Zdeno Chara's Place in Bruins Defeseman History
- Thread starter BigBadBruins7708
- Start date
LeBlondeDemon10
Registered User
ted2019
History of Hockey
Shore is a top 15 player of all time and Chara is lucky to be ranked anywhere from 80-110.
Professor What
Registered User
It blows my mind that there are still people saying that Chara is a top-3 Bruins defenseman. For a moment, let's totally ignore anything that Orr, Shore, or Bourque did outside of Boston. You'll find that it does very, very little to change any of their legacies. The only things that seem at all significant off the top of my head are Bourque's Cup with the Avs in 2001 and Orr's cant walk but still the best player on the ice performance in the 1976 Canada Cup. Still, their resumes are impeccable even without those "extras." If their careers had ended when they left the Bruins, I don't see any of those big three being viewed any worse than they are.
But just for the sake of argument, let's look at this whole thing, giving an advantage to Chara by allowing his entire career to be considered and the others only having their years in Boston. Chara's resume does gain something because his five all-star selections go to seven including the two he got in Ottawa, which is a 40% increase. Now, we took one away from Bourque, but he had so many it's not really missed. Regardless, this is what we're looking at:
Orr in 10 seasons
3 Hart Trophies (8 top-5 finishes)
8 Norris Trophies (9 top-five finishes)
2 Art Ross Trophies
9 All-Star selections (8 first, 1 second)
Bourque in 20 seasons (I'm not including the half season for the sake of simplicity as well as intentionally giving a slight skew against him to make a point)
5 top-5 Hart finishes (and many believe he should have won one of those)
5 Norris Trophies (13 top-five finishes)
All-time leader in goals, assists, and points by a defenseman
17 All-Star selections (12 first, 5 second)
Shore in 13 seasons (same as Bourque on the partial season, though it means less here)
4 Hart Trophies (8 top-five finishes)
He played before the Norris, but the Hockey News reckoned he would have eight in 2018.
No records or scoring titles, but his offensive style literally can't be overstated for the day he played in. He was Bobby Orr long before Orr was born.
8 All-Star selections (7 first, 1 second) BUT! All-Star selections weren't made in the first few years of Shore's career. I'm going to go uber-conservative and just give him two more first team nods for the two years he finished third in the Hart balloting. The truth is, I'm likely selling him two selections short.
Chara in 22 seasons
Best Hart finish: 8th
1 Norris Trophy (seven top-five finishes [two of which were in Ottawa])
7 All-Star selections (3 first, 4 second [one of each was in Ottawa])
No offensive accolades, though he is known as a stout defender. However, Orr and later Bourque weren't too shabby in their own end either, and I don't think there's anything special enough about Chara's defense to cover the massive offensive gap that exists. And that's even when I try to look at things as favorably to Chara as possible.
Now, it might seem a bit pointless to include Orr's block in this, but I did so for a reason. Taking everything into account, I have no problem saying that Bourque and Shore are closer to Orr than they are to Chara. There's literally no comparison here. Make things more favorable to Chara by allowing his accolades in Ottawa, and he's still lapped by the other three.
But just for the sake of argument, let's look at this whole thing, giving an advantage to Chara by allowing his entire career to be considered and the others only having their years in Boston. Chara's resume does gain something because his five all-star selections go to seven including the two he got in Ottawa, which is a 40% increase. Now, we took one away from Bourque, but he had so many it's not really missed. Regardless, this is what we're looking at:
Orr in 10 seasons
3 Hart Trophies (8 top-5 finishes)
8 Norris Trophies (9 top-five finishes)
2 Art Ross Trophies
9 All-Star selections (8 first, 1 second)
Bourque in 20 seasons (I'm not including the half season for the sake of simplicity as well as intentionally giving a slight skew against him to make a point)
5 top-5 Hart finishes (and many believe he should have won one of those)
5 Norris Trophies (13 top-five finishes)
All-time leader in goals, assists, and points by a defenseman
17 All-Star selections (12 first, 5 second)
Shore in 13 seasons (same as Bourque on the partial season, though it means less here)
4 Hart Trophies (8 top-five finishes)
He played before the Norris, but the Hockey News reckoned he would have eight in 2018.
No records or scoring titles, but his offensive style literally can't be overstated for the day he played in. He was Bobby Orr long before Orr was born.
8 All-Star selections (7 first, 1 second) BUT! All-Star selections weren't made in the first few years of Shore's career. I'm going to go uber-conservative and just give him two more first team nods for the two years he finished third in the Hart balloting. The truth is, I'm likely selling him two selections short.
Chara in 22 seasons
Best Hart finish: 8th
1 Norris Trophy (seven top-five finishes [two of which were in Ottawa])
7 All-Star selections (3 first, 4 second [one of each was in Ottawa])
No offensive accolades, though he is known as a stout defender. However, Orr and later Bourque weren't too shabby in their own end either, and I don't think there's anything special enough about Chara's defense to cover the massive offensive gap that exists. And that's even when I try to look at things as favorably to Chara as possible.
Now, it might seem a bit pointless to include Orr's block in this, but I did so for a reason. Taking everything into account, I have no problem saying that Bourque and Shore are closer to Orr than they are to Chara. There's literally no comparison here. Make things more favorable to Chara by allowing his accolades in Ottawa, and he's still lapped by the other three.
I put Chara at number four.
We all agree Orr is number one. We all know why.
I have Eddie Shore at number two. Not only does he have four Harts, but he was considered by many to be the best player in the NHL at any position during his playing career. I can only think of one other defenseman that can be said about.
Ray Bourque is number three. He was anything and everything you could want in a defenseman and a captain. A tremendous skater; stick handler; checker; and playmaker. I think the ungodly number of minutes he was asked to play wore him down and hurt his offensive numbers (just a theory I have). Nobody faults Ray for not winning the Cup in Boston. He ran into great teams from Montreal; Edmonton; and Pittsburgh, and the Bruins just didn’t have enough talent. Ray was never the problem, and would be considered the number one defenseman all-time on almost any other team.
Chara was great and will be in the Hall of Fame one day, as well as have his 33 retired by the Bruins. Tremendous size and talent, and helped lead the Bruins to the Cup. Not as talented as Orr; Shore; and Bourque, but head and shoulders above the rest (see what I did there?).
Thanks, big fella. We appreciate everything.
We all agree Orr is number one. We all know why.
I have Eddie Shore at number two. Not only does he have four Harts, but he was considered by many to be the best player in the NHL at any position during his playing career. I can only think of one other defenseman that can be said about.
Ray Bourque is number three. He was anything and everything you could want in a defenseman and a captain. A tremendous skater; stick handler; checker; and playmaker. I think the ungodly number of minutes he was asked to play wore him down and hurt his offensive numbers (just a theory I have). Nobody faults Ray for not winning the Cup in Boston. He ran into great teams from Montreal; Edmonton; and Pittsburgh, and the Bruins just didn’t have enough talent. Ray was never the problem, and would be considered the number one defenseman all-time on almost any other team.
Chara was great and will be in the Hall of Fame one day, as well as have his 33 retired by the Bruins. Tremendous size and talent, and helped lead the Bruins to the Cup. Not as talented as Orr; Shore; and Bourque, but head and shoulders above the rest (see what I did there?).
Thanks, big fella. We appreciate everything.
Big Phil
Registered User
- Nov 2, 2003
- 31,703
- 4,146
I am fine with him at 4th. Behind Orr, Bourque and Shore for sure, obviously. But only Clapper played long enough and good enough to be close to him otherwise, and even then only part of his career was as a defenseman. Park was a better all-time defenseman than Chara, I think, but his time with the Rangers counts too, just not when judging solely Bruins seasons so you have to put Chara ahead of him as a Bruin. Despite some sloppy postseasons in his career with the Sens and the Bruins Chara finally got them over the hump in 2011 and was a big part of it too.
BruinDust
Registered User
- Aug 2, 2005
- 24,409
- 21,913
