Some of what you say I agree with, some not so much, for me its Orr as Best Defenceman All Time, Gretzky Greatest Center All Time. I was a teenager and an adult when Orr was playing so its not like I glommed onto, became fixated upon him during my earlier formative years, during childhood. That he was some kind of a Superman who could do no wrong. His game had flaws. He was prone to the odd mental mistake, breakdown and on occasion found himself in No Mans Land in gambling on a high risk move that didnt pan out, caught way out of position as a result, no way to get back in time to prevent the turnover. His temper at times as well, he had a long fuse most of the time but when he did lose it, he really lost it. Now, to many thats endearing, a quality you want in a player, certainly back in the day & that he'd sort out whomever himself however.... there were numerous occasions when it would have been considerably more advantageous to the team had he held his horses, checked his anger. But, hey, he's only human, we all are.
I've got to disagree with you in your suggestions that Orr was a superior passer, shooter & skater than Gretzky. From the perspective of the ideal or proto-typical then yes, Orr was superior in those departments however Gretzky did what worked for Gretzky, so to compare & then state empirically that Orr was superior based on a set of criteria that cannot be applied to Wayne Gretzky muddies the waters. For those who never saw him play, they would be mistakenly led to believe that Gretzky was weak in those areas, wanting, when in fact his skating, stickhandling, passing & skills reflected, were the perfect extension, all of one with his vision. It was precisely his odd skating stride, agility, light on his feet & lightness of being that allowed him to dance around players like a Ghost, like smoke. His passing, that was superior to Orr's, he was Center for Gods sake so he wouldve passed probably on a ratio in comparison to even an offensive Defenceman of what, 100 or more to 50 in any given game? They could both thread the smallest of needles but because Gretzky was a Center his portfolio considerably larger. As for shooting, I'd call that a draw, advantage Gretzky on the Deke & Backhand. As a Center, called upon much more to use it so of course he would be more adroit, practiced.
Before Gretzky, there were in fact outliers who were similar though not as complete, not quite the same Artist as was Wayne Gretzky. The game was changing dramatically through the late 60's, through the 70's & 80's. He like Orr at the minor hockey level encouraged to re-think their respective positions, to cast off the shackles of the prescribed dogma yet both had one skate in the past. Appreciated the history of the game, made a study of the games greatest players, made a study of their opponents one on one, collectively. Temporal visualization before game, in-game. You think it it's done. Nothing haphazard about what they were doing. Kept their heads in a sea of seemingly random acts & confusion. They themselves the calms within a storm. Grab the game by the neck & shake it. Non-hostile take over. Orr however did at times engage in extreme hostilities so yes, certainly from that perspective much more in the mold of the proto-typical rough & tumble that was not only expected but demanded of players back in the day. Big Bad Bruins built that way. His generation, those that proceeded it much more of "we". The Code. Strictly adhered to & enforced. Through the 70's & beyond it's been whittled away, big heap of shavings on the ground & the game has IMHO suffered as a result but I digress....
But... leads into your final comment, that people considered Gretzky "soft".... and yes indeed they did, that he might last 10 games in the NHL or whatever before being carried off on a Gurney. Skating was supposedly "suspect". Too light. No grit.... absolute rubbish of course. To have the confidence to pull off what he was pulling off took a tonne of grit, guts, bravery though he wouldnt have looked at it that way. Never even considered that it did. That he was one move away from being laid out because in his mind he was already 2 moves ahead of his opponents man to man, collectively. Bobby Orr, same thing. He wasnt huge, he wasnt a bruiser. Clean player. The best always are. Even Maurice Richard. He was clean however in the face of constant provocation during the earlier in which he played, well, guys gotta do what he's gotta do & if the Bell rung you answered it. The 50's, 40's & 30's, 1920's as seen through the prisms of the late 60's, 70's, 80's & today, different. They did things different back then and ya, I would be concerned for Wayne Gretzkys health & well being if he were to be sent back in time whole, as is or was. Head Hunters. Bounty's put on him & no holds barred. Orr on the other hand, no worries whatsoever in that department but honestly who cares as its entirely hypothetical, what actually happened, real history for more interesting.
Bottom line, I dont really care who anyone thinks is the Greatest Player of All Time. If someone thinks Bobby Hull is the Greatest, Howe, Orr, Gretzky.... I dont criticize, argue about it. Instead I appreciate & respect that persons opinion & share in their enthusiasm for whichever player it is they themselves feel is the "Greatest Ever" because you know what? A case can be made for them, be it Bobby Hull at #1 or whomever over an Orr or a Gretzky. There have been just so many Greats. So instead, I rank them by position. Best Center, Best Right Winger, Left, Best Defenceman, Best Goalie. Simply wont empirically state that Orr or Gretzky is the Greatest Player of All Time as to my mind their not; Greatest Defenceman, Greatest Center yes.....
Always got a kick out of the Gretzky detractors, even back in the day before he ever stepped foot on the ice with the Nats in Toronto, let alone the WHA, NHL. Clearly a Prodigy who if he did continue to play was about to turn the game on its head. Even to this day...
"Gretzky had it easy"....
www.fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-butterfly-effect/ ....
... when in fact no, not so much, he was just that good, that brilliant that like Orr he made the difficult look easy. What your watching, what we saw of Orr & Gretzky wasnt so much the physical play of these players as a mind in action, the wheels turning, the intangibles, the subtleties, nuances, the patience. Calm. Whats more, both would have no problem taking apart todays players & goalies. None. Zero.