markrander87
Registered User
- Jan 22, 2010
- 4,216
- 61
The title says it all. I'm probably going to get mocked but I'm curious to why Potvin is always ranked higher than Robinson on All time lists. By All-Time lists we include Peak and Longevity.
I saw Robinson play in Vancouver. He was dominant. The Habs would change with only him back and stuff like that. I don't think the Canucks registered a shot with him on the ice. An astounding performance.
I think the offensive defencemen of the era shroud Robinson. Guys like Park and Orr were rewriting the record books, but they weren't shut down guys. I can't, off the top of my head, remember a better shut-down defenceman. Lidstrom, maybe.
The title says it all. I'm probably going to get mocked but I'm curious to why Potvin is always ranked higher than Robinson on All time lists. By All-Time lists we include Peak and Longevity.
I saw Robinson play in Vancouver. He was dominant. The Habs would change with only him back and stuff like that. I don't think the Canucks registered a shot with him on the ice. An astounding performance.
I think the offensive defencemen of the era shroud Robinson. Guys like Park and Orr were rewriting the record books, but they weren't shut down guys. I can't, off the top of my head, remember a better shut-down defenceman. Lidstrom, maybe.
Offense , nastiness & Leadership , but Robinson is very similar to Potvin in a lot of ways.
Potvin also was the cornerstone of the dynasty , not sayiong Robinson was not important.The truth is the differance is slim but you just have to give the edge to Potvin for a couple of small things.
After Potvin , Robinson is the next on the list as far as physical all-around dman left.I know there are my 2 favorite dman , sure Orr is better but Orr doesn't count
And I'm the biggest Big Bird fan there is , but we all know you're trying to pimp your franchise ATD player :naughty:
Thanks, but no thanks. This is from 2006. We have a lot more better researching methods and findings since then.
I highly doubt anything new has been uncovered about Denis Potvin and Larry Robinson since 2006. It's not like these are obscure players or guys that nobody here saw play.
Haha im really not, im really curious on why it's so cut and dry that Potvin always goes/is ranked ahead of Robinson.
Regarding the Cornerstone of a dynasty, everything I have read refers to Robinson as the MVP of those dynasty Habs teams. By the looks of this thread so far, a lot of the posters who have watched both of them play lean towards Robinson because of his ability to control the game.
I think Robinson was better defensively, but not by enough to overcome the significant offensive edge Potvin has over Robinson, against the exact same competition.
From 1974 to 1988 Potvin has 1,052 pts to Robinson's 847.
Against their peers (defensemen) top 10 finishes:
1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 = Potvin
1, 2, 3, 5, 5, 7 = Robinson
Norris voting is a lot closer which does seem to reflect Robinson's better defensive game and health:
1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4 = Potvin
1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5 = Robinson
Hard to give Robinson much of an edge in the playoffs as Potvin was unquestionably a stud, with no lack of Conn Smythe worthy performances.
A telltale sign of Potvin's dominance can be found in the 1979-'80 season. In 1978-'79 all of Bossy, Trottier and Potvin had huge years. The next year Potvin missed some time and there was a noticeable plummet in points from Bossy and Trottier. Bossy didn't even hit 100 points while Trottier just barely did. This tells me that Potvin was the glue of that team and our eyes don't lie to us.
I think if you did a thorough investigation you would conclude that Potvin was the most important Islander on that dynasty. Better than Trottier and Bossy and for sure Smith (although not diminishing anything from them). He was mean, he was tough, he hit, he intimidated, he would start the rush and he would bowl over his first born to win. It's funny when you think of it that Potvin "only" had 7 all-star selections because our eyes would tell us a different story.
Robinson also had "only" 6 all-star selections and surprisingly just two Norrises. But his 1977 season is awfully close, if not better than Potvin's 1979 year. That being said Robinson didn't have another year quite that good while Potvin had a couple other very similar. Robinson led the rush, was a remarkable hitter and his size alone intimidated people. You could trust him in all situations. Yet while Potvin is arguably the best Islander for that dynasty, there is no doubt this was Lafleur's Montreal team. Sure, Robinson would be a solid 2nd best player on the Habs dynasty but Lafleur was the backbone and took the team on his back more than anyone.
At the end of the day, give credit to Robinson's longevity. But if I wanted a guy overall it's still Potvin