top of page

The Greatest Hockey Players

To my Grandfather, Jack Belwa, who introduced me to hockey’s greatest; and to my Father, who, in an effort to settle down a misbehaving little boy (the author, in the 60’s) sat him down in front of a black and white TV while visiting family in Edmonton   and said “now watch this and don’t move!”.


The show? “Hockey Night in Canada with Danny Gallivan broadcasting from the gondola in Maple Leafs Garden in Toronto. From that moment forward the author fell in love with hockey and with his beloved Toronto Maple Leafs.


Proclaiming someone as the “greatest” can sometimes be a subjective opinion.


Bobby Hull Jean Beliveau Red Army Team

Bobby Hull, the “Golden Jet”, who could shoot the puck over 100kph and skate faster than 40 kph! Little wonder he struck fear into the opposition!


The great Jean Beliveau who would captain the Montreal Canadians to 10 Stanley Cups!


The ‘KLM line of the soviet Red Army team that while bursting with talent would eventually lose to Canada at the famous 1972 “summit Series. Alexander Macherov, Sergei Krutov and Igor Larionov. In addition to their incredible skill on the ice this trio would make a lasting impact on the game by eliminating a hitherto invisible wall that had kept out European players from the NHL. This wall would be permanently breached when a huge influx of European players joined the league, to hockey’s benefit!


In this paper, the author attempts to sway the reader’s opinion by injecting some objective information, depicted in the table below.

ranking

player

nationality

Argument criteria

1

Bobby Orr

Canadian (born in Parry Sound, Ontario)

Orr played most of his career as a defenseman, a position historically requiring the player to seldom skate out of his own end but to remain there and guard the front of his net. Orr completely ignored this tradition and due to his extraordinary skating, passing and shooting skills, he became one of the deadliest offensive weapons in the history of the game, forever changing and revolutionizing the position like no other player!  Orr won a record 8 straight Norris trophies as the NHL’s best defenseman and 3 consecutive Hart trophies as the league’s most valuable player. For many years Orr held the record for the most Art Ross trophies by a defenseman, the Art Ross is awarded to the player for the most goals and Assists in a season. Tijs was an achievement considered unattainable for a defenseman! Orr was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979 at the age of 31, the youngest to have been inducted at that time. Orr was honored by his country by being awarded the Order of Canada and by the NHHL by being named as one of the greatest 100 players to have ever lived!     

2

Wayne Gretzky

Canadian (born Brantford, Ontario)

in 1989 Surpassed Gordie Howe as the all-time leader in points.

3

Gordie Howe

Canadian (Born in Floral Saskatchewan)

Howe set all scoring records, only to be surpassed by Gretzky many years later and for this he became known as “Mr. Hockey”

4

Bobby Hull

Canadian born in Bellville, Ontario)

Won the 1961 Stanley Cup with the Chicago Black Hawks. He was also awarded the Hart Trophy as the play-off MVP and also won the Art Ross trophy as the leagues leading scorer. Hull was voted into the NHL Hall of fame and was voted as one of the top 100 players of all time. Hull, after switching to the World Hockey Association (WHA) became that fledgling league’s MVP. Blessed with enormous strength, speed and talent, Hull can be assigned the title as the league’s first “power forward”

5

Mario Lemieux

Canadian (born in Montreal Quebec)

Won Olympic gold for Canada a world championship and presented with the Order of Canada by a grateful nation. Won 6 x Art Ross trophies, a Hart trophy, 2 x Conn Smythe trophies, and recorded the 7thhighest number of points in league history. Second behind Gretzky with over a point scored per game in his career.     

6



Jacques Plante

Canadian, born in Notre Dame, Quebec)

Invented the goalie mask.

7

Terry Sawchuk

Canadian (born in Winnipeg Manitoba)

For years held the record for the most shut-outs (500) only to be surpassed by Martin Brodeur, in 2009

8

Jean Beliveau

Canadian (born in 3 Rivers Quebec)

Won 17x Stanley Cups, 1 x Art Ross trophy as the league’s leading scorer, 2 x Hart Trophies as the league’s season MVP, and the inaugural Conn Smythe trophy as the play-off MVP, the 4TH player in league history to score more than 500 goals in his career.

All players in the above table were truly special but one changed the game and all defensemen are inevitably compared to the incomparable Bobby Orr, the greatest hockey player of all time. Certainly Gretzky and the “KLM” line along with Orr had a transformative effect on the game; Orr with his radical change to the defenseman position, Gretzky with his shattering of Howe’s scoring records and the KLM line’s smashing the invisible hole in a wall that kept European players from playing in the NHL, Howe’s setting mammoth scoring records and Hull’s defining the power forward position along with Richard and Beliveau’s exquisite skills and gentlemanly approach to the game. 


The smooth skating Bobby Orr who set the benchmark against which all defenseman are measured.


Orr, having just been tripped Infront of the net scores what many have argued is the greatest goal in the history of the NHL by sneaking in from the blue line and scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal for the Boston Bruins, a moment immortalized by the Bruins by creating a statue of this very moment and placing it in front of their home rink, the Boston Garden


The “Great One”, Wayne Gretzky, hoisting the Stanley Cup for the Edmonton Oilers.  Gretzky would round out his career by breaking every scoring record in the NHL, records that he still holds and he would be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Gretzky also represented Canada at multiple international tournaments.


Gordie Howe/Mr. Hockey


Maurice “the Rocket Richard”. The first player to score 50 goals in 60 games. His intensity and will to win, in combination with the supremely skilled and graceful Jean Beliveau made the Montreal Canadians annual favorites to win the cup.


Jacque Plante


Terry Sawchuk (right) posing with Leafs captain  Syl Apps having just won the Stanley Cup.


Mario Lemieux

Comments


bottom of page