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.

Contents 1 Playing career 2 Miscellany 3 Career Achievements and Facts 4 "Potvin Sucks!" 5 Career Statistics 6 See also

[edit] Playing career

After a stellar junior hockey career with the Ottawa 67s, Potvin was drafted first overall in the 1973 National Hockey League Amateur Draft by the struggling expansion Islanders, which had recorded the worst record in modern National Hockey League (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, 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 would later prove to be a great leader of the Islanders 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, which the Islanders finished first in the NHL. However, when the Islanders lost in the semifinals to what most hockey people considered an inferior New York Rangers team, Clark Gillies stepped down as captain. During the off-season, Potvin became the team's third captain, which he remained until retiring in 1988. In 1979-80, Potvin's first year as captain, the Islanders won their first of four Stanley Cups. Potvin lead the team during its glory years: in addition to the four consecutive championships and five straight finals appearances, in the eight seasons he served as captain, the Islanders never failed to reach the playoffs.

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.

[edit] Miscellany

Potvin is currently a color commentator for Florida Panthers television broadcasts on Fox Sports Net Florida. He is the only color commentator in team history, having been paired with Jeff Rimer for many years, and since 2005, with Dave Strader.

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.

[edit] 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.
• In 1998, he was ranked number 19 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players, making him the highest-ranking who played mainly with a New York City-area team, just ahead of his teammate Mike Bossy at number 20. (Mark Messier was ranked number 12, but was with the Rangers for nine of his 25 NHL seasons.)

[edit] "Potvin Sucks!"

On February 25, 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 which sidelined him for the season.

Rangers coach Fred Shero said of the hit, "It was a hard check, but you can't penalize a guy for hitting hard".^[1]

Although the hit was legal, Rangers fans never forgave Potvin for it and created the Potvin Sucks! chant, which served as a response to Islanders fans' chant of "1940," for the year of the last Rangers cup before 1994. The "Potvin sucks" chant shows up at every Rangers home game regardless of whether or not they are playing the Islanders. After a series of loud whistles, the crowd yells, "Potvin sucks!"

It has been said that Potvin complained to Madison Square Garden brass about the chant and the tune associated with it, "Let's Go Band."^{[dubious — see talk page]} Since then, the tune has not been played on the Garden organ.^{[verification needed]} As a result, fans whistled the song themselves. Fans also occassioanly bring out the chant "Beat your wife, Potvin, beat your wife," a reference to allegations that Potvin has committed domestic abuse.^{[verification needed]}

[edit] 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

[edit] 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

Preceded by Billy Harris

NHL First Overall Draft Pick 1973

Succeeded by Greg Joly

Preceded by Clark Gillies

New York Islanders captains 1979-87

Succeeded by Brent Sutter

Preceded by Larry Robinson	Winner of the Norris Trophy 1978, 1979	Succeeded by Larry Robinson
Preceded by Bobby Orr	Winner of the Norris Trophy 1976	Succeeded by Larry Robinson

Preceded by Steve Vickers

Winner of the Calder Trophy 1974

Succeeded by Eric Vail