Originally posted by Fred Henderson View Post
That must have been rough. Almost as rough as being a life - long Leafs fan. But my hockey watching days ended bavk in the 20th. But I will say that if I had to pick one NHL player in my lifetime that I watched play that I would not want to tangle with, That would be a Boston Bruins player from well back in the 20th, care to take a guess, Neil?
Agree, the phrase "tangle with" is ambiguous.
But if it means "play against", I have to think it might be Phil Esposito. If I were a non-Bruins defenseman, I would want to play against Orr, because a true athlete always wants to play against the best. But to play against Esposito had a different aspect: it just didn't matter at all what you did, you couldn't move him out of his spot in front of the net and he would get his goals from 10 feet or less away from the net no matter what you did. Phil Esposito was the most "immovable object" in the history of the NHL.
In the famous 1972 Canada-Soviet series, the Russians said in so many words that Esposito was the greatest player they had ever played against. Ok, so they didn't get to experience Orr in his prime .... one of the great tragedies of hockey history. Orr uninjured on the 1972 Team Canada would have had that team winning 6 of the 8 games, imo.
That must have been rough. Almost as rough as being a life - long Leafs fan. But my hockey watching days ended bavk in the 20th. But I will say that if I had to pick one NHL player in my lifetime that I watched play that I would not want to tangle with, That would be a Boston Bruins player from well back in the 20th, care to take a guess, Neil?
Originally posted by Brad Thomson
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Agree, the phrase "tangle with" is ambiguous.
But if it means "play against", I have to think it might be Phil Esposito. If I were a non-Bruins defenseman, I would want to play against Orr, because a true athlete always wants to play against the best. But to play against Esposito had a different aspect: it just didn't matter at all what you did, you couldn't move him out of his spot in front of the net and he would get his goals from 10 feet or less away from the net no matter what you did. Phil Esposito was the most "immovable object" in the history of the NHL.
In the famous 1972 Canada-Soviet series, the Russians said in so many words that Esposito was the greatest player they had ever played against. Ok, so they didn't get to experience Orr in his prime .... one of the great tragedies of hockey history. Orr uninjured on the 1972 Team Canada would have had that team winning 6 of the 8 games, imo.
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