Denis Potvin

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Denis Charles Potvin (born Ottawa, Ontario, October 29, 1953) is a former defenseman and team captain for the New York Islanders in the National Hockey League and cornerstone for the Islanders' four Stanley Cup championship teams in the early 1980s.

Denis Potvin (#5) with brother Jean.

Playing career

After a stellar junior career with the Ottawa 67s, Potvin was drafted first overall in the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft by the struggling expansion Islanders, which had recorded the worst record in modern NHL history the previous season. Right after Torrey drafted Denis Potvin first overall in the 1973 entry draft, Montreal Canadiens General Manager Sam Pollock approached Torrey, hoping to trade for Potvin. Pollock's strategy was to offer a "quick-fix" package of mature players to exchange for the top draft pick. Although it was tempting, as the Islanders would immediately benefit from the trade, Torrey ultimately turned down the offer since he felt that Potvin would be a long-term asset to the team.

Potvin came into the league with extraordinarily high expectations of being the savior of the franchise as well as the next Bobby Orr. While he did not dominate the game as did the great Boston defenseman, Potvin became an immediate star, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year, and upon Orr's decline and retirement, was widely acknowledged, along with Larry Robinson and Brad Park, to be the premier backliner in the game.

Potvin was known for being intelligent, articulate, and outspoken off the ice. Throughout the seventies, his Islander teammates often were turned off by these traits, but Potvin, somewhat ironically, would later prove to be the greatest leader the Islanders have ever had because of these same traits his teammates had looked down upon as Potvin was maturing.

His best season offensively was 1979, during which he became the first defenseman besides Orr to score thirty goals and 100 points in a single season, marks which even today few defensemen have reached. Potvin was awarded his third Norris trophy for the regular season, but when the Islanders failed to reach the Stanley Cup finals that year, during the off-season the Islanders decided to name the elite defensemen "Team Captain". Potvin would remain captain for eight seasons, and in those campaigns the Islanders would never fail to reach the playoffs, reach the Cup finals five teams, and won four straight championships.

In retrospect, he was a far more traditional defender than Orr and an extremely physical player. After his peak years, Potvin suffered a series of injuries that impeded optimal performance, especially during the regular season, but remained a star, retiring after the 1988 season.

Potvin is currently a color commentator for Florida Panthers television broadcasts on Fox Sports Net Florida.

His brother, Jean Potvin, was also an NHL defenceman and the brothers were teammates for a number of years. He is a cousin of former NHLer, the late Marc Potvin.

Career Statistics

Regular Season
Season  Team                    Lge   GP   G   A    Pts  PIM   
1973-74 New York Islanders      NHL   77   17  37   54   175
1974-75 New York Islanders      NHL   79   21  55   76   105  
1975-76 New York Islanders      NHL   78   31  67   98   100 
1976-77 New York Islanders      NHL   80   25  55   80   103
1977-78 New York Islanders      NHL   80   30  64   94   81
1978-79 New York Islanders      NHL   73   31  70   101  58
1979-80 New York Islanders      NHL   31   8   33   41   44
1980-81 New York Islanders      NHL   74   20  56   76   104
1981-82 New York Islanders      NHL   60   24  37   61   83
1982-83 New York Islanders      NHL   69   12  54   66   60
1983-84 New York Islanders      NHL   78   22  63   85   87
1984-85 New York Islanders      NHL   77   17  51   68   96
1985-86 New York Islanders      NHL   74   21  38   59   78
1986-87 New York Islanders      NHL   58   12  30   42   70
1987-88 New York Islanders      NHL   72   19  32   51   112  


NHL Totals         1060 310 742  1052 1356

Career Achievements and Facts

• Retired having scored 310 goals and 742 assists for 1052 points (at the time, the NHL career leader in all those categories for defensemen) in 1060 games, adding 1356 penalty minutes.
• Retired as the NHL career leader in playoff goals, assists and points for defensemen.
• Currently 36th all time in assists, and 7th among defensemen.
• Currently 57th all time in points,
• Won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman in 1976, 1978 and 1979.
• His jersey #5 was retired by the Islanders on February 1, 1992, the first such honor bestowed by the franchise.
• He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991.

\"Potvin Sucks!\"

On January 27, 1979, in a game against the rival New York Rangers, Potvin delivered one of his signature hip checks to Rangers center Ulf Nilsson; Nilsson suffered a broken ankle on the play. In response, Rangers fans created the Potvin Sucks! chant which would be traded in exchange with the chant nineteen-forty (1940), for the year of the last Rangers cup before 1994. To this day, almost 20 years after Potvin retired, the "Potvin Sucks!" chant, punctuated by several shrill and derisive whistles, can still be heard at Rangers games.

See also

• Notable families in the NHL
• Captain (ice hockey)
• List of NHL players
• List of NHL seasons
• List of NHL players with 1000 points

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