Is the Bobby Orr goal over rated?

[Goal:thecup]

This would be an ok thread if it wasn't bait from a possible troll or an attention-seeker.

That said, I think us old-timers remember Orr from his time in the NHL, we are not gaining our opinions from old footage.

 

Orr at the time was head and shoulders above anyone in hockey, made the NHL right away, and was instantly the best defenseman and possibly the best player in the world.

Every time he touched the puck, great things happened.

If Boston needed a goal at any time, Orr could do it all, all by himself.

He would get the puck say, at centre ice, and circle back behind his own goal, shedding desperate checkers like drunken stumblers, beat everybody, including the goalie, and the Bruins would get the goal they needed.

 

It was somewhat similar with Gretzky.

He was so much better than everybody else, especially in creativity, passing, and scoring, thinking the game well ahead of everyone else.

Both Orr and Gretzky absolutely shattered scoring records and took home tons of hardware.

 

If either of these players were 18 again now, they would both be very good NHL players.

But the rest of the world has closed the gap considerably and they would not be so much greater than their peers (as they were back then).

 

So I think this is where the 'kids' on CDC lose some perspective of just how much better these two were than everyone else around them.

And a picture like this classic Flying Orr one doesn't look that great seen through young eyes because so many good young players are doing things even better now.

 

It was somewhat like Pettersson's first few games with the Canucks.

He was just stunning.

But the whole world is playing so much better hockey now and equipment (especially sticks) allows more average players to play way better than average players from the past.

And they are already catching up to Pettersson somewhat and he just won the freaking Calder!

Edited August 8, 2019 by Goal:thecup
spelling

[Nuxfanabroad]

6 hours ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

Robbie Ftorek once said Gretzky was "just another hockey player".

 

 

Man Elston was rolling back in the day! Always captured the zeitgeist..brilliant cartoonist.

[goalie13]

Considering you can refer to it as simply as 'the Bobby Orr goal' and everyone knows what you are talking about is sufficient evidence that it belongs at the top of that list.

[NewbieCanuckFan]

5 hours ago, higgyfan said:

It may not have been pretty, but it was a SC winning goal; something that the Sedins never achieved.

I could care less if a player scored a goal by deflecting it off his butt......if Boeser did that in a game 7 Finals, that would be THE greatest goal (for a huuuuuuuuuuuuuge margin) for all Canucksfans around the world.

[the grinder]

15 hours ago, Brock Botanen said:

Just watched a video of the top 50 NHL goals of all time and they had that Cup winning goal by Orr #1.. I may be a Bruin hater but that goal was nothing special. I could seriously find 50 Sedin goals that are better.

 

Curious on what you guys think.

it may not be the best goal ever .but it is iconic picture   , flying thru the air , no helmet , Stanley cup winning goal    isn't that what all kids dreamed of doing playing road hockey scoring the winning goal for the cup ,( or nhl 19 ).,  

[-AJ-]

4 hours ago, NewbieCanuckFan said:

I could care less if a player scored a goal by deflecting it off his butt......if Boeser did that in a game 7 Finals, that would be THE greatest goal (for a huuuuuuuuuuuuuge margin) for all Canucksfans around the world.

It's not dissimilar to how the Dragon Slaying goal wasn't at all pretty, but most fans consider it one of, if not the greatest goal in Canucks history.

[6string]

Poor poll, conflating over rated to a winning goal you call "BEST winning goal of all time" in a SCF series sweep for crying out loud.

 

It's an iconic moment of the game, one of many great photos capturing the great game of hockey. Keep it in context.

[aqua59]

It's overrated if its before your time.I saw it. Was unreal.

[the grinder]

3 hours ago, -AJ- said:

 It's not dissimilar to how the Dragon Slaying goal wasn't at all pretty, but most fans consider one of, if not the greatest goal in Canucks history.

exactly like Crosby golden goal or Patrick kane cup winning goal   where he was the only one to see it go in  not pretty but all consider great goals 

[King Heffy]

Hate the Bruins, but not an overrated goal.  I still think the Henderson goal was a more iconic moment, simply because that series wasn't a foregone conclusion. 

[Silky mitts]

Yes lol

[Silky mitts]

Geriatrics getting triggered 

 

[6string]

52 minutes ago, King Heffy said:

Hate the Bruins, but not an overrated goal.  I still think the Henderson goal was a more iconic moment, simply because that series wasn't a foregone conclusion. 

After posting here I thought which goal in all of hockey is the greatest in history...Henderson!

[mephnick]

Iconic picture, but a goal in a sweep when the SCF was deliberately set up to be a joke. It was a pretty meaningless goal, but the image lives on.

 

So yeah, the goal was basically meaningless and the play was pretty simple, but it's not really "overrated" because it is one of the more important pictures in hockey history and that's all that matters in the long run.

[Ballisticsports.]

Not the greatest goal ever , or even by Orr himself

Not even close

But Orr was like the  Superman of hockey and this picture captured him flying like Superman

[IBatch]

12 hours ago, -AJ- said:

It's not dissimilar to how the Dragon Slaying goal wasn't at all pretty, but most fans consider it one of, if not the greatest goal in Canucks history.

Second most memorable for sure

 

...the best has to be Bures triple OT game seven goal against the western conference still powerhouse CAL team in 94, because the play includes the most iconic  save in team history (and one of the most iconic saves in league history - simply referred to as “the Save”) and one of Bures exciting rushes and highly skilled dekes...nicer goal for sure..it also exorcised our demons from 89 when Otto kicked it in after several posts and ridiculous stops by Vernon on Linden, Tanti etc.  Otto admits that goal wouldn’t count today, and that Vancouver was their toughest competition the year they won the cup and not far behind EDM on the hatred scale.  

 

Burrows somehow stripping the puck with that great poke check, it was an awesome and highly skilled play, and scoring that goal you could hear the collective sigh/cheers  of an entire province on pins and needles...we were the better team and CHI was our biggest adversary  at the time.  But the games were nothing like the ones we played against CAL from 89-96.  Those were bitter, rough, fight filled affairs, the best rivalry I’ve seen with us against another team before or since.  Game seven 89 ranks amongst the best games ever played by the Canucks - and one of the toughest losses given we outplayed the eventual cup winner, and the only team not named EDM to come out of the west that decade. 

 

As for the OP, it’s the most iconic picture in hockey - best goal?  No way.   Don’t know what the top fifty were, but I have an old DVD called Gretzky’s 50 best/greatest goals (and he was still playing at the time), my favourite one is him taking a face off late in the third, behind by a goal , the entire team lines up infront of him to block any possible shots if they get the puck back (wins the face off), instead of trying to win the face off he hunches over and cocks his stick a quarter the way back, waits for the puck to drop and then shoots it the moment it touches the ice, through the guy he’s lined up against, through legs and bodies behind him, top far corner and in - lowest percentage area from that angle - the goalie sees it but doesn’t react quick enough.   Just nuts - to me that’s one of the best ever scored.  Of the fifty on that tape there were many others that were jaw dropping too, Ovi might catch him, but Ovi scores a lot because he shoots more pucks then anyone before him - for him it’s about volume.   Gretzky scored so many because his accuracy was unreal, just like his passing and he could deke with the best of them too, no goalie liked to see him breaking down on him.  

 

The Sedins last goal is also going to take a long time to forget.  The timing of it was just incredible - what a great way to go out.  

Edited August 9, 2019 by IBatch

[Crabcakes]

It's an iconic photo.  Orr is celebrating the Stanley Cup win while flying thru the air after the goal. 

 

Of course he is being helped by the defenseman with his stick on Orr's skate

[Shift-4]

Who's this Orr guy?

[Wise Owl]

The goal wasn't that great and I have always wondered why it is so iconic. Bobby Orr was the greatest defenceman ever by a mile but the goal wasn't pivotal to the series for starters. That goal sealed a Boston sweep. If St. Louis had scored in overtime the series would have been 3-1. Also, the playoff format was original 6 on one side (division) and expansion on the other. It would be the equivalent of present day top 16 playing to find a finalist and the bottom 16 playing for a finalist and the 2 meeting in the finals. It was stupid. During the 3 years of this established teams against expansion in the final, the expansion never won a game!! There was no drama like the Olympic golden goal or any SCF overtime goal where there was a chance either team could win.

[the grinder]

4 hours ago, Wise Owl said:

The goal wasn't that great and I have always wondered why it is so iconic. Bobby Orr was the greatest defenceman ever by a mile but the goal wasn't pivotal to the series for starters. That goal sealed a Boston sweep. If St. Louis had scored in overtime the series would have been 3-1. Also, the playoff format was original 6 on one side (division) and expansion on the other. It would be the equivalent of present day top 16 playing to find a finalist and the bottom 16 playing for a finalist and the 2 meeting in the finals. It was stupid. During the 3 years of this established teams against expansion in the final, the expansion never won a game!! There was no drama like the Olympic golden goal or any SCF overtime goal where there was a chance either team could win.

the golden goal wasn't a great goal  it was a iconic goal  , there is a difference    the orr goal is iconic because it looks like he is flying   arms straight out 4 feet in the air , no helmet   fearless and joy all at once  , a moment frozen in time a once in lifetime photo at the perfect time ,  in essence it is art photo

Edited August 9, 2019 by the grinder