ON THIS DAY: Bobby Orr made NHL history
On this day 51 years ago, Boston Bruins legendary defenseman made NHL history.
Orr signed a new five-year, $1,338,209 contract on August 26th, 1971, with an AAV of $200,000, making it the NHL's first million-dollar contract. The defenseman was coming off a career-best season, recording 37 goals and 102 assists in 78 games.
In the following season (1971-72), Orr was again second in the scoring race to teammate Phil Esposito, this time with 117 points. He again won the Hart and Norris trophies, helping the Bruins to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference.
In the playoffs, he again led the Bruins to the Stanley Cup, leading the scoring in the playoffs with 5 goals and 19 assists, along with scoring the Cup-winning goal against the New York Rangers and capturing his second career Conn Smythe (first two-time winner).
Orr also won the MVP award at the 1972 NHL All-Star Game to win three MVP awards in one season. Since then only Nicklas Lidström (2002) and Cale Makar (2022) have won the Norris and Conn Smythe trophies in the same season.
