An excerpt from The Hockey News (Brian Costello):
Guy Carbonneau was a defensive great for most of his 18 NHL seasons. He was a huge reason why three of his teams went on to win Stanley Cups. He won the Selke Trophy as the game’s top defensive player three times and was runner-up twice.
Only Hall of Famer Bob Gainey can match that number of five times as a winner or runner-up.To strengthen Carbonneau’s case further, his offensive numbers (260 goals and 663 points) are superior to Gainey’s (239 goals and 502 points). Gainey was once called the best all-around player in the world by Russian coach Anatoli Tarasov because he had the ability to both contribute to the offense and stymie the opposition. Carbonneau was much the same player a decade later. A true defensive great.
Habster:
I couldn’t agree more with Hockey News writer Brian Costello who makes some great points, including the fact that defensive specialists like Rod Langway and Bob Gainey are in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Guy Carbonneau deserves more serious consideration for the HHOF and hopefully will get into the hockey shrine one day.
