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Denis Charles Potvin (born October 29, 1953) is a former defenceman and team captain for the New York Islanders in the National Hockey League and cornerstone for the Islanders' four Stanley Cup championship teams in the early 1980s. His brother, Jean Potvin, was also an NHL defenceman and the brothers were teammates for a number of years. He was a cousin of former NHL player Marc Potvin.

After a stellar junior hockey career with the Ottawa 67s, Potvin was drafted first overall in the 1973 National Hockey League Amateur Draft by the struggling expansion Islanders, which had recorded the worst record in modern National Hockey League (NHL) history the previous season. Right after Bill Torrey drafted Potvin, Montreal Canadiens General Manager Sam Pollock approached Torrey, hoping to trade for Potvin. Pollock's strategy was to offer a "quick-fix" package of mature players to exchange for the top draft pick. Torrey ultimately turned down the offer since he felt that Potvin would be a long-term asset to the team.

Potvin came into the league with extraordinarily high expectations of being the savior of the franchise as well as the next Bobby Orr. While he did not dominate the game as did the great Boston defenceman, Potvin became an immediate star, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year in 1973–74 and the James Norris Memorial Trophy as league's top defenceman in 1975–76, 1977–78, and 1978–79. Upon Orr's decline and retirement he was widely acknowledged, along with Larry Robinson, to be the premier backliner in the game.

Potvin was known for being intelligent, articulate, and outspoken off the ice. Throughout the 1970s, his Islander teammates often were turned off as these traits made Potvin come across as arrogant.[citation needed] He offended many hockey fans by stating publicly that he had played better in the 1976 Canada Cup than Bobby Orr, and that the latter's selection as tournament MVP was for sentimental reasons. However, as Potvin matured, he became a great leader as he learned to use these same qualities to positively affect his teammates.

His best season offensively was 1979, during which he became the second defenceman (Orr being the first) to score 30 goals and 100 points in a single season, marks which even today few defencemen have reached. Potvin was awarded his third Norris trophy for the regular season, which the Islanders finished first in the NHL. However, despite being heavily favored to win their semifinals series against the New .


York Rangers, the Islanders lost in six games.[1] Clark Gillies stepped down as captain during the off-season, and Potvin became the team's third captain, a position he held until relinquishing it in 1987. In 1979–80, Potvin's first year as captain, the Islanders won their first of four Stanley Cups. Potvin led the team during its glory years: in addition to the four consecutive championships and five straight finals appearances, in the eight seasons he served as captain, the Islanders never failed to reach the playoffs.


In retrospect, he was a more traditional defender than Orr and an extremely physical player who nonetheless toppled Orr's career scoring marks, although Potvin played 403 more games than Orr. Potvin averaged just under a point per game in his career, while Orr averaged 1.39 points per game. After his peak years, Potvin suffered a series of injuries that impeded optimal performance, especially during the regular season, but remained a star, retiring after the 1988 season. Potvin declined an offer to come out of retirement and play for then-Rangers coach Mike Keenan in 1993.