Paul Coffey

[ForsbergForever]

Paul Coffey played a grand total of 10 games for the Chicago Blackhawks in 98-99, I was wondering if anyone had any pictures of him while he was wearing the red and black? I've never seen any pics of him during his oft forgoten stay with the team.

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[soulok*]

Don't have a pic but Paul Coffey was the man. Too bad players like Rod Langway won a norris over him in the eighties. cuz 3 norris trophies for him is a robbery

 

[David Puddy]

I found the below card on ebay.

 

[acr*]

Don't have a pic but Paul Coffey was the man. Too bad players like Rod Langway won a norris over him in the eighties. cuz 3 norris trophies for him is a robbery

The reason Langway won over him is because Langway culd actually play defense.

 

[Mothra]

Don't have a pic but Paul Coffey was the man. Too bad players like Rod Langway won a norris over him in the eighties. cuz 3 norris trophies for him is a robbery

Ha!....Coffey is the most over-rated player I have ever seen

 

[ForsbergForever]

1531 points as a D-man, 2nd all-time for defensemen,10th all-time in league scoring, 3 Norris trophies and he's over-rated? You must have really high standards.

 

[Hockeyfan_86]

1531 points as a D-man, 2nd all-time for defensemen,10th all-time in league scoring, 3 Norris trophies and he's over-rated? You must have really high standards.

what he said!

 

[Frightened Inmate #2]

Over-rated in the sense that people seem to think that he is a defense quasi-god.... he couldn't play defense worth a lick and that is an important part of actually being a defenseman. Great skater and had great offensive instincts, but I would rather have Langway on my team, as while he didn't put up the numbers he was ten times the defensive player that Coffey was.

I think it was in 87 with the soviets and there was the 2 on 1 against Canada and the announcer said something like oh no it is Coffey back there. for some reason that sticks out in my head.

 

[#66]

They were apples and oranges. To discount Coffey for his lack of defense or Langway for getting over 40 points just once is just missing what made them great.

 

[Frightened Inmate #2]

#66 I agree, they both provided different aspects of the game, but to say that Langway didn't deserve the awards is an insult to one of the greatest defenseman to ever recieve the award. Just think of how hard it is for a non-offensive defenseman to recieve the award today and how good that d-man has to be, now think of how good Langway was defensively when he was up against Coffey.

 

[#66]

#66 I agree, they both provided different aspects of the game, but to say that Langway didn't deserve the awards is an insult to one of the greatest defenseman to ever recieve the award. Just think of how hard it is for a non-offensive defenseman to recieve the award today and how good that d-man has to be, now think of how good Langway was defensively when he was up against Coffey.

OK now I understand. As far as the Norris trophies go my only two big questions are:
1) How does Randy Carlyle win the award over Potvin in '81? Being a Penguin fan I always liked Carlyle but to take a Norris away from Potvin at his peak is beyond me.
2) How does Scott Stevens have such a great career and never win one?

 

[Hasbro]

He was seen going into the corners once.





Case of mistaken identity.

 

[soulok*]

acr what u need to do is learn hockey . Rod Langway doesnt even belong in the same league as Paul Coffey. Paul Coffey is not the most overrated but one of the most underrated defenseman. As for your statement for id rather have a Rod Langway on your blueline then a primed Paul Coffey is laughable at best. You must be joking right? Yah if it wasnt for Coffey in 1984 against the russians when he broke up the 2 on 1 Canada would have lost he went the lenght of the ice against the russians end to end and scored only Orr could have done that. Where was Langway??? drooling from his mouth at the TV set watchin Coffey do what Langway couldnt do even with rocket propelled skates?? Coffey's might have not been the greatest defensive defenseman but he was farrr from the worst. from 1980 to 1990 he was never a minus player. Only towards the end of his career when playin for some absolutely horrendous franchises he was ridiculed for makin defensive errors. What you need to do is wake up from your dreamworld instead of fantisizing about langway's mullet flowing through the wind as he winks at you. :lol

 

[Frightened Inmate #2]

I knew the Soviet 2 on 1 play would come up, but come on it really says something about the defensive abilities of a player when people point to one instance of defense. Coffey in his prime was a great offensive player no one will deny that, but no one and I mean no one in the hockey business thought of him as a solid defensive player. Might not have been the worst, but he was one of the worst defensemen I have ever seen when it comes to playing defense as half the time he was looking for an opportunity to break out. Now I am not saying he sucks, but Langway and his defense brought a great deal to the Caps.

 

[acr*]

For all intents and purposes, he was a glorified Right winger playing at the blueline. He really was that bad at defense. Really. ONe play in some international game doesn't prove otherwise.

To say Langway is a better all around player would be debatable, and probably wrong, but he was a better defenseman.

He may have put up great scoring numbers, but he couldn't compare as a player with the best D-Men of that era like Ray Bourque, Chelios, and even MacInnis

 

[God Bless Canada]

The 1984 play is talked about not only because Coffey made the stellar defensive play - breaking up a 2-on-1 in overtime - but he carried the puck into the offensive zone and set up the winning goal.

As an offensive defenceman, he's likely the second best of all-time, behind only Orr. While not as bad defensively as some make him out to be, he was, for the most part, an average defensive defenceman. I'd still take Coffey in the defensive zone over many of the over-glorified AHLers patrolling NHL bluelines today.

But in 1995 lockout-shortened season, he took his play to a new level for him. Not only did he score at almost a 100-point clip in a season where there was under six goals per game, but he played with defensive and physical vigour not seen from him before. He received strong consideration for the Hart Trophy, and was a hands-down pick for the Norris. With the exception of Chris Pronger's Hart-winning season in 99-00, it's the best season I've seen from a defenceman in the past decade.

Was he as good as Bourque, Potvin and Chelios, who have been the elite of the past 30 years? No. But he's very deserving of his HHOF distinction, and ranks among the top 10-15 defencemen and 50 players overall in NHL history.

 

[Big Phil]

People so quickly forget Coffey. A lot of us remember him from the 90s, but there was a reason he won the Norris in '85 '86 and '95. I agree that he wasnt the best in his own zone. But he was average I'd say. How about positioning? When there was a two one one or a three one two the guy who was always back in time was Coffey. Why? Cause he skated faster than anyone else. In fact he glided faster than anyone else skated.

So he may not have had the montrous defensive side but he could compete in the corners good enough. Also he could rush the puck end to end better than any d-man other than Orr. Think about it, Orr had 6 100 point seasons, Coffey had 5. Only three other defensemen have ever had 1. Coffey had more 100 point seasons than Jagr!

 

[Mothra]

1531 points as a D-man, 2nd all-time for defensemen,10th all-time in league scoring, 3 Norris trophies and he's over-rated? You must have really high standards.

Well.....

he was very poor in his own end

He played most of his career with 3 of the best players of his generation..2 of which are in the best ever topic

His was on Cup winners with the Oilers...but his one Cup with Pit was after he was injured and missed the last half of that playoff.....he was traded before the won the 2nd cup

speaking of traded....here is a guy that gets traded from Edm and they still win Cups....traded from Pit and they still win.....and after Detroit sets the record for best regular season and then loses in the playoffs....they trade him and of course, they win Cups.....

if he is some amazing player that teams need why does he get traded from teams and these teams still win or in the case of Detroit...win?

Im not knocking his offensive skill...he had it....but he was bad in his own zone, and those stats he did have were helped big time by playing with 99,66,19

 

[Mothra]

and ranks among the top 10-15 defencemen and 50 players overall in NHL history.

I can easily think of 20 D I take over him....probably a lot more if I actually think about it

 

[soulok*]

acr. Seriously man ... U compare Coffey with Bourques and Orrs not Mcinnis and Chelios. Chelios better then Coffey??? thats just wrong. Maybe slightly better defensively. thats about it. And for pointing out one instance .... i watched Coffey play as an Oiler several years. Never do I recall him giving pucks away and makin bad defensive errors. Just cuz he represents what hockey should be played like doesnt mean he should get knocked for not bodychekin players or clearing the puck of the boards with no offensive flare. With the Wings that 48 game shortened season he not only schooled all the other defenseman how to make plays and teared up the scoring race he also played some phenomenol defensive hockey. BETTER then Chelios ..BETTER then leetch ... Mcinnis... Pronger .. bourque ... hmmmm he really does suck eh?? last 30 years ...... Bobby Orr.....Raymond Bourque , and Paul Coffey. Theres simply no comparison.

 

[Lou is God]

During a five year period (1981-86) the man averaged 36 goals a season, I could honestly care less who he played with or even if he didn't play a lick of defense because 36 goals a season is 36 goals a season. That's just sick for a defenseman.

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=1042

 

[Kestrel]

The guy's got a career +/- of 300. Yeah, that's terrible defensively! What's more effective defense? Grinding in the corner, fighting with another player for the puck while 2 more of his teammates skate in to fight it out for the puck, or skating away with the puck to score? Yeah, checking, grinding, positioning are all important aspects of defense, but they aren't the only aspects of defense. Possessing the puck and being on offense means that the other team isn't possessing the puck and being on offense.

Another thing to consider - not only was Coffey capable of that, he was capable of containing the transition to one player. Every pass you make is a pass that can be intercepted. Coffey was capable of transitioning from defense to offense without making a single pass. Is that what he did all the time? No, but it meant that the transition was more difficult to contain because Paul had that extra option.

Paul the best defenseman ever, or more deserving than one player or another for the Norris trophy at any given time? That's subjective, and I'm not going to throw in my opinion - but to say Coffey played terrible defense, I strongly disagree.

One way to look at it - defense as a single dimension is useless. The point to defense is complementing offense. Paul wasn't that one dimensional defense, he was both. The goals for as opposed to goals against is evidence of that.

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

I can easily think of 20 D I take over him....probably a lot more if I actually think about it

Great!! If I'm a GM I hope they're all as astute as you, because I'd have Paul Coffey on my team anyday.

 

[soulok*]

by the way Mothra u can have your 20 + defenseman ... Ill get a team full of Orr's and Coffeys and school your anyday :lol

 

[Frightened Inmate #2]

You can't honestly point towards +/- as an indication that he was a solid defenseman. You could put a rock out on defense with the Oilers in the 80s and it would get a +50 every year. He was pretty porous from a defensive standpoint. Offensively he is likely the second or third best offensive defenseman of all time, but unfortunantly there is more to defense than than being a fourth forward, which was what he was a lot of the time.