Is Larry Robinson one of the Greatest Defencemen of All Time?

Larry Robinson is the All Time Leader in Plus Minus and has a pretty remarkable career.

Yet sometimes he feels a bit forgotten, surrounded as he was by Hall of Fame Teammates on the Greatest Hockey Team of All Time.

Where does he rank among the All Time Greats? Does he even make your list?

Listen to us talk about Larry Robinson here:

Larry Robinson’s Career:

• NHL: 1972-1992; 20 seasons, 19 quality
  • Totals:
    • 208G (20th D All Time, 10th D at his retirement),
    • 750A (9th D All time, 2nd D at his retirement) for
    • 958P (9th D All Time, 4th D at his retirement),
    • +722 (1st All Time) in 
    • 1384 Games (15th D All Time, 3rd D at his retirement);
    • 169.5 PS (21st All Time, 1st D All Time at his retirement) 
    • 4th All Time in Defensive Point Shares (1st at his retirement)
    • 17th D All Time in Offensive Point Shares (6th D at his retirement)
  • Per Game: 
    • 21st D All Time in GPG (10th D at his retirement)
    • 20th D All Time in APG (19th D at his retirement)
    • 20th D All Time in PPG (16th D at his retirement)
• Draft: Drafted 20th overall in 1971, Robinson is
  • 7th in Goals
  • 3rd in Assists
  • 3rd in Points
  • 1st in Plus/Minus (by 276)
  • 1st in Point Shares
  • 1st in Games
• Era: Of the 9 D to play in at least 984 games (12 modern seasons) between 1972 and 1992, Robinson is
  • 2nd in Goals
  • 2nd in GPG
  • 1st in Assists
  • 4th in APG
  • 2nd in Points
  • 2nd in PPG
  • 1st in Plus/Minus (by 266)
  • 2nd in Offensive Point Shares
  • 1st in Defensive Point Shares (by nearly 30)
  • 1st in Point Shares
• 82-game average: 12G, 44A for 57P, + 43
• 3-year peak (1976-79): 80-game average of 17G, 58A for 75P, +86
• No possession stats
• Playoffs:
  • 28G (11th D All Time, 5th at his retirement),
  • 116A (13th All Time, 5th D, 1st D at his retirement) for
  • 144P (8th D All Time, 2nd at his retirement),
  • +100 (2nd All Time, 1st D) in
  • 227 Games (8th All Time, 4th D, 1st D at his retirement)
  • Per Game: Among D, Robinson is
    • 23rd All Time in playoff APG;
    • At his retirement he was:
      • 12th All Time in playoff GPG
      • 20th All Time in playoff APG
      • 16th All Time in playoff PPG
  • Era: Of the 46 D to play in at least 82 playoff games between 1972 and 1992, Robinson is
    • 5th in Goals
    • 17th in GPG
    • 1st in Assists
    • 11th in APG
    • 2nd in Points
    • 12th in PPG
    • 1st in Plus/Minus
• Adjusted:
  • Hockey-Reference:
    • 173G,
    • 627A for
    • 800P
    • 82-game average: 11G, 37A for 47P (-10P per 82 games)
    • Per Game: Among D, Robinson is
      • 23rd All Time (last among qualifying) in Adjusted GPG
  • VsX:
    • Goals: doesn’t qualify
    • 732A
    • 791P
    • Per Game: Not in the Top 25
• Never traded.

Larry Robinson’s Accomplishments:

• Top 5 in Hart voting once
• Norris (‘77, ‘80)
• Top 5 in Norris voting a further six times
• Top Player:
  • Best Player (by Point Shares) once (‘77)
  • Top 10 five times (‘78, ‘79, ‘80, ‘86)
  • Best Defensive Player (by DPS) twice (‘77, ‘78)
  • Top 5 nine times (‘76, ‘79, ‘81, ‘82, ‘85, ‘86, ‘87) – tied 2nd most ever
  • Top 10 twelve times (‘75, ‘80, ‘89) – 1 of only 8 players ever
  • Top 10 in Offensive Point Shares (by OPS) once (‘77)
• Goals:
  • 15 goals three times
• Assists: 
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Assists once
    • Top 10 three times
  • APG leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in APG once
    • Top 10 twice
  • Single-season totals:
    • 60 assists three times (1 of only 9 D ever)
    • 50 assists four times (1 of only 16 D ever)
    • 40 assists eight times (1 of only 15 D ever)
• Points:
  • 80 points twice (1 of only 11 D ever)
  • 70 points three times (1 if only 17 D ever)
  • 60 points seven times (if only 14 D ever)
  • 50 points ten times (1 of only 10 D ever)
• Plus Minus:
  • Only the 2nd player in history to be +120 in a single season (in 1 fewer games than Bobby Orr achieved 124)
  • Led the league in Plus/Minus once
  • Top 5 three times
  • Top 10 six times (tied 5th most ever)
• All Star:
  • 1st Team All Star three times
  • 2nd Team All Star three times
  • 10 All Star Game appearances
• VsX Peak:
  • Best 7 Seasons:
    • Goals: doesn’t qualify
    • Assists: 126th All Time
    • Points: doesn’t qualify
  • Best 10 Seasons:
    • Goals: doesn’t qualify
    • Assists: 122nd All Time
    • Points: doesn’t qualify

Larry Robinson’s Great Teams:

• NHL:
  • MVP (led playoffs in assists and Plus/Minus, tied for lead in points) on one Champion (‘78 Canadiens)
  • Best D (by points) on three Champions (‘77, 79, ‘86 Canadiens) and one Final Four (‘87 Canadiens)
  • Top 2 D (by points) on one Final Four (‘84 Canadiens)
  • Top 4 D (by points) on two Champions (‘73, ‘76 Canadiens), one Runner Up (‘89 Canadiens) and one Final Four (‘75 Canadiens)
• Canada/World Cup:
  • Top 6? D (by points) on one Champion (‘84) and one Runner Up (‘81 Canada)
  • Unknown role (didn’t score) on one Champion (‘76 Canada)