Is Guy Lapointe one of the greatest defencemen of all time?
He never won a Norris, but his career partially overlapped with Bobby Orr’s. And he won 6 Stanley Cups and a Canada Cup.
So where does he rank all time?
Listen to us discuss Guy Lapointe here:
Guy Lapointe’s Career:
- NHL: 1968-84; 16 seasons, 13 quality
- The Athletic‘s 98th Best Player Post-Expansion
- 135th All Time in the History of Hockey‘s Top 200 Poll
- Totals:
- 171G (6th D All Time at his retirement),
- 451A (7th D All Time at his retirement) for
- 622P (6th D All Time at his retirement),
- +329 (20th All Time, 11th at his retirement) in
- 884 Games (25th D All Time at his retirement);
- 108.3 PS (8th D All Time at his retirement);
- At his retirement, Lapointe was 6th All Time in Offensive Point Shares among D
- At his retirement, Lapointe was 16th All Time in Defensive Point Shares
- Per Game: Among D at his retirement, Lapointe was
- 6th All Time in APG
- 6th All Time in PPG (11 qualifying players);
- Lapointe doesn’t qualify for the GPG leader-board but, if the qualifier is lowered to 150 goals, Lapointe was
- 6th in All Time in GPG (8 qualifying players)
- Not drafted
- Era: Of the 18 D to play in at least 738 games (9 modern seasons) between 1968 and 1984, Lapointe is
- 3rd in Goals
- 2nd in GPG
- 5th in Assists
- 5th in APG
- 5th in Points
- 5th in PPG
- 5th in Plus/Minus
- 3rd in Offensive Point Shares
- 5th in Defensive Point Shares
- 4th in Point Shares
- 7th in Games
- 82-game average: 16G, 43A for 57P, +31
- 3-year peak (1974-77): 80-game average of 25G, 50A for 75P, +40
- No possession stats
- Playoffs:
- 26G (3rd D All Time at his retirement),
- 44A (10th D All Time at his retirement) for
- 70P (6th D All Time at his retirement),
- +39 (9th D All Time at his retirement) in
- 123 Games (9th D All Time at his retirement)
- Per Game: Among D at his retirement, Lapointe was
- 5th All Time in playoff GPG (6 qualifying players)
- 17th All Time in playoff APG (21 qualifying players)
- 8th All Time in playoff PPG (12 qualifying players)
- Era: Of the 15 D to play in at least 82 playoff games between 1968 and 1984, Lapointe is
- 3rd in Goals
- 3rd in GPG
- 6th in Assists
- 7th in APG
- 4th in Points
- 5th in PPG
- 8th in Plus/Minus
- Adjusted:
- Hockey-Reference:
- 151G,
- 399A for
- 550P
- 82-game average: 14G, 37A for 51P (-6P per 82 games)
- Per Game: Doesn’t qualify
- VsX: Doesn’t qualify for the adjustment
- Hockey-Reference:
- Trades:
- Traded at nearly 34 to St. Louis for a 1983 2nd Rounder (Sergio Momesso)
Guy Lapointe’s Accomplishments:
- Top 5 in Norris voting six times
- Top Player:
- Top 5 Player (by PS) twice (‘73, ‘76)
- Top 10 Player four times (‘75, ‘77)
- Best Defensive Player (by DPS) once (‘76)
- Top 5 three times (‘73, ‘77)
- Goals:
- 25 Goals twice (1 of only 8 D ever)
- 20 Goals three times (1 of only 20 D ever)
- 15 goals five times (1 of only 7 D at his retirement)
- Assists:
- 50 Assists once
- 50 Assists five times (1 of only 6 D at his retirement)
- Points:
- 70 points twice (1 of only 9 D at his retirement)
- 60 points three times (1 of only 13 D at his retirement)
- 50 points six times (1 of only 7 D at his retirement)
- Plus/Minus:
- Top 5 in Plus/Minus twice
- Top 10 five times
- All Star:
- 1st Team All Star once
- 2nd Team All Star three times
- 4 All Star Game appearances
- VsX Peak:
- Best 7 Seasons:
- Goals: doesn’t qualify
- Assists: 241st All Time
- Points: doesn’t qualify
- Best 10 Seasons:
- Goals: doesn’t qualify
- Assists 248th All Time
- Points: doesn’t qualify
- Best 7 Seasons:
Guy Lapointe’s Great Teams:
- NHL:
- Best D (by points, led playoffs in Plus/Minus) on one Champion (‘73 Canadiens) and one Final Four (‘75 Canadiens)
- Top 2 D (by points) on two Champions (‘76, ‘77 Canadiens)
- Top 4 D (by points) on three Champions (‘71, ‘78, ‘79 Canadiens)
- Canada/World Cup:
- Unknown Role (didn’t score) on one Champion (‘76 Canada)
- Summit Series:
- Role Player (by points) on one Champion (‘72 Canada)