Ranking Doug Harvery amongst the greats.

While there is no question that Harvey was the best defenseman ever
to wear the blue, white, and red, how does he stack up overall?

Not, bad, as it turns out. We list the top 10, all-time.

1. Bobby Orr, of course. Orr lost more fights than he won, but
aside from that, he is the best D who ever lived. Orr and Gretzky
stand alone as the greatest players the game has seen.

2. Eddie Shore, of course. Shore won more fights than he lost and
aside from that he was one of the most miserable sons of bitches to
ever play the game. Hockey's Ty Cobb.

3. Denis Potvin. Probably the most complete defenseman we've ever
seen. But aside from that, Potvin was the ultimate team player and
this is rarely appreciated. Without Potvin there would have been no
Cups, let alone four in a row. Trottier, Bossy and Smith usually
get most of the credit, but Potvin was the real deal.

4. Paul Coffey. It's too bad that Orr had to retire prematurely as
it would have been nice to compare the single season records of the
two players. He won 5 Cups with 2 different teams, and helped a few
more teams go deep in the playoffs. A hell of a player.

5. Todd Gill. Hugely underrated by all but the most knowledgeable
Leaf fans. And the most knowledgeable Leaf fans are the most
knowledgeable hockey fans. Gill brought leadership to the table.

6. Ray Bourque. Bourque is the second Frenchman on this list and
for that reason alone, his inclusion will be a surprise to some.
Bourque got lots of points because he played 45 minutes a game, and,
since he avoided the rough stuff, he rarely got hurt.

7. Scott Stevens. Can you say "Eric Lindros?"

8. Doug Harvey. The first defenseman who came to be known as an
offensive "quarterback", Harvey's stats pale beside the stats of
almost everyone else on this list. Harvey was a hockey bum, a
drunk, and he lived out his last days in an abandoned railway car.
He and The Rocket used to panhandle in front of LCBOs in Cornwall,
bumming coins from the customers.

9. Bryan Leetch. Tough choice for the last few. Leetch put in a
season in Toronto and that was enough to put him in the top 10.
Leetch was the real leader of the NYR team that won the Cup. The
ape from Edmonton was along for the ride. The ape was along for the
ride on every team he ever played for.

10. Red Kelly. He played stellar defense during Cup winning years
in Detroit. It was the time he spent in Toronto, however, that puts
him in the top 10, even though in Toronto he played center. He
really didn't play center in Toronto because he played on Frank
Mahovlich's line. And when Mahovlich was on the ice, all the other
players on his team had to play defense.

So there you have it, Hab fans. Harvey made it!

cordially, as always,

rm

>
> 5. Todd Gill.
>

May the flames of hell rise and burn your brainless corpse, Rhonda

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