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The OFB All-Time Five

By The OFB Team - December 5, 2006

Imagine yourself as coach of a team tied late in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. There's one minute left. At your disposal for the game's final shift you have any five skaters from the NHL's past or present. In their prime. Of course you'll need a premiere backstopper as well. Use any criteria of your choosing, but the bottom line is: you're trying to punch one home with one final push and earn Lord Stanley's glory.

The four of us at OFB have each of our All-Time Fives (plus goalie) and accompanying rationale below. We invite all OFB readers-- regulars and first-timers alike -- to submit their selections as comments to this post over the course of the next 20 days. We'll accept entries through midnight of Christmas Eve. Then, with a Christmas morning cup of joe, we'll announce an OFB All Time Five, plus their goalie, based on reader comment/selections merged with our own.

Bobby Flies

Empty Maybe


Bobby Hull	Wayne Gretzky		Gordie Howe
Doug Harvey		Bobby Orr
Patrick Roy

OrderedChaos


Alex Ovechkin	Steve Yzerman		Guy LaFleur
Scott Stevens		Al MacInnis
Martin Brodeur

Gustafsson


Alex Ovechkin	Wayne Gretzky		Cam Neely
Scott Stevens		Paul Coffey
Patrick Roy

pucksandbooks


Alex Ovechkin	Mark Messier		Gordie Howe
Scott Stevens		Bobby Orr
Ken Dryden

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Discussion

35 Comments on "The OFB All-Time Five"

#1

Posted by TG, December 6, 2006 1:59 AM

I think most of you have picked decent all-time lineups, but I can't see picking Stevens if it's the last minute of Game 7 and you need a goal. How about someone like Larry Murphy or Scott Niedermeyer, someone with a real offensive flair. Besides, even if they can't play defense, that's what your goalie is for!

#2

Posted by OrderedChaos, December 6, 2006 2:11 AM

Good comment TG, which I'll address two ways. First, the three of us who picked Stevens have a scorer as his defensive partner (e.g., I have Al MacInnis). Second, just as important as scoring is not allowing a goal. So I figure Stevens and, on my team, Brodeur can protect my zone while the rest can fire away at my undoubtedly terrified opponent. :)

#3

Posted by Matt Tome, December 6, 2006 2:16 AM

Alex Ovechkin Wayne Gretzky Gordie Howe Bobby Orr Scott Neidermeyer Patrick Roy

#4

Posted by The Forechecker, December 6, 2006 3:35 AM

How anybody can nominate Ovechkin at this point is beyond me... for all we know, he'll wet his pants in a Game 7. He hasn't proven himself in the playoffs yet.

I'll take Bobby Hull, Wayne Gretzky, and Gordie Howe up front, Bobby Orr and Nick Lidstrom on the blue line, and Dominick Hasek in net.

#5

Posted by Brad, December 6, 2006 3:44 AM

I agree with TG and would want either Larry Murphy (4 cups with two teams) or Paul Coffey in his Oiler days guarding the blue line and putting some shots on net instead of Scott Stevens. It is totally a homer pick but I would go with Lemieux in his prime at center. I haven't watched any other player so much as he was one of the reasons I fell in love with hockey. I've seen him perform so many miracles on ice that there isn't anyone I'd rather have on the ice at the end of a Game 7 or any other time for that matter. (Did I mention he was a homer pick?) Roy in goal and you just can't lose.

Great topic and a great site. Thanks for passing the link on to me. Cheers.

#6

Posted by pucksandbooks, December 6, 2006 3:49 AM

Forechecker - your observation about Ovechkin's inexperience is something the three of us who selected him certainly deliberated over, and it's an eminently reasonable criticism. I will speak only for myself in defense: for me, when at 16 he led the World Juniors in scoring, in Canada, that for me announced his arrival to hockey's big-time . . . it was with that tournament in mind -- regarded by many in the industry today as hockey's best and most pretigious -- that I WET MY PANTS that delicious April afternoon in 2004 when we learned that the ping pong ball had landed our way at the NHL's New York office. And he's done nothing since to diminish my enthusiasm. Hindsight of course aids greatly in endeavors like these. And with that in mind, were I to have chosen Wayne Gretzky as my center, you know when I'd have been prepared to make that call? After his 517 points in 85 games . . . as a 10-year-old in Ontario.

#7

Posted by OrderedChaos, December 6, 2006 4:42 AM

Forecheck, Bobby Hull is clearly a great pick, but he was borderline for me due to my self-imposed restriction of selecting only players I've seen play. Same reason I eliminated the clear #1 D-man, Bobby Orr -- the only time I saw either of those Bobbys play was in the occasional highlight clip, never a full game. I know, my loss!

#8

Posted by ForumICE, December 6, 2006 7:49 PM

Ok "Empty Maybe" IMO is the only one who came close to making the cut here. Forgive me, this is all off the top of my head so I may forget someone. These are the only names that should even be considered for each position.

In order:
Goal:
Roy
Sawchuck
Plante

Defense:
Orr
Bourque
Coffey
Harvey

Center:
Gretzky
Lemieux

Left Wing:
Hull
Shutt
Robitaille

Right Wing
Lafleur
Howe

Like I said, off the top of my head.

Good job guys.

#9

Posted by TG, December 7, 2006 1:43 AM

If I'm sticking with players I've seen, and I'm looking for a goal, how about Brett Hull, Oates, Shanahan, Niedermeyer and MacInnis. Of course, Messier could simply will the team to a goal. Jagr (I'm assuming it's the interested one here) always seemed to find a way to do well in the playoffs. And if we're talking solely playoffs here, what about Claude Lemieux?

#10

Posted by spark, December 7, 2006 4:06 AM

Scott Stevens tallied 72 with the 87/88 Capitals, with another 11 points in 12 games during the playoffs. He also scored 78 points in 93/94, with another 11 in 20 playoff games. I'd guess those numbers translate to about 50-55 points nowadays. A scoring slouch he was not. It all depends on when one considers Scott Stevens prime.

My five: Mike Bossy, Mario Lemieux, Gordie Howe, Scott Stevens, Bobby Orr, Patrick Roy

#11

Posted by Martin St Louis, December 7, 2006 4:27 AM

Now in no way am I dissing the players you all have selected. All outstanding players. However, i have chosen a route more how you say.... Canadian! (it's been proved to work)

i'll go with team canada scoring line:

d. hawerchuk m. lemieux w.gretzky
paul coffey bobby orr
patty roy

O Canada!

#12

Posted by Mellyville9, December 7, 2006 4:29 AM

BRETT Hull (Greatest Right Winger of ALL time. The Golden Brett)
Wayne Gretzky (the GREAT ONE)
Gordie Howe (MR HOCKEY)
Nicklas Lidstrom ( arguably the greatest all around D of all time)
Bobby Orr ( greatest offensive defensman of all time)
Patrick Roy (Dont even need to comment)

I agree that there is no way I can nominate Ovechkin after one season on a last place team. I am a die hard lifetime Caps fan but still cannot put him up there yet with the names posted above.

#13

Posted by OrderedChaos, December 7, 2006 4:41 AM

Spark and Mellyville, good comments. But you both chose two RW and no LW. Howe, Bossy, and Brett Hull were all right wings. Now if you chose BOBBY Hull as LW, that would work. Other than Bobby Hull, whom I eliminated for my own lineup due to my only-players-I've-seen restriction, the pickings at LW are surprisingly thin IMO.

#14

Posted by OrderedChaos, December 7, 2006 4:49 AM

Martin, I love the All-Canada concept. But all three of your forwards are Centres, so that doesn't work! You've got to pick your favorite C (not easy among those three, that's for sure), then get a RW and LW to round out your line.

#15

Posted by ForumICE, December 7, 2006 5:23 AM

OK so now that Ive thought about it, I have my starting line up.

Left wing: Bobby Hull
Center: Gretzky
Right Wing: Howe
Defense: Orr and Bourque
Goal: Roy

there is no touching this line up.

#16

Posted by jeffj, December 7, 2006 2:47 PM

Bobby Hull, Gretzky, Richard

Harvey, Orr

Sawchuk

The other team has:

Brett Hull, Mario, Howe (Brett can play the left side - that's where he scored most of his goals anyway)

Shore, Bourque

Plante

Wayne loses the faceoff. Orr pinches unsuccessfully and the opposition springs a 3-on-1. Mario gains the blueline, drops it for Howe. The Rocket, backchecking furiously, catches Howe cutting into the middle and destroys him with an open ice hit. Brett collects the loose puck but he can't pass and Harvey stops the remaining 2-on-1, textbook. Harvey finds Wayne curling in the neutral zone. Gretzky and Hull, 2-on-1 against Shore. Wayne looks to shoot then glides a feed to Hull for the one-timer. The blast blows through the mesh of Plante's trapper, through the mesh in the top left corner of the net, through the glass and is lodged in the goal judge's forehead.

Howe over the Rocket?? Maybe over a career, but no way in a one-shift-takes-all scenario. Honestly, you people. Look at their playoff numbers!

#17

Posted by TG, December 7, 2006 3:47 PM

Messier. Messier, Messier, Messier! (Or, as he's known in our household, "Mr. Clean") How many Cups did Gretzky win without Messier? How many Cups did Messier win without Gretzky? C'mon, in a Game 7, who would you truly want out there, Gretzky or Messier? Were the Rangers REALLY better than New Jersey in 1994? Or did Messier just refuse to lose? (The high point for the Rangers until 2048...)

#18

Posted by Mike Lurie, December 7, 2006 9:21 PM

Cam Neely Wayne Gretzky Maurice Richard
Denis Potvin Bobby Orr
Ed Giacomin

#19

Posted by Martin St Louis, December 7, 2006 11:47 PM

Dear Ordered Chaos,
All i have to say is did you see the 1987 Canada Cup?

"OrderedChaos wrote:

Martin, I love the All-Canada concept. But all three of your forwards are Centres, so that doesn't work! You've got to pick your favorite C (not easy among those three, that's for sure), then get a RW and LW to round out your line. "

#20

Posted by OrderedChaos, December 8, 2006 2:17 AM

Martin, my apologies, I stand corrected! I found this tidbit on Wikipedia:

"With time running out in regulation in Game 3, and after coming back from a 3-0 deficit, Team Canada coach Mike Keenan sent the Gretzky/Lemieux/Hawerchuk line out to play, with a faceoff in Canada's end. The rest is history as Gretzky, Lemieux and Larry Murphy would rush down the ice on a three on one after Hawerchuk tripped up Bykov, with Gretzky skating on left wing, setting up Lemieux's point blank game-winner in the slot with 1:26 left in the game. The Gretzky to Lemieux play is one of the most memorable plays in Canadian hockey history."

So even though your three forwards all played centre in the NHL, they did indeed play as one amazing line with exactly the result for which one would hope. Damned good call!

#21

Posted by spark, December 8, 2006 5:03 AM

Well, since my name isn't Mike Keenan I suppose I'll have to drop Bossy in favour of one or the other Hull's. I'll go with the consensus and say Bobby.

#22

Posted by OrderedChaos, December 8, 2006 5:08 AM

Good choice Spark -- Bobby Hull would have been my LW too if I hadn't restricted my picks to guys I've seen play (i.e., more than just the occasional grainy highlight clip).

#23

Posted by Martin St Louis, December 8, 2006 11:18 AM

Thank you!:)

#24

Posted by BeN, December 9, 2006 11:16 PM

all time greatest starting line up for me is:

Maurice 'Rocket' Richard - Mario Lemieux - Guy Lafleur

Bobby Orr - Raymond Bourque

Patrick Roy

#25

Posted by Grooven, December 10, 2006 5:59 AM

The team I didn't see part of:
LW Bobby Hull
C J.H. Richard
RW Mike Bossy
D Ray Bourque
D Larry Murphy

G I'm torn between G. Vezina (just think how well he would have played if he wasn't required by league rules to stay standing) and the founder of the butterfly Tony Esposito.

I'll come up with a team I did see in its entirety.

#26

Posted by reel coach, December 11, 2006 9:10 PM

C-Messier
LW-Luc Robittaille
RW-Guy Lafluer
D-Bobby Orr
D-Al Iafrate (106 MPH W/ wood)
G-Pat Roy

#27

Posted by stone, December 11, 2006 10:26 PM

To me, being tied makes this a very different question than if we were trailing by a goal.

In a tie game...
Claude Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, Darren McCarty
Nicklas Lidstrom, Scott Stevens
Patrick Roy

Find me a more defensively responsible, harder to play against, set of five. By the way, they have all been Conn Smythe winners with the exception of McCarty (3 cups, one cup clinching goal)

(yea claude and darren, i know. but on the same team they would get along, and claude will agree to play left wing)

Of course down a goal would be something like:
Bobby, Wayne, Gordie
Bobby, Al
Patrick

#28

Posted by stone, December 11, 2006 10:49 PM

For the record, that last post was made somewhat tongue-in-cheeck. But seriously, those are some of the best playoff performers in the history of hockey. Looking back I might replace Yzerman with Messier given the overall theme of my forwards, but I was a huge RedWings fan back before the Sharks were a legit hockey team.

#29

Posted by Blue Collar NHL, December 12, 2006 9:12 PM

G - Dominik Hasek
D - Bobby Orr
D - Ray Bourque
L - Jari Kurri
C - Mark Messier
R - Mike Bossy

#30

Posted by Swiftblade, December 12, 2006 11:40 PM

C - Sakic (Sakic is prime time, 7 OT winners in his career!)
LW - Ovechkin (He can pull the trigger like few others)
RW - Bossy (You know he wont leave anything on the ice)
D - Lidstrom (whether you're up a goal or down a goal, he's my man)
D - Coffey (Can pinch if Lidstrom patrols the line)
G - Hasek (He's more impossible saves than any other goalie I've seen)

#31

Posted by Swiftblade, December 12, 2006 11:41 PM

*made more impossible saves...

#32

Posted by Meza, December 17, 2006 5:25 PM

This was a tough task, I racked my brain to come up with my 5. The 5 I would want to go into battle with to get my name on the silver chalice of lore.

Left Wing
Jari Kurri

Center
The Great One

Right Wing
Marcel Dionne

Defense
Ray Bourque
Paul Coffey

Netminder
Lorne "Gump" Worsley

#33

Posted by pepper, December 19, 2006 5:30 AM

Allright.

My two caveats are that (1) I'm picking those I've seen play (except for one, who I have read a lot about), and (2) I'm going to focus on those I think would have the drive, passion, reflexes and game vision, to finish it in a final minute.

LW Alex Ovechkin.

While at the beginning of his career (and destined to involve hoisting a Cup for the Caps) he is the one in a thousand player who skates with reckless abandon every shift and has the winning instinct. I know he's young, and his selection has obviously resulted in criticism as a result of not having even made the playoffs, but for those who have seen him several times in person, he is for real. I mean tripping over bad ice skating so fast for real. And compensating nevertheless with jaw-dropping pivoting and stick work.

RW Maurice Richard.

Perhaps obviously, the one I've never seen. But the stories I have read, in both languages, lead me to believe that he'd be the guy you want to punch it home in that final minute.

C Doug Gilmour.

Perhaps a sentimental selection, he remains my favorite non-Cap I've ever seen. He'll, naturally, win the draw, skate toward the net, establish the ideal position quickly for a deflection, poke-in, rebound for the shot drawn back to . . .

Oh, you didn't say which side for the faceoff, or offense / defense.

Ok, nevertheless, on D we have

Brian Leetch
Rod Langway

Rod is going to ensure that any puck that crosses the defensive blue line is going to make its way into friendly hands, or that the opponent with it will relinquish it and be pinned solidly against the boards.

Brian will deftly take it up ice and zing a crisp pass to any of the forwards, or perhaps take it himself, down a wing, behind the net, whatever, until a clear scoring opportunity awaits.

If, perchance, this stellar 5 allows a shot on goal, I defer to

G Martin Brodeur.

Can we say that the understudy has surpassed the teacher, St. Patrick?

With that 6 player tandem, I have no doubt of victory on a last minute effort.

:)

#34

Posted by S. Turf, August 5, 2007 12:34 AM

I haven't been able to know the greatest hockey players, if only by name. That hesitation for rooting and burning out brightly that goes along with most hockey players in the dumps is very very centralizing to the sport. I like to think dummerville "."

#35

Posted by S. Turf, August 5, 2007 12:38 AM

I like to say that hockey, for the most part, is a demanding enough season. Shouldn't the sport be called one of the most team oriented of sports. Whoa! I think you have a great deal of hockey dad's out there as much as you have your soccer mom's, truth be told. It's just in the blood I guess.

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