Stars who blocked shots

[Big Phil]

In light of the proposed rule changes involving blocking shots which I hope never gets passed I wanted to take a stroll down memory lane and discuss the stars players that slid and blocked shots fearlessly.

First that come to mind for me are Yzerman and Orr. Crosby today to a certain extent will do it. Shanahan to is another one that comes to mind.

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[Ogopogo*]

I recall watching hockey in the 80s and the philosophy was to get the heck out of the way so the goalie could make the save. A defenseman or forward trying to block a shot was frowned upon because the puck could deflect and the goalie was screened. For the most part I think shot blocking came into vogue in the early 90s.

 

[85highlander]

In light of the proposed rule changes involving blocking shots which I hope never gets passed I wanted to take a stroll down memory lane and discuss the stars players that slid and blocked shots fearlessly.

First that come to mind for me are Yzerman and Orr. Crosby today to a certain extent will do it. Shanahan to is another one that comes to mind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGoGEjvvWrQ&feature=related

At around 2:25 of the above video, Orr blocks a rebound shot by park, leading with his freaking head...don't think the puck slammed him in the face, but he offered it nevertheless. Fearless indeed, as were many others from that era...

 

[greatgazoo]

Blocking shots has always been apart of the game it's not like it was just invented within recent memory.

Gainey's idea is to increase goal scoring, but guess what....hockey with the exception of the 70's and 80's has always been low scoring. Not as low scoring as soccer with their 1-nill games by the boatload, but 3-2 scores over the years are the norm for hockey.

If they want to go back to the high scoring era, then they are going to have to make the nets larger.

 

[reckoning]

Like many defensive aspects of the game, shotblocking became rare in the run-and-gun 80s, but it was a part of the game long before that. In the 70s, players like Jim Schoenfeld, Gilles Marotte and Borje Salming were among the best in the league at it. It wasn't done as much as it today, but that's mostly because today's players are much better protected and therefore aren't risking injury to the same degree that players in the past did.

 

[Ogopogo*]

When the problem is simply that goaltending equipment is much larger than it was 20 years ago, why are we trying all of these stupid gimmicks instead of solving the problem? Forcing teams to keep players on the ice after icing the puck, moving faceoffs into the defending zone, the trapezoid and now possibly outlawing shot blocking!?!? Just put the goalie equipment back to the way it was 20 years ago and these stupid gimmicks wouldn't be necessary.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Obviously Brad Marsh isn't in the company of Orr and Yzerman etc. as mentioned above but he was a fearless shot blocker and he did make an All-Star team once (a second time as Howe's injury replacement but he never made it to the game because of flight problems).

 

[Stonefly]

When the problem is simply that goaltending equipment is much larger than it was 20 years ago, why are we trying all of these stupid gimmicks instead of solving the problem? Forcing teams to keep players on the ice after icing the puck, moving faceoffs into the defending zone, the trapezoid and now possibly outlawing shot blocking!?!? Just put the goalie equipment back to the way it was 20 years ago and these stupid gimmicks wouldn't be necessary.

Agree completely. Reading some of the new ideas is pretty frustrating when the solution is so simple.

 

[raleh]

I agree that the goalie pads should be made as small as they were in the '80s. But that's the only '80s like quality I'd like to see in the league. Goalie pads were tiny and insignificant in the 50's, and scoring was pretty much as low as it's ever been in the league. We're not going to see another era of constant 6-5 wins, because that's not hockey. That's not the way the game should be played. I don't know why there's all of this **** being done to recreate the '80s. To me the run and gun "forget about defense" circus show cheapens the game. A game in which, more than almost any other professional sport, the W is all that matters and players are willing to do anything to get it, sacrificing personal numbers, lying down in front of 100mph slap shots, dropping the gloves to fight with bare knuckles, getting crunched head first into the boards in an effort to make a good first pass, and for full games sometimes forgetting about scoring and concentrating on shutting down the best player on the other team while the rest of your team tries to score.

Footage I see from the '80s just reminds me of a (very high quality) pond hockey game with the occasional hissy fit being thrown by couple of guys trying to keep each other in the league.

BUT, back to the thread title. Orr was the first one to come to mind. I know he's not a star, but Anton Volchenkov is unbelievable at it. It's one of my favourite parts of the game and if they took it out (which I don't think they will), I'd be livid.

 

[Wings4Life]

In light of the proposed rule changes involving blocking shots which I hope never gets passed I wanted to take a stroll down memory lane and discuss the stars players that slid and blocked shots fearlessly.

First that come to mind for me are Yzerman and Orr. Crosby today to a certain extent will do it. Shanahan to is another one that comes to mind.

I find it funny that Shanahan and Yzerman "come to mind" for you as shot blockers, but the best defensive forward on those Red Wings teams--who blocked the most shots by far--in Sergei Fedorov, does not come to mind.

 

[poise]

Watching Bobby Orr was just amazing. I think that if I was his coach I would tell him not to block so many shots for fear of injury.

I find it funny that Shanahan and Yzerman "come to mind" for you as shot blockers, but the best defensive forward on those Red Wings teams--who blocked the most shots by far--in Sergei Fedorov, does not come to mind.

From what I remember, Steve Yzerman blocked a ton more shots than Sergei Fedorov. On NHL.com the 2002-2003 season is the first when they track blocked shots. Yzerman has 8 in 16 games while Fedorov has 5 in 80 games (Brenden Shanahan had 18 in 78 games).

Yzerman was better Defensively in his own zone while Fedorov was better at the forecheck. I remember that when the Red Wings Players were asked in 1996, they said that Bob Errey and Yzerman were the two best Defensive Forwards on the team. I think Fedorov was the best two-way Player of them though.

 

[greatgazoo]

During the Oilers heyday...Messier, MacT, Lowe, Fogolin, Muni, Gregg, Huddy were no strangers to hitting the ice for a blocked shot, especially with the game on the line.

 

[TheGoldenJet]

Watching Bobby Orr was just amazing. I think that if I was his coach I would tell him not to block so many shots for fear of injury.



From what I remember, Steve Yzerman blocked a ton more shots than Sergei Fedorov. On NHL.com the 2002-2003 season is the first when they track blocked shots. Yzerman has 8 in 16 games while Fedorov has 5 in 80 games (Brenden Shanahan had 18 in 78 games).

Yzerman was better Defensively in his own zone while Fedorov was better at the forecheck. I remember that when the Red Wings Players were asked in 1996, they said that Bob Errey and Yzerman were the two best Defensive Forwards on the team. I think Fedorov was the best two-way Player of them though.

Fedorov was definitely better defensively than both Yzerman and Shanahan in his own zone. In his prime (which was behind him by 2003) he was a better shot blocker as well.

In 1996, simply look at his +/- in the playoffs and compare it to Yzerman's (keeping in mind they scored the same amount of points). You can do the same for the regular season as well.

I highly doubt that either Yzerman or Shanahan would be able to transition to defence for stretches of time as well as Fedorov did.

 

[Big Phil]

I find it funny that Shanahan and Yzerman "come to mind" for you as shot blockers, but the best defensive forward on those Red Wings teams--who blocked the most shots by far--in Sergei Fedorov, does not come to mind.

Fedorov wasnt the type that would sacrifice his body to block a shot. He was good defensively sure, but it was a different type of defense with him. Yzerman risked injury a lot more when he did it. If the Cup was on the line and a blocked shot was what would save you the Cup dont you picture Yzerman as the more than likely candidate to risk injury and sprawl on the ice in front of a slap shot?

 

[poise]

During the Oilers heyday...Messier, MacT, Lowe, Fogolin, Muni, Gregg, Huddy were no strangers to hitting the ice for a blocked shot, especially with the game on the line.

Totally forgot about Mark Messier in that regard. One memory that sticks out is Messier going down to block a shot on an empty net of a game that was basically over. Devotion.

Fedorov was definitely better defensively than both Yzerman and Shanahan in his own zone. In his prime (which was behind him by 2003) he was a better shot blocker as well.

In 1996, simply look at his +/- in the playoffs and compare it to Yzerman's (keeping in mind they scored the same amount of points). You can do the same for the regular season as well.

I highly doubt that either Yzerman or Shanahan would be able to transition to defence for stretches of time as well as Fedorov did.

Well from what I saw of them, Steve Yzerman was clearly the better Player in his own zone as he had better positioning and a better awareness while Sergei Fedorov was better in the neutral zone using his speed to stop plays from developing. Again, the line of Yzerman and Bob Errey and Darren McCarty was what Scotty Bowman would send out to shut out the best opposition lines through most of 1995-1996.

I agree that both were better than Brendan Shanahan Defensively (though Shanahan was the most effective mucker along the boards).

I'm basically sure Yzerman blocked a ton more shots than Fedorov though. Shanahan to a lesser extent also. 2002-2003 was one of Fedorov's best years too, a lot would say Nicklas Lidstrom was the Red Wings best Player that season but I would say Fedorov.

The plus/minus statistic doesn't really hold much weight for me at all, Defensive Play is something that I judge essentially by watching. I guess that's also why there are so many differing opinions. As for Fedorov on Defense, from what I've heard, that was punishment for playing poorly and to continue to give Fedorov the ice time he wanted while playing his other top Forwards. I remember Bowman said something like 'he's not that type of Player' when remarking on if Fedorov could hit 100 points again. Maybe that's why he kept putting Fedorov on the blueline? Not really sure.

 

[TheGoldenJet]

Well from what I saw of them, Steve Yzerman was clearly the better Player in his own zone as he had better positioning and a better awareness while Sergei Fedorov was better in the neutral zone using his speed to stop plays from developing. Again, the line of Yzerman and Bob Errey and Darren McCarty was what Scotty Bowman would send out to shut out the best opposition lines through most of 1995-1996.

I agree that both were better than Brendan Shanahan Defensively (though Shanahan was the most effective mucker along the boards).

I'm basically sure Yzerman blocked a ton more shots than Fedorov though. Shanahan to a lesser extent also. 2002-2003 was one of Fedorov's best years too, a lot would say Nicklas Lidstrom was the Red Wings best Player that season but I would say Fedorov.

The plus/minus statistic doesn't really hold much weight for me at all, Defensive Play is something that I judge essentially by watching. I guess that's also why there are so many differing opinions. As for Fedorov on Defense, from what I've heard, that was punishment for playing poorly and to continue to give Fedorov the ice time he wanted while playing his other top Forwards. I remember Bowman said something like 'he's not that type of Player' when remarking on if Fedorov could hit 100 points again. Maybe that's why he kept putting Fedorov on the blueline? Not really sure.

You claim to have watched the 95-96 Wings, yet state that you "have heard" that Fedorov was moved to defence as punishment, or for giving other stars more icetime?

Fedorov played defence in the 95-96 regular season as well as the playoffs because the team needed him there. He was the best player on the team with 107 points (Yzerman was second with 95), and was fifth in Hart trophy voting. What would he have been punished for?

In those days, there was not a player in the league as good in their own zone as Fedorov. That includes Yzerman. In fact, Yzerman was never even a decent defensive forward until Bowman sternly asked him to change his style of play, in the mid 1990's. Yzerman learned how to be great defensively by emulating the younger Fedorov.

Granted, to each their own opinion, but the Selke voters of the time do see it my way.

 

[Wings4Life]

Fedorov wasnt the type that would sacrifice his body to block a shot. He was good defensively sure, but it was a different type of defense with him. Yzerman risked injury a lot more when he did it. If the Cup was on the line and a blocked shot was what would save you the Cup dont you picture Yzerman as the more than likely candidate to risk injury and sprawl on the ice in front of a slap shot?

I have no doubt Yzerman would do that, even if injury was 100% certain. But so would Fedorov, and Shanahan for that matter.

All three blocked a ton of shots in their careers, but Fedorov had turned it into an art.

He may not have had to always block a particular shot, probably due to his superior stickwork and positioning.

2002-2003 was one of Fedorov's best years too, a lot would say Nicklas Lidstrom was the Red Wings best Player that season but I would say Fedorov.

Feds may have been the Detroits' best player in 02/03, but that does not mean he was at his best. His best years were from 93 through 97--basically until he missed a season due to the contract dispute. Though he did have a few stellar seasons after that, namely the 02/03 season.