Despite all the hype there are still only two defensemen that stand out from all the others

Gretzky, along with Doug Harvey and Bobby Orr, are the only guys I’ve ever seen who have the whole game in their view, as if it were in slow motion on TV, when they’re on the ice — Scotty Bowman
In the 1950’s prior to the arrival of Bobby Orr , the best defenseman in hockey was undisputedly Doug Harvey of the Montreal Canadiens .
Before you any league television contracts and when teams traveled by train rather than plane, Harvey was controlling and dominating the game from his position on the blueline.
Fans in Toronto relied on the radio and Foster Hewitt to describe what was happening on the ice.
It is often said that time cannot be beaten. What is fact today will become a blur tomorrow. In the hockey world that statement can be all too true, especially when it concerns comparing past players with current ones.
It’s is absolutely true when discussing the greatest two defensemen in the history of Hockey..
Soon after cracking the Montreal lineup Harvey was mentioned frequently. “Harvey to Richard, Harvey has the puck, Harvey across ice to Beliveau, Harvey still has the puck” were a few phrases commonly heard when listening to a Canadiens broadcast.
Doug Harvey changed the way the position was played.
Today when you read about Bobby Orr many make that same statement about him, but it was in fact the play of Doug Harvey that made defense a more pivotal and potent position later ushering in the talented of the more offensive minded Orr who even wore Harvey’s No. 2 while playing junior hockey for The Oshawa Generals .
Few remember that the NHL changed the guidelines for powerplays because of the potency of the Montreal Canadiens attack. With Beliveau, Richard, Dickie Moore, Boom Boom Geoffrion on the ice, and Harvey quarterbacking, one two minute powerplay opportunity could result in 3 goals for the Canadiens.
Today you often hear some “experts” say Harvey cannot be compared to Orr offensively citing his modest offensive production. If you drill down further you will uncover that Harvey’s offensive skills were formidable.
Ever the consummate team guy Doug concentrated on setting up the players on the team who were actually paid bonuses to score goals. Make no mistake though that if a goal was needed Harvey could deliver it with a high tempo rush or a shot from the point.
His skating ability and puck control skills combined with his shot blocking prowess and toughness were unequaled during his tenure with the Canadiens.
Rare film footage of Doug Harvey offers a small glimpse of his talent even capturing his execution of the Spin-A-Rama maneuver long thought to have been copyrighted by Orr and Serge Savard.
Most hockey fans know little about Doug Harvey despite all the Stanley Cups, Norris Trophies, and All-Star selections. Younger fans will point to the current dominant players, Erik Karlsson,Victor Hedman. or Drew Doughty, as the best not having seen Harvey, or Orr perform.
Karlsson and Hedman while being highly skilled do not posess the physical presence Harvey exuded.
Orr was a physical player when it was called for and was one of the best fighters on the Bruin’s roster.
He did have the advantage of videos like The Best of Bobby Orr and The Canada Cup series as well as Legends of Hockey DVD tributes. There is very little footage of Harvey and he is noticeably missing from the Legends segments while all of his contemporaries are honored including Red Kelly and Marcel Pronovost .
They finally did recognize Harvey when he was named one of the top 100 greatest hockey players of all time.

Niklas Lidstrom and the Detroit Red Wings were provided a prestigious honor being recently named the Player of the Decade and the Team of the Decade respectively by the Sporting News In 2010.
There is little question that both awards were given to truly deserving recipients. The Red Wings emerged from obscurity to again take their place as one of the NHL’s premier franchises with a decade full of league titles and a crate full of Stanley Cups.
Gleeful of the honor Detroit GM Ken Holland in a television interview said “Lidstrom. was the best defenseman next to Orr ever to play the game.” No slight to Lidstrom , who will make the top ten of all time, but he is not in the number two position. That place alone still belongs to Doug Harvey.
In the book Doug a biography by author William Brown , Harvey’s life is well chronicled including his bouts with alcoholism, bi-polar disorder and his eventual death from cirrhosis of the liver.
At his best Harvey was a gifted, charismatic, fun loving athlete, more skilled at baseball and football than hockey. He was a devoted team player who, along with Ted Lindsay stood up for his brethren by helping to form a players’ union. In retaliation the Canadiens traded Harvey, the team captain, to the New York Rangers where he won yet another Norris Trophy as the best defender in the NHL. He won seven in his entire career.
Ironically, it was the efforts of Harvey and Lindsay that allows today’s athletes the opportunity to sign lucrative contracts earning millions and enjoy solid pensions as well as sign free agent contracts unheard of in the “good ole days.”

Unlike Lidstrom, Hedman or Karlsson, Harvey could dominate the game physically as well as with finesse serving up crunching body checks and open ice hits to the opposition when the situation dictated it. “ No slight to Bobby Orr but Doug Harvey was the best defenseman ever to play the game,” said Detroit Red Wing Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay.
Lindsay, it should be noted played on same team with Red Kelly and Marcel Pronovost both Hall of Fame inductees.
Ironically despite the fact Orr was compared to Harvey at a young age and wore his number two the star defenseman were never photographed together, nor can anyone find a quote from either about the other.
They did play against each other when Harvey was called up from the minors where he was player coach to solidify the St Louis blue line corp. Bowman once pointed out in a television interview that Harvey played fifty minute in a playoff game and was magnificent.
Unfortunately his alcohol problems got the better of him and he retired from the Blues the season before they played Bobby Orr and the Bruins in the Stanley Cup finals.
Doug Harvey wore the No. 2 throughout his remarkable career. He is the No. 2 defenseman ever to play the game but some like Ted Lindsay feel he was, in fact, No. one.
