In 1969-70 Bobby Orr notched 120 points and claimed the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer. (Picture, if you will, the stodgy minds of the hockey establishment being blown as a defenceman—a defenceman!—became the league’s pre-eminent offensive threat.) In 1974-75 he did it again.
No one has repeated Orr’s twin feats—he remains the only blueliner to claim the Art Ross—but a breed of defenceman have carried No. 4’s legacy as weapons on attack. Guys like Paul Coffey, Denis Potvin and Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson. Last year Karlsson led the Sens in points. This year, with second-best scorer Jason Spezza off to Dallas, Karlsson will have even more of his team’s offensive burden on his shoulders. The stats show that, of any blueliner in the NHL, Karlsson’s the man for the job.
