at approximately the pace of today's NHL game...it's just that Orr is so much faster and smoother they can't keep up with him. Granted, the goalies still let in their share of lame softies, but that's what this whole adjusted-stats blog is for.

So, for his six-year stretch of dominance, no one has been better than Orr. Does that make him the greatest player in hockey history? In some people's opinion, yes, but in my eyes he has to settle for number two for simple reasons of longevity. Thanks to various nagging knee injuries, Orr was essentially done after his magical 1974-1975 season. He never played more than 20 games in any of the three following seasons, and eventually had to retire with just nine full seasons under his belt. For my money, Gretzky gets the edge for extending Orr's stretch of dominance over twenty seasons. But in the mean time, we can still dig up those Youtube videos and marvel at the greatness of number four.