1970s All Decade Team: Defense

Last week we looked at the Montreal Canadiens' Big Three defenseman from the 1970s - Serge Savard, Larry Robinson and Guy Lapointe.

While we discussed how no other team in history may have been so blessed to have three defensemen as greats as the 1970s Habs, my follow up question today is could all three make a 1970s All Decade team?

Assuming a traditional roster of 18 skaters and 2 goalies, that means only 6 or maybe 7 spots would be open to defensemen. But there are 8 serious candidates.

• Bobby Orr - D'uh
• Brad Park - Generally considered to be the best of his era not named Orr.
• Denis Potvin - the dominant defenseman of the second half of the decade, won three Norris trophies.
• Borje Salming - Greatly influential player proved Europeans could play in National Hockey League
• J.C. Tremblay - Top defenseman in WHA
• Larry Robinson - Won 2 Norris trophies, only dman not named Orr or Potvin to do so in 1970s.
• Serge Savard - The straw that stirred the drink in Montreal
• Guy Lapointe - wondrous offensive defenseman.

From there there is quite a drop off in talent, with the likes of Ian Turnbull, Carol Vadnais, Rod Seiling, Dave Burrows, Keith Magnuson, Jim Schoenfeld, Jerry Korab and Dick Redmond highlighting the second tier of defensemen. Lars-Erik Sjoberg, Pat Stapleton and Paul Shmyr were amongst the best in the WHA, while Russian stars Alexander Ragulin and Valeri Vasiliev should also be noted.

So out of our eight defense candidates for the 1970s All Decade team, who makes the cut? Orr, Park and Potvin are no-brainers. Robinson and Savard bring presence, physicality and defense to the table, so they should be included. That leaves the 6th spot between Salming, Lapointe and Tremblay.

As much as it would be a shame to cut any two of that group of three, I'd have to give the edge to Salming. Lapointe and Tremblay were wonderful offensive defensemen, but Salming's legacy as the NHL's European pioneer is just too great. He has to be included.

The 1970s All Decade Team: Defense includes:

Bobby Orr - Brad Park
Borje Salming - Denis Potvin
Larry Robinson - Serge Savard

Who do you think should be on the 1970s All Decade Team? Contact me via email or on Twitter @HockeyLegends.

Tune in tomorrow when we look at the 1970s All Decade Team: Goaltenders.