Best D by DPS

Does Tim Horton Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Tim Horton is now famous for Tim Horton’s than he is for hockey. But, while he was alive, he was reputed to be the strongest player in the league. He won four Stanley Cups (leading the Leafs in points one layoff) and is one of the greatest D in Leafs history.

But is also a bit of a proto Brad Park: he was a runner up in Norris trophy voting twice, with four other Top 4 finishes, but never won the award. He was also a minus on a couple of the Cup winning teams he played for.

So, does Tim Horton belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Listen here:

Does Marcel Pronovost Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Marcel Pronovost played a long time, had some Norris nominations and won multiple Stanley Cups.

But was he ever the #1 D on his team? We don’t have ice time so we don’t know. On some of the Cup winners he was on, there are 8 Hall of Famers. Should we be inducting middle 6 and 2nd pair players of Cup winners?

In this episode, we discuss Marcel Provnost’s complicated case for the Hall of Fame:

Is Bobby Orr the Greatest Hockey Player of All Time?

Djcz, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

There is a never-ending debate among hockey fans as to which player of Gretzky, Lemieux and Orr was the greatest. There are certain areas where each stands supreme.

Our vote is for Orr because we think he played the more difficult and more important position and because he revolutionized the position as well. (Also, the skating.) But at least one of us thinks there’s room for debate.

Listen to us talk about Bobby Orr:

Does JC Tremblay Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

JC Tremblay won 5 Stanley Cups and an Avco. His Norris Trophy finishes are 2,3, 4,5,5. He won the Murphy (the WHA equivalent of the Norris) twice.

But he is not in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

In this episode, we wonder why. Listen here:

Does Serge Savard Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

There are basically only 3 post-Bobby Orr defensive defencemen in the Hockey Hall of Fame. (And Savard actually is a contemporary of Bobby Orr, so maybe there are only two.) It’s hard to get in as a defensive defenceman when so many D score now.

On the other hand, there are few NHL players in NHL history to have a higher career plus minus than career points total. Savard is one of those players. And if Savard had never played for the Jets, his utterly insane plus minus would be even higher than his total points.

Is it possible that Savard’s remarkable goal differential is a product of his Hall of Fame teammates? In part, sure. But it’s a chicken or egg question, isn’t it?

So, does Serge Savard belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Listen to us discuss it here:

Is Potvin One of the Greatest Defencemen of All Time?

Charny, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Denis Potvin was the greatest offensive D between Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey. He might have been the best all around defender too, as when was the last time you heard someone complain about his defence?

So obviously Denis Potvin belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame. But where does he rank all time?

Listen to us try to figure it out:

Is Guy Lapointe one of the Geastest Defencemen of All Time?

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:

Is Lionel Conacher Canada’s Greatest Athlete of All Time?

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Lionel Conacher was one of the best defenders of his era.

But that’s not what impresses when you look back at his career. Rather, it’s his incredible versatility.

Listen to us talk about the greatest Canadian athlete of the first half of the 20th century here:

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:

Is Ray Bourque the Greatest D of All Time?

Ravenswing, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Ray bourque is the career leader in goals, assists and points for a D, he has 5 Norris Trophies and he has more end-of-season All Star team appearances than anyone other than Gordie Howe.

So where does he rank all time among the greatest defencemen ever? Is he #2? Is he not even in the Top 5 as one of us used to believe?

Listen to us talk about Bourque here: