NHL: Montreal Canadiens at Boston Bruins - Source: Imagn — Don Cherry drops eye-opening remark on Wayne Gretzky vs Bobby Orr debate (Image Credit: Imagn)

Don Cherry drops eye-opening remark on Wayne Gretzky vs Bobby Orr debate

Modified Dec 09, 2024 13:56 GMT

Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky are two of the best hockey players of all time, and they are constantly in debates over who is the greatest. They are hockey's version, more or less, of LeBron James and Michael Jordan.

Former player and executive Don Cherry made a statement on his podcast about the two players. He was asked if a team made up of five Gretzkys or five Orrs would win in a hypothetical contest. Cherry said (9:58):

"Well, Bobby Orr used to be able to body check. He used to be able to fight, used to be able to hit, and he was a good defenseman. I would have to say, I would say Orrs team, they're winning the cup."

Cherry believes that Orr's fighting skills and defensive ability would lend itself to a win over Gretzky, who was one of the most gifted offensive players in the history of the NHL.

Gretzky had 18 All-Star Game appearances in 20 seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, and a few other teams. Orr had seven appearances in 12 seasons, mostly with the Boston Bruins.

Here's when Wayne Gretzky will start going to all Washington Capitals games

It seems to be a matter of when not if Alex Ovechkin breaks Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal record for the NHL. He was on pace to do so by March before the Washington Capitals star got hurt.

Wayne Gretzky will eventually go to Alex Ovechkin's games (Imagn)

When he returns, he will resume the hunt for 895 goals. Once he gets to within five of the record, that's when Gretzky and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will start trailing Ovechkin.

Via Russian Machine Never Breaks, Bettman said:

“Alex was on a tear and got hurt, unfortunately. And he had a bunch of multi-goal games. I think when we get down to five, certainly no less than four, I’ve got to start following him around, and The Great One is going to be doing that as well.

"And I think we’ve concluded that either five or four. We can’t take any chances because when he gets that close, my guess is he’s going to be so focused it’s going to happen in a multi-goal game.”

It remains to be seen when that will happen since Ovechkin remains out with a broken bone and he may need time to ramp back up when he's healthy again.