Is Orr the greatest hockey player ever?

Question

I think if you put 5 Bobby Orr's against 5 (anyone), Orr would win. He could shoot, pass, kill penalties, fight, play defense, score and sell popcorn during intermission.

Answer 1

5 gretzky's on the same ice that would be too much to watch... they'd score 12-15 a game min... while orr, while he may have changed the game and was one of the best could not stop 5 gretzky's

Answer 2

I saw that on the NHL network last night and me and my dad were talking that we beleive he is on eof the best but i dont know if he is better than mikita or hull. But then again im a black hawks fan! All three of them were absolutely talented.

Answer 3

Guy La Fluer

Answer 4

I think it is so very hard to compare different players, playing different positions, in different eras, to one another.  

   Orr was head and shoulders above his peers.  As you mentioned, he played brilliant offense, incredible defense, and he played "both sides of the puck" in all critical situations.  He won a scoring title from defense which is simply incomprehensible in today's game!

   Some people are going to say Gretzky or Lemieux are the greatest players ever.  I think they are the greatest offensive players ever, but one rarely saw them in defensive roles as they were not strong in this area of the game.

   Others will say Gordie Howe.  It's hard to argue with this one as he scored, played defensively in critical situations, intimidated an entire league, played forever and then a bit more, and sold popcorn during intermission.  Unfortunately I never saw him play... the value of my opinion on him is undermined because of that.

   I do believe that today's players are far stronger, faster, better trained, and the beneficiaries of huge advances in technology.  Thus, I think today's athlete is superior to those in past decades and I don't know if I can say that Orr or Howe would stand out against today's players the way they did against their peers.

   Still, if I were to say that Orr, Howe, Gretzky, and Lemieux are the 4 most dominating players in league history, I think most hockey fans would be hard pressed to bump one of them from that list!

Answer 5

My boyfriend would agree with you. He's a die-hard Bruins fan.

Answer 6

Who's nicknamed "The Great One"?

That's my answer, Mr. Gretzky.

Answer 7

NO! That would be Gretsky!

Answer 8

Greatest, no, one of the greatest, YES! Orr was easily the top offensive defensive to ever play the game and holds the record for a defender in almost every offensive category. Orr was an amazing defender and his numbers just don't seem real, but Gretzky's numbers (over 210 points) is just too God-like. Gretzky is the best, Lemeuix is a ways behind in second  right around Hull, Howe and then Orr. Just the fact we are mentioning him with these guys shows how outstanding of a player Orr was.

Answer 9

Not the greatest, but one of the best.  Lemuix, Gretzky, Crosby, Ovechkin - those are also some of the greatest players.

Answer 10

It's all a matter of "eras."  Gordie Howe was the greatest player of his era.  When Orr was a master I thought matchups with Bobby Clarke were phenominal (both greats) and, just a reminder, Gordie did come back and play with his son for the Whalers...not making him less "great" just older.

Wayne had such talent all around him that (not only due to 99) they stopped the 4 on 4 matching minors as those guys scored nearly 50% of those chances.  How great could Wayne have been without Messier, Coffey, McSorley, et al, as "protectors?"  Still, even when 99 was on the ice 66 had a huge impact in the "greatest" catagory.  That New Years game in `89 where the Pens beat the NJ Devils will never, repeat, never be matched.  Lemieux hit for the cycle.  Never before and never again.  It's not that an even-strength, short-handed, powerplay and penalty shot situation won't be faced...it's that empty netter after one guy scored four goals already.  So, for doing the impossible, in a different era,

Lemieux did what NO ONE ELSE has ever done, scored for the cycle.  Did Howe, Orr, Clarke, Wayne...?  See?  It's that "era" thing where rules change, situations change, opposition changes, too.  Orr was great...there isn't a "greatest"  outside of one person's opinion and those vary to infinity.

Answer 11

5 Bobby Orr's would beat 5 Gordie Howe's?  The Orr's would make it interesting but the Gordie's would beat the **** out of them at every turn.  They didn't call him Mr. Hockey for nothing.

Answer 12

I wouldn't put him over Gretzky but I will count him as one of the best ever.

Answer 13

You could easily put him in the top ten for sure.

no denying it.  

I would not say he was THE best ever.

Of course that's personal opinion. I'm not taking away from anyone who feels that way.

Answer 14

Ever? Nope, that's Gretzky. His hockey brain is sexier than Orr's. Greatest d-man ever, yes, you can say that.

Answer 15

Greatest defense man ever revolutionized the game as far as what a defense man can be as apposed to what a defenseman should be.

I would like to see 5 Bobby Orr's against 5 Scott stevens (both at there career hights)

Answer 16

He's one of the best to ever play the game of hockey.

Answer 17

Yes, at least in my humble opinion. He revolutionized the game. He could control the game as he pleased. I'd say he was definately the best penalty killer anyways. He'd just get the puck and skate circles around everyone else. He was the first true offensive defenseman ever, and is definately the best defenseman ever. The only one that comes close in my opinion is Gretzky for obvious reasons. To me it's a draw, but what pushes Orr over the edge is that he was the first person to do what he did. Forewards always scored a lot of goals, but defenseman didn't. He also had a knee injury that held him back his whole career. Everbody knows it shortened his career a LOT, but what people don't ever seem to mention is that it all started his rookie year, so without that injury he may have been even better in his glory days. AND not only was he a tremendous talent, but he was also I'd say the classiest player to play the game of hockey, and still is very classy.

Youngest man to be inducted to the HOF, and it was well deserved.

Answer 18

I don't think he is the greatest but he is up there with the greatest.  I think Wayne Gretzky is one of the best and Gordy Howe.

Answer 19

No, but he is the best defenseman to ever play the game. The best player to ever play hockey is Wayne Gretzky. Orr was a great player!

Answer 20

No, Gretzky is.