Denis Potvin was to be the next Bobby Orr when picked by the
New York Islanders in the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft. Although not quite achieving
the greatness of Orr, Potvin’s career went down as one of the greatest ever for
a defenseman.
Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge of Islanders
great, Denis Potvin, with the following four hockey trivia questions.
Q. In what year did Denis
Potvin become only the second defenseman in NHL history to surpass 100
points in a single regular season?
A. Potvin
contributed 101 points in 1978-79 for the New York Islanders while missing
seven games. Denis became the second defenseman to accomplish the feat with
Bobby Orr being the first. Just Paul Coffey, Al
MacInnis and Brian Leetch have reached the plateau since.
Q. What Ontario Hockey League team’s record does Denis Potvin still
hold for most points by a defenseman in a single season?
A. Potvin had 35
goals and 88 assists for 123 points in just 61 games in 1972-73 for the Ottawa
67’s. The total stood as an OHL record until Bryan Fogarty had 155 with the
Niagara Falls Thunder in 1988-89.
Q. The New York Islanders retired number 5 in honour of Denis Potvin in
1992. His number is also retired by the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s, however it is not
number 5. Which number is retired by the Ottawa 67’s in honour of Potvin?
A. Denis Potvin
wore number 7 with the Ottawa 67’s and that is the number that is retired for
Denis, as well as Doug Wilson. When Potvin arrived with the Islanders for the
1973-74 season, despite being the first overall pick, he lost number seven to
Germain Gagnon who was in his second season with the Islanders and was
therefore the veteran. Gagnon made it 62 games into the season before being
traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. Potvin could have reclaimed the jersey number
but chose to stick with number 5. Gagnon made it two more seasons in the NHL
before retiring with the Kansas City Scouts after the 1975-76 season.
Q. To this day, in which NHL arena will you hear the chant, “Potvin
Sucks”?
A. Of course,
Madison Square Garden, the home of the New York Rangers when the Islanders
cross the river to play their rivals. Some people still have the nerve to argue
that Toronto and Montreal have the most heated rivalry in the NHL. It just
doesn’t compare to the hatred that Islanders and Rangers fans have for each
other.
Bonus: Denis
Potvin won the Max Kaminsky Trophy twice, 1971-72 and 1972-73, as the Ontario
Hockey League’s top defenseman. He also won the James Norris Trophy three times
as the NHL’s top defenseman.
Potvin is one of just three players to win the Kaminsky
Trophy on more than one occasion. The other two are Bryan Berard and Ryan
Ellis. There are also just three players that have won both the Kaminsky
Trophy and Norris Trophy. The other two are Al MacInnis and Chris Pronger.
