Is Doug Harvey the Greatest Defenceman of All Time?

Until Bobby Orr, nobody had more Norris trophies than Doug Harvey. And, arguably, only other NHL defenceman could claim similar acclaim, Eddie Shore.

But things have changed. There have been numerous D who have eclipsed Harvey’s offensive accomplishments and Lidstrom tied him for the second most Norris trophies ever.

So where does Harvey rank now? Is he Top 3? Top 5? Top 10?

Listen to us talk about his Hall of Fame case here:

Doug Harvey’s Career:

• NHL: 1947-64, 1966-67, 1968-69; 19 seasons, 17 seasons
• Totals:
  • 88G (21st/13th D All Time at his first retirement),
  • 452A (2nd/1st D All Time at his first retirement – Kelly)  for
  • 540P (4th/2nd D All Time at his first retirement – Kelly, Schmidt, Gadsby),
  • +46* (13th/12th D All Time at his first retirement) in
  • 1113 Games (4th All Time at his first retirement – Howe, Gadsby, Kelly);
  • 123.2 Point Shares (4th All Time at his first retirement – Howe, Kelly, Richard – 1st D);
  • At his retirement, Harvey was 1st All Time in Defensive Point Shares (by 7.5 DPS)
  • At his retirement, Harvey was 7th/4th D All Time in Offensive Point Shares – Kelly, Clapper, Schmidt, Shore, Gadsby, Clancy)
• Per Game: Harvey obviously doesn’t qualify for the GPG leader-boards and, didn’t qualify for the PPG qualifier at his first retirement; at his first retirement, among D, Harvey was
  • 3rd/1st D All Time in APG – Schmidt, Kelly (4 qualifying D);
  • If the qualifiers are lowered so that Harvey qualifies, at his first retirement, among D, Harvey was
    • 3rd/1st All Time in PPG – Schmidt, Kelly, Clapper (5 qualifying D)
• Era: Of the 12 D to play in at least 738 Games (9 modern seasons) between 1947 and 1964, Harvey is
  • 4th/3rd in Goals
  • t-5th/4th in GPG
  • 2nd/1st in Assists
  • 2nd/1st in APG
  • 3rd/2nd in Points
  • 2nd/1st in PPG
  • 5th/4th in Plus/Minus
  • 3rd/2nd in Offensive Point Shares
  • 1st in Defensive Point Shares (ahead by 7.5 DPS)
  • 2nd/1st in Point Shares
  • 3rd/2nd in Games
• 82-game average: 7G, 34A for 40P, +3*
• 3-year peak (1954-57): 70-game average of 8G, 58A for 66P; 10.1 PS
• Playoffs:
  • 8G (t-10th/6th D All Time at his first retirement),
  • 64A (1st D All Time at his first retirement – by 10 over Kelly and 24 over Pilote) for
  • 72P (2nd/1st D All Time at his first retirement),
  • +7 (6th All Time at his first retirement) in
  • 137 Games (4th All Time at his first retirement – Kelly, Richard, Howe);
  • Per Game: Harvey obviously doesn’t qualify for the GPG leader-board; at his first retirement, among D, Harvey was
    • 2nd D All Time in playoff APG (4 qualifying players)
    • 2nd/1st D All Time in playoff PPG (2 qualifying players);
    • If the qualifier is set absurdly low, Harvey was last among qualifying D in playoff GPG
  • Era: Of the 27 D to play in at least 41 playoff games between 1947 and 1964, Harvey is
    • t-2nd/t-1st in playoff Goals (Kelly is ahead by 22)
    • t-9th/8th in playoff GPG (obviously doesn’t qualify)
    • 1st in playoff Assists (ahead by 10/24)
    • 2nd in playoff APG
    • 2nd/1st in playoff Points
    • 3rd/2nd in playoff PPG
    • 3rd in playoff Plus/Minus
    • 2nd/1st in playoff Games
• Adjustment for Era:
  • Hockey-Reference:
    • 102G,
    • 573A for
    • 675P
    • Per Game: Among D, Harvey is
      • T-25th All Time in Adjusted APG
  • VsX:
    • Goals: Doesn’t qualify
    • 763A
    • 739P
• Traded at 36 for Lou Fontinato (29)

Doug Harvey’s Accomplishments:

• Top 5 in Hart voting five times
• Norris (‘55, ‘56, ‘57, ‘58, ‘60, ‘61, ‘62) – t-2nd most ever (Orr)
• Top 5 in Norris voting a further two times
• All Star:
  • 1st Team All Star ten times (t-2nd D All Time – Bourque)
  • 2nd Team All Star once (3rd D All Time in total appearances – Borque, Lidstrom)
  • 13 All Star Game appearances
• Top Player:
  • Top 5 Player (by PS) once (‘58)
  • Top 10 Player six times (‘52, ‘54, ‘55, ‘56, ‘57)
  • Best Defensive Player (by DPS) three times (‘50, ‘57, ‘58) – t-3rd most ever (Chelios, Orr)
  • Top 5 six times (‘49, ‘56, ‘59)
  • Top 10 thirteen times (‘51, ‘52, ‘53, ‘54, ‘55, ‘60, ‘69) – t-2nd most ever (Lidstrom)
• Assists:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Assists twice
    • Top 10 four times
  • APG leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in three times
    • Top 10 five times
  • Single-season totals:
    • 40 assists twice (1 of only 24 players ever at his first retirement, 1 of only ⅔ D – Kelly, Gadsby)
• Plus-Minus
  • Led the league in Plus/Minus once
• VsX Peak:
  • Best 7 Seasons:
    • Goals: doesn’t qualify
    • Assists: 68th All Time
    • Points: doesn’t qualify
  • Best 10 Seasons:
    • Goals: doesn’t qualify
    • Assists: 69th All Time
    • Points: doesn’t qualify

Doug Harvey’s Great Teams:

• Best D (by points, led the playoffs in Plus/Minus) on one Champion (‘60 Canadiens)
• Best D (by points) on four Champions (‘56, ‘57, ‘58, ‘59 Canadiens,) one Runner Up (‘51 Canadiens) and Final Four (‘55 Canadiens)
• Top 2 D (by points) on one Champion (‘53 Canadiens) and two Runners Up (‘52 Canadiens, ‘68 Blues)
• Top 4 D (by points) on one Runner Up (‘54 Canadiens) and three Final Fours (‘49, ‘61 Canadiens, ‘62 Rangers)