McDavid and Bouchard – The Best Duo Since Orr and Esposito

Things are looking up these days in Oil Country. The Edmonton Oilers are the only team in the NHL currently without a regulation loss and Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard are the top two scorers in the league. Watching the two Oilers superstars explode out of the gate this season takes me back to a time when the Boston Bruins’ dynamic duo of Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito dominated the league.

To me, Orr and Esposito were the gold standard for forward/defenceman duos. Now it seems that McDavid and Bouchard have entered the conversation for one of the best duos ever.

Great Forward/Defenceman Duos Throughout NHL History

There have been some great forward/defenceman duos since Orr and Esposito dominated the NHL in the 1970s. There New York Islanders had Brian Trottier and Denis Potvin, the Oilers had Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey and the Pittsburgh Penguins boasted Mario Lemieux and Paul Coffey. In today’s era you can look at the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby and Chris Letang and even the Colorado Avalanche’s lethal duo of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. However, it seems like the McDavid and Bouchard combination are just getting started in terms of dominating the NHL scoring race and entering the conversation of best forward/defenceman duo.

Orr & Esposito Were Lethal

The 1969-70 NHL season marked the beginning of Orr/Esposito dominance. That season, Orr led the league with 120 points, and Esposito finished second with 99. The duo would go on to dominate league scoring for five seasons from 1969-70 to 1974-75, winning two Stanley Cups along the way. There was never a better forward/defenceman combination before or since. However, McDavid and Bouchard are beginning to draw comparisons.

McDavid & Bouchard Just Getting Started

McDavid who just played his 800th NHL game, has been a constant presence at the top of the NHL scoring race. In his 10 NHL seasons, he has won the Art Ross Trophy six times, tying him with Gordie Howe and Lemieux for the second-most in NHL history, trailing only Gretzky (10 wins). Bouchard, meanwhile is just starting to hit his stride finishing in 11th place in NHL scoring last season with 95 points and exploding out of the gate this season with 14 points in six games. With his improved play in his own zone, Bouchard should be a legitimate threat to win the Norris Trophy this season for best defenceman.

Dynamic Duos Have Won Stanley Cups

McDavid and Bouchard might be able to catch or surpass Orr and Esposito in individual statistical categories but are still a couple of Stanley Cups behind. When you look at the list of all-time great forward/defenceman duos from Orr and Esposito, to Trottier and Potvin, to MacKinnon and Makar, almost all of them have at least one Stanley Cup to boast about. Will this be the season that McDavid and Bouchard join this elite group?

McDavid and Bouchard Powering Edmonton’s Fast Start in 26-27

With the team off to one of their best starts in years under new head coach Mike Babcock, odds are that the Oilers are going to make a serious run for the Stanley Cup. The team seems to have found a confidence and swagger under the veteran head coach that they’ve been missing for years. In fact, this might be one of the best chances McDavid and Bouchard have to win it all. If a Stanley Cup championship does come McDavid and Bouchard’s way this season, it’ll be even easier to challenge Orr and Esposito for the best forward/defenceman duo of all time.