As part of the NHL Centennial Celebration, renowned Canadian artist Tony Harris will paint original portraits of each of the 100 Greatest NHL Players presented by Molson Canadian as chosen by a Blue Ribbon panel. NHL.com will reveal two portraits each Monday in 2017.
This week, the portraits of forwards Bob Gainey and Ted Kennedy are unveiled in the 38th installment.
In an era that included many of the highest-scoring players in NHL history, Bob Gainey made his mark by playing defense.
Gainey was a cornerstone of the Montreal Canadiens’ four consecutive Stanley Cup-winning teams from 1975-76 through 1978-79. He was their captain in 1985-86, when they recaptured the Cup. Gainey was hardly a prolific scorer; he finished his NHL career with 501 points (239 goals, 262 assists) in 1,160 games. What he did better than any forward of his generation was stop the opposition’s top scorers.
Gainey, then 24, was the first winner of the Frank Selke Trophy, given to the NHL’s top defensive forward, in 1978. For good measure, he won it in each of the next three seasons as well.
Though the Canadiens’ offense, led by superstar scorer Guy Lafleur, got most of the headlines during the dynasty days of the 1970s, Montreal led the League in fewest goals allowed in each of those four championship seasons. Gainey was a big reason why the Canadiens’ smothering defense was so effective. He excelled at sealing the middle of the neutral zone and clogging the passing lane, and his forechecking skills could make life a nightmare for opposing defensemen.
In his NHL100 profile of Gainey, author Stu Hackel writes that the Canadiens weren’t put off by Gainey’s lack of scoring in junior hockey.
