Boston Bruins: All-Time Dream Team

BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 20 : Zdeno Chara #33 of the Boston Bruins and Andy Greene #6 the New Jersey Devils pose with alumni players Bobby Orr and Milt Schmidt before the season opener at the TD Garden on October 20, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) /

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Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images /

Second Defensive Pairing

Anytime you can put two Norris Trophy winners on your second pairing, you’ve got a pretty darn good team. The Boston Bruins can boast this, as Raymond Bourque and Zdeno Chara form a deadly duo.

Bourque would benefit from his giant linemate. Chara’s outstanding defense would allow him to focus on offense, where he was arguably better than everybody not named Bobby Orr. Bourque won five Norris Trophies during his career. His 1,579 points (over 1,500 came with the Bruins) is the most of any defenseman ever. Only Orr, Paul Coffey, and Denis Potvin averaged more points per game than Bourque.

If it wasn’t for Orr, he would probably be remembered as the greatest Bruins defenseman of all-time. Unfortunately, Bourque never won a Stanley Cup with Boston. Luckily, the Colorado Avalanche traded for him and he was able to get that title he long deserved.

Chara has remarkably only won one Norris Trophy, as the NHL has shifted to valuing defenseman who are more offensively inclined. But Zdeno remains one of the best shutdown defensemen of all-time.

He’ll be positively remembered for being the captain of the team that ended the nearly 40-year-long Stanley Cup drought. Chara will also be remembered for his outstanding hockey IQ, which has allowed him to sustain a high level of play even with the league’s shift to a speed-oriented game.

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