June 18 NHL History
1975: Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins wins the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman for the eighth consecutive year.
Orr is honored after another record-setting season in 1974-75. He leads the NHL in scoring with 135 points, sets a record for defensemen by scoring 46 goals, ties Bobby Clarke of the Philadelphia Flyers for the League lead in assists with 89 and is No. 1 in plus-minus at plus-80.
The 135 points gave Orr his second Art Ross Trophy (no other defenseman in NHL history has led the League is scoring), though they are four points shy of his career-best 139 points, including a League-leading 102 assists, in 1970-71. That Boston team finishes first in the NHL during the regular season but loses to the Montreal Canadiens in the Quarterfinals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
However, 1974-75 marks the last time Orr’s knee problems allow him to be a full-time player. He plays 10 games with the Bruins in 1975-76, signs as a free agent with the Chicago Blackhawks in the summer of 1976 and wins MVP honors at the 1976 Canada Cup. But he’s limited to 20 games with the Blackhawks during 1976-77 before having more knee surgery and misses all of the 1977-78 season. Orr plays six games in 1978-79 before retiring on Nov. 8, 1978, with 915 points (270 goals, 645 assists) in 657 games.
The Bruins retire Orr’s No. 4 jersey on Jan. 9, 1979 and he’s inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame later that year.
1987: The New York Rangers trade their first-round pick in the 1988 NHL Draft to the Quebec Nordiques for coach Michel Bergeron. However, the trade didn’t help either team. Bergeron lasts less than two seasons in New York before being fired; he returns to Quebec as coach for the 1989-90 season. The pick the Nordiques receive from the Rangers ends up as the No. 5 selection in 1988. Quebec selects defenseman Daniel Dore, whose NHL career consists of 17 games.