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When the Boston Bruins play host to the Montreal Canadiens tonight, there will be a video montage shown on the scoreboard to pay tribute to No. 4 turning the big 6-0.
You read correctly: the boyish Bobby Orr turns 60 today, but the brilliant defenceman of yesteryear will not be in attendance at the TD Banknorth Garden. Instead, Orr will remain at his winter home in Jupiter, Fla., and quietly celebrate his milestone birthday with his wife, Peggy, and his family and friends.
"He probably doesn't want to acknowledge it," Harry Sinden, Orr's first coach with the Bruins and later his general manager, said jokingly.
Even though Orr hasn't lived in Canada for more than 40 years, since he first suited up for the Bruins in 1966, he remains as visible as any hockey player in this country, including Wayne Gretzky, because of his commercials for General Motors and MasterCard and work for Chevrolet's Safe & Fun Hockey program to help young players develop positive values while learning the game's fundamentals.
Bobby Orr holds a Boston Bruins jersey at the unveiling of his star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto in 1999. (Kevin Frayer/CP)
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He also keeps busy with his Orr Hockey Group, a player agency that represents many high-profile clients, including Jason Spezza, Staal brothers Eric and Jordan, Jeff Carter and Tomas Kaberle.
When reached by telephone at his Florida home, Orr graciously accepted birthday wishes. He didn't want to opine on the state of hockey ("Oh, man, I don't think I want to go there right now"), but he did grant a brief interview.
"I feel fine, great really," Orr said. "My health is great and my family is great. I really don't feel any different turning 60.
"I still travel a lot with my work for General Motors and MasterCard as well for my hockey agency. I'm not ready to pack it in. I want to give my wife a break for a few more years."
Orr said he has been busy the past few days reading birthday cards and taking calls from well-wishing friends.
"It's been a bit overwhelming, really," Orr said.
The kid from Parry Sound, Ont., had his troublesome knees replaced a couple of years ago, giving him a new lease on life and allowing him to walk 18 holes for a round of golf and go for a skate pain-free.
"It hasn't improved my golf game any, but I feel normal again," he said. "I feel like the old me."
"It's nice to see him pain-free after 15 years of misery," added Sinden, who relayed a story that when Orr was a frequent visitor to Boston games a few years back, he would often schmooze with corporate sponsors in private suites in an ambassador role for the Bruins.
"But two years ago, he couldn't get out of his chair in his private suite. The guests had to come to him."
The news that Orr is 60 today will make some feel old and put others in disbelief, because although the brush cut is gone, he still has that youthful appearance.
"He still looks so good," Sinden said. "You wonder where the years go. I remember the first time he played so clearly as well as his first NHL game, which was an exhibition game."
The first time Sinden saw Orr play was in the 1966 Memorial Cup for the Oshawa Generals.
"He was hurt, a groin problem, I think," Sinden said. "But he still was dominant. I remember he rang a shot off the post from centre."
There is no expert on Orr like Sinden. Because he was the Bruins coach for Orr's first four NHL seasons, Sinden is the only person alive to have seen every game and practice in Orr's first few years.
"We had to take him off the ice in practice because nobody else would touch the puck," Sinden said.
Of course, more than a dozen knee operations limited Orr's wonderful career to 12 NHL seasons, which included just 26 games over his final three years because of his injury woes.
"I think in many ways it was a tragedy, a tragedy for Bobby first, and for the Bruins, and more importantly for hockey fans everywhere," Sinden said. "If his injuries happened today, he might have had another 10 years.
"The sad thing is that more people didn't have a chance to see him play. When you talk about Bobby Orr today, some people realize he is one of the greatest players of all time, but they can't visualize how he played the game."
