Who's the best goalscoring defenseman ever outside of Bobby Orr?

[Nick Hansen]

(I'll just take for granted that we all agree on Orr being the best)

Here are the raw numbers since the expansion in 1967 to date:

NHL Stats

Who'd you advocate for?

Click to read more...

 

[IceNeophyte]

Isn't Coffey the obvious answer, given his 1.09 PPG?

 

[hacksaw7]

Steve Duchesne I always thought was a pretty underrated goal scoring D. If not for some injury issues he probably would've had 8 seasons of 20 or more goals.

 

[GJB]

Coffey in 1985-86 almost pots 50, gotta go with him.

 

[82Ninety42011]

I'd go Al MacInnis after Coffey. That guy had a shot !! Scored 28 goals three years in a row and 28 another year to finish with 340.

 

[Iapyi]

Possibly Flash Hollett.

 

[BraveCanadian]

Paul Coffey

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

Coffey’s quite clearly up there, then Denis Potvin. Honorable mentions to Mike Green and Brent Burns I guess.

 

[MadLuke]

Paul Coffey achieved to make the top 10 in goal scored one year (just 3 goals over the mark but still)

He has 7 of the top 22 season in absolute goal scored by a defenceman has well
Orr has 6
Potvin has 3

Not one else doubled I think, those 3 seem a good potential top 3 for that title.

 

[crobro]

Reed. Larsen

 

[Mandar]

Al Iafrate

Doug Wilson

 

[Big Phil]

You'd have to say Coffey based purely on the stats. The thing with Coffey is that he skated so effortlessly and did things so smoothly that you figure somewhere that has to be a defenseman who was more skilled at putting the puck in the net. I am not sure who that is. But let's put it this way, if this is a shootout and you need a goal who else do you put in over Coffey?

 

[Dissonance Jr]

Interesting to see that after 1,000 games, Shea Weber is currently 10th all time in goals-per-game for defensemen since WWII,* and all the guys around him played in higher-scoring eras.

None of his individual seasons really catch the eye, but Weber's been consistently piling up goals at a pretty astounding rate.

*The top 15 list:

1. Bobby Orr 0.411 goals/game
2. Denis Potvin 0.292
3. Paul Coffey 0.281
4. Ray Bourque 0.254
5. Reed Larson 0.246
6. Al Macinnis 0.240
7. Reijo Ruotsalainen 0.240
8. Doug Wilson 0.231
9. Phil Housley 0.226
10. Shea Weber 0.220
11. Mark Howe 0.212
12. Jeff Brown 0.206
13. Brian Leetch 0.205
14. Paul Reinhart 0.205
15. Steve Duchesne 0.204
t-15. Dustin Byfuglien 0.204

 

[Staniowski]

I'm not going to rank them, or even say these guys are the best.....but here are 5 star defensemen from the '70s, '80s and '90s who were good goal-scorers (in chronological order):

Guy Lapointe - he had a great shot from the point, one of the best slappers of his era, and good snap and wrist shots too. He liked to rush the puck, and he was a bit of a rover, joined the forwards and stayed up there sometimes.

Denis Potvin - Potvin had one of the best wrist shots of all-time. Hard and accurate. He had great offensive instincts, as well. Knew when to join the rush, knew when to move to the slot, etc.

Paul Reinhart - Reinhart played lots of forward growing up, and played all 5 skater positions in the NHL. Great point shot, great wrister. Smart and creative, and nifty for a defenseman. Mr. Clutch for the Flames. I think he could've been a top goal scorer if he played forward all the time.

Chris Chelios - I think Chelios was a better goal scorer than his numbers indicate. Chelios was a great skater, wonderful lateral movement. Very good slap shot. Creative and confident. Great scorer when he moved to the slot, and pretty good stickhandler and deker.

Al MacInnis - MacInnis grew up playing RW, so that experience never hurts a scoring defenseman. Obviously one of the very best and most effective slapshots in the history of hockey. Extremely hard and accurate. A smart player with good instincts.

 

[Nick Hansen]

Yeah, Weber's numbers are impressive especially since he actually utilizes the slapshot much more than most in this day and age.

Other than him I'm impressed by Potvin's numbers. Basically scored a goal every third game whilst being a complete defenseman in every other facet. Second to Coffey in PO goals as well.

 

[The Panther]

Coffey once scored 30 goals in half a season. 'Nuff said.

 

[Nerowoy nora tolad]

I'd go Al MacInnis after Coffey. That guy had a shot !! Scored 28 goals three years in a row and 28 another year to finish with 340.

No disrespect to Coffey, but Macinnis was the best Ive ever seen at using the shot in a way that made his entire team more likely to score

Possibly Flash Hollett.

If we're gonna go back that far, Id also nominate Cyclone Taylor. If we can all agree to squint hard enough to see him as a defenceman

 

[jcs0218]

You'd have to say Coffey based purely on the stats. The thing with Coffey is that he skated so effortlessly and did things so smoothly that you figure somewhere that has to be a defenseman who was more skilled at putting the puck in the net. I am not sure who that is. But let's put it this way, if this is a shootout and you need a goal who else do you put in over Coffey?

Marc Crawford says Raymond Bourque.

Maybe that was just because Paul Coffey wasn't on the 1998 Olympic team.

 

[hacksaw7]

Marc Crawford says Raymond Bourque.

Maybe that was just because Paul Coffey wasn't on the 1998 Olympic team.

I still don't get how Desjardins and Adam Foote are picked over Scott Niedermayer

 

[jcs0218]

I still don't get how Desjardins and Adam Foote are picked over Scott Niedermayer

I would have picked Niedermayer.

But in early 1998, he wasn't seen the same way he is looked at now. He was viewed as somewhat of an underachiever.

He had posted seasons of 33 and 35 points prior to the 1997-98 season, which was viewed as underwhelming for a player that was categorized as an offensive defenseman.

In those same seasons, Desjardins had scored 47 and 46 points.

As for Foote? He was taken to play a specific role. A tough stay-at-home defenseman who would compete with the likes of Tkachuk, LeClair, and etc. in front of the net and in the corners.

The 1998 Canadian team was largely picked with one opponent in mind. The U.S.A. After the 1996 World Cup loss, Canada built a team for the 1998 Olympics that was suited to beat the U.S.A. Which they did beat the U.S.A. in the one game that they played against them.

What they didn't anticipate were the Czechs being so strong.

 

[hacksaw7]

I would have picked Niedermayer.

But in early 1998, he wasn't seen the same way he is looked at now. He was viewed as somewhat of an underachiever.

He had posted seasons of 33 and 35 points prior to the 1997-98 season, which was viewed as underwhelming for a player that was categorized as an offensive defenseman.

In those same seasons, Desjardins had scored 47 and 46 points.

As for Foote? He was taken to play a specific role. A tough stay-at-home defenseman who would compete with the likes of Tkachuk, LeClair, and etc. in front of the net and in the corners.

The 1998 Canadian team was largely picked with one opponent in mind. The U.S.A. After the 1996 World Cup loss, Canada built a team for the 1998 Olympics that was suited to beat the U.S.A. Which they did beat the U.S.A. in the one game that they played against them.

What they didn't anticipate were the Czechs being so strong.

I get your drift. Though as a Devils fan I knew it was strictly because of Lemaire that his point totals weren't higher. Same reason Stevens offense fell off a cliff post 1994. Niedermayer did go on to have an outstanding 1998 season point wise (for a defenseman in the dead puck era on a trap team)...but he should've been let off his leash more and allowed to try to create more at that point in his career.

 

[seventieslord]

Best 7 seasons by adjusted goals. Kelly, Clancy, Byfuglien, Burns are easy to separate out by F/D seasons so I did. Does not include current season as HR projects current totals to a full season. This is everyone I could find with more than 100.

Orr: 219

Coffey: 193

Clancy: 159
MacInnis: 157
Potvin: 154
Shore: 153
Burns: 150
Weber: 149

Housley: 146 (made no attempt to remove goals scored at F)
Bourque: 143
Gonchar: 143
Kelly: 142
Leetch: 140
Blake: 137

Green: 133
Boucher: 133
Hatcher: 132
Karlsson: 131
Duchesne: 130
Byfuglien: 129
Lidstrom: 129
Hollett: 128 (same as Housley)
Ozolinsh: 126
Murphy: 125
Larson: 123
Ekman-Larsson: 123
Chara: 122

Lapointe: 118
Schneider: 117
Cameron: 117 (in 6 seasons)
Vadnais: 116
Wilson: 116
Suter: 115
Park: 114
Howe: 114 (same as Housley & Hollett)
Phaneuf: 113
Boyle: 112
Cleghorn: 109
Brown: 108
McCabe: 107
Giordano: 107
Iafrate: 104
Niedermayer: 102
Subban: 100

I don't see how it isn't Coffey. Sure, he had a lot of help amassing those totals, but he's pretty far ahead of the pack. He's much closer to Orr, than that pack (though it should be mentioned that Orr missed about half a season's worth of games in his best 7 seasons and Coffey missed 0.1, so a per-game analysis would spread that margin more)

 

[Big Phil]

I still don't get how Desjardins and Adam Foote are picked over Scott Niedermayer

I was surprised Niedermayer wasn't there too. The big ice suited him. He was on the 1996 World Cup team, so it isn't as if it would have been out of sorts to have him there.

 

[hacksaw7]

I was surprised Niedermayer wasn't there too. The big ice suited him. He was on the 1996 World Cup team, so it isn't as if it would have been out of sorts to have him there.

I recall the Zamuner selection also had people scratching their heads, though he did his job and then some. Peca seemed like the choice there

 

[Dreakmur]

Best 7 seasons by adjusted goals. Kelly, Clancy, Byfuglien, Burns are easy to separate out by F/D seasons so I did. Does not include current season as HR projects current totals to a full season. This is everyone I could find with more than 100.

Orr: 219

Coffey: 193

Clancy: 159
MacInnis: 157
Potvin: 154
Shore: 153
Burns: 150
Weber: 149

Housley: 146 (made no attempt to remove goals scored at F)
Bourque: 143
Gonchar: 143
Kelly: 142
Leetch: 140
Blake: 137

Green: 133
Boucher: 133
Hatcher: 132
Karlsson: 131
Duchesne: 130
Byfuglien: 129
Lidstrom: 129
Hollett: 128 (same as Housley)
Ozolinsh: 126
Murphy: 125
Larson: 123
Ekman-Larsson: 123
Chara: 122

Lapointe: 118
Schneider: 117
Cameron: 117 (in 6 seasons)
Vadnais: 116
Wilson: 116
Suter: 115
Park: 114
Howe: 114 (same as Housley & Hollett)
Phaneuf: 113
Boyle: 112
Cleghorn: 109
Brown: 108
McCabe: 107
Giordano: 107
Iafrate: 104
Niedermayer: 102

I don't see how it isn't Coffey. Sure, he had a lot of help amassing those totals, but he's pretty far ahead of the pack. He's much closer to Orr, than that pack (though it should be mentioned that Orr missed about half a season's worth of games in his best 7 seasons and Coffey missed 0.1, so a per-game analysis would spread that margin more)

Is that compared to other the league or just other defensemen?