Briefly, Perry Dotson was known as the man who hung up on Bobby Orr.

No. 4, however, did not become the best defenseman in NHL history by accepting a closed door. Even if Dotson ended their first conversation curtly because of a poor connection, Orr persisted with a follow-up call, this time aided by a clearer signal.

Nobody hangs up on a Hall of Famer twice in a row.

“I’ll never forget it,’’ Dotson said of the chat they had recently, although their first exchange will probably be just as memorable.

The story behind Orr’s inquiry goes back to a Bruins-North Stars game at the Met Center on Oct. 22, 1969. The Bruins were five games deep into a season that would end on Mother’s Day, 1970. Orr, of course, would cap the Bruins’ Stanley Cup run by entering orbit following his overtime goal against St. Louis.

Orr, then in his fourth NHL season, turned the league into his playground that year. He would score 33 goals and 87 assists to become the first defenseman to lead the league in scoring. Orr would claim enough heavy metal to sink a battleship: Hart, Norris, and Conn Smythe trophies. 

By the time the Bruins played the North Stars that day, there was little doubt about where the 21-year-old Orr would end up — both that year and by the conclusion of his career.

The future was not as clear for Dotson, 22 at the time. The St. Paul native was preparing for deployment to Vietnam. Dotson would be joining Echo Company of the Third Infantry Brigade, also known as the Old Guard. 

In Vietnam, Dotson would succeed Sam Kelley as platoon leader. Kelley handed over a position he inherited from a West Point graduate who was killed not two months into his reconnaissance.  

“I handed over something really valuable,’’ Kelley, a resident of Scarborough, Maine, said of his platoon. “It was a group of men that had gone through quite a bit of combat experience at that period. We became very close. I knew Perry. I knew he was very qualified. I was going home. My time was up. Within three or four days, I was back in the US.’’

Dotson, in other words, was about to experience real-life stuff, not the playtime that Orr and his raucous band enjoyed. 

“I was obviously tense before I left,’’ Dotson said. “You’re going into something you have absolutely no idea about. I got on a bird to fly over there. Three days later, I was assigned to a unit. Next day, we’re out in the field. Not a lot of time to think about it.’’

Dotson was somewhat assured, however, by something he considered a lucky charm. That day at the Met Center, the Bruins were skating from left to right when Orr engaged with one of the North Stars. When their sticks clanged, the puck flew over the glass. It landed in Dotson’s hands.

“Inside the blue line in the Bruins’ offensive zone,’’ Dotson recalled. “He was trying to keep the puck in the zone. He goes at it. The North Stars player goes at it. Their two sticks collided. The puck goes over the glass. I’m sitting in Row 8. It came right to me and I caught it. I’m superstitious to begin with. To me, a puck off Bobby Orr’s stick three days before I’m shipping off to Vietnam is a good omen.’’

Dotson and the puck did not spend much time apart in Vietnam. The puck, which had the NHL shield on one side and the North Stars’ logo on the other, found a home in Dotson’s left breast pocket. It would slide through an angled opening and nestle perfectly over Dotson’s heart.

“I had that thing in my pocket 24/7,’’ Dotson said, “except when I was sleeping in base camp.’’

As platoon leader, part of Dotson’s duties was to track enemy installations and call in air strikes. His 14-man platoon would usually go out in two helicopters. Dotson was the last one to board and the first man off. 

One day, as he prepared to board, Dotson noticed he had left his puck behind. He would not leave without his talisman. Dotson had a radio operator get off the helicopter to retrieve the puck. This delayed the helicopters’ departure. 

“The squad leader wants to know why we’re not going,’’ Dotson said. “I say, ‘I had to pick up my puck.’ He says OK, walks back to the helicopter, and tells the pilot. This time, the pilot says, ‘What goddamn hockey puck?’ He was from California. In ’69, there’s hardly any teams out there.’’

It is a story Dotson enjoys telling. During a reunion in October in St. Augustine, Fla., Dotson launched into his tale. Kelley had attended several reunions with Dotson, but had never heard the story. Kelley, who’s had the picture of Orr’s iconic goal on his office wall for 35 years, was hooked.

“Several of the guys who served with both of us were there,’’ Kelley said. “Everybody was kind of moved by the story. I loved it.’’

Kelley wanted Orr to hear it too. When he returned to Maine, Kelley ran a Google search for Bruins writer and Boston Globe. On Oct. 30, an e-mail arrived in my inbox from Kelley, explaining Dotson’s story and how Orr might find it interesting.

I forwarded Kelley’s note to former Bruins executive Nate Greenberg, a close friend of Orr. Greenberg said he would pass it on. Shortly after, Greenberg wrote back. Orr wanted Dotson’s contact information. Via Kelley, I replied with Dotson’s phone number and e-mail address.

As many would know, Orr is not an idle idol. One recent morning, Orr called Dotson. Dotson, who owns a stucco company, was in a grocery store when a restricted number appeared on his phone. Dotson guessed it was a sales call. A spotty connection made the call just about useless.

“The person on the other end just kept cutting out,’’ Dotson said. “In a not very friendly tone, I said, ‘I can’t hear you. Goodbye.’ ’’

Another call followed, this time with a better connection. 

“I caught a Perry,’’ Dotson said. “I took another step, and he says, ‘Hi, this is Bobby Orr.’ ’’

Dotson thought it was a joke. Kelley was his prime suspect. 

But as Orr continued, noting how he had heard a great story about his puck, Dotson caught a bit of the Parry Sound native’s accent. Dotson was convinced it was the real deal. 

They chatted about hockey, some of Orr’s teammates, and a man from Parry Sound Dotson knew in the construction business. Orr concluded the call by thanking Dotson for his service and asking for his address in case he needed any memorabilia for charity.

“Heck of a guy,’’ Dotson said. “To his credit, he didn’t say anything about needing to get off the phone. I was more concerned about using up his time. Just a regular guy.’’

Dotson quickly called his son to tell him about the conversation. He also called Kelley to tell him the news. 

“I wasn’t thinking it was going to go anywhere, but I was wishing it would,’’ Kelley said of his e-mail inquiry to me. “Then when I got a call from Perry Dotson, I had just finished playing golf. He was thrilled. Frankly, so was I.’’

Dotson’s tale is a good reminder for us in the storytelling business. The best yarns are those that are shared.

INSTANT UPGRADE

Turris gives added edge to Predators

By the final season of his next contract, Kyle Turris will be 34 years old, most likely past the prime of a center earning $6 million annually. His new boss doesn’t really care about 2023-24. Nashville GM David Poile is more concerned about 2017-18. The Predators, energized by another right-shot center to complement Ryan Johansen, could return to the Stanley Cup Final.

So even though Poile had to say goodbye to 2016 second-rounder Samuel Girard as part of the bounty, he had no issue jumping into the pool with Ottawa and Colorado to complete the blockbuster three-way deal. 

The Predators excel at drafting and developing defensemen, either for their own purposes or to trade. It’s why they’ve sent Seth Jones, Shea Weber, and Girard out the door. Repeated blue-line hits such as Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm, and Ryan Ellis, uncovered with the help of assistant GM Paul Fenton (Springfield) and chief amateur scout Jeff Kealty (Framingham), have allowed the Predators to acquire Turris, Johansen, and P.K. Subban within the past year.

Now, to complement a championship-level top four, the Predators have punch down the middle. Since they joined the league, the Predators had always been offensively challenged.

“Now we’re as skilled and deep at center as we ever have been,’’ Poile told Nashville reporters.

Ottawa and Colorado ceded NHL assets in Turris and MattDuchene. Both are top-two centers, albeit with different skill sets. In comparison, Nashville is only down a second-round pick and two good prospects, even though Poile’s counterparts wanted varsity players. Nashville and Colorado had regularly discussed Duchene. Poile disclosed that Avalanche GM Joe Sakic repeatedly asked for one of Nashville’s top-four defensemen to be included in such a deal. Poile’s reluctance to meet that criteria is one reason a third team had to get involved.

“I’d be less than honest to say the top-four defensemen’s names didn’t come up in this deal or any deal I talk about,’’ Poile said. “The point being that to get Turris, give up futures, and retain our top four defensemen is very significant. It’s huge to what we can do this year and the next few years with the core of our team being pretty well signed.’’

Duchene, not Turris, was Poile’s initial target. But Turris became available when an extension in Ottawa flamed out. Turris, via agent Kurt Overhardt, pushed for seven- or eight-year term. The Senators, who are pushing for a downtown rink, are not a cap team. GM Pierre Dorion has to manage his budget, and he could not make a long-term partnership with Turris work. He’ll be in the same position next year, when Duchene will be in the final season of his deal.

Turris does not have Duchene’s straight-line speed. But he is a clever, sneaky-strong, right-shot pivot. He is a good citizen. Duchene, who wanted out of Colorado, has to prove he’s not a me-first player. Duchene will also have to adjust to Guy Boucher’s defensive-minded system. All three teams improved following the deal. None more than the Predators.

 ETC.

Self-pass a useful tool for Vatrano

Frank Vatrano has a good release. It does not take the East Longmeadow native long to rifle the puck off his stick. But Vatrano is finding that getting rid of the puck before shooting it is a good club to pull out of his bag.

The wing has been one of the more active Bruins in pushing the puck ahead to himself instead of carrying it into the offensive zone. Brad Marchand does it too. 

There’s some risk involved. The maneuver can be an unforced turnover if the defenseman retrieves the puck. But when Vatrano executes it correctly, it can be an unexpected alternative when a defender is anticipating a standard carry-in. Like most players, Vatrano is faster chasing the puck than when he’s stickhandling.

“I think I can use my speed more,’’ Vatrano said. “I think I can put more pressure on the defensemen and kind of create offense in more open areas for me and my linemates. It was something I was working on this summer, trying to use my speed and create more open space instead of holding on to it and letting the defensemen catch up. Then I can use my speed to put myself past defensemen.’’

Vatrano’s learned that the optimal time for pushing the puck up is when a defenseman is approaching at an angle. If, for example, the defender is angling from left to right, Vatrano can place the puck in the other direction. The defenseman would then have to slam on the brakes, look for the puck, and go the other way. All that takes time. If Vatrano places the puck well, he knows where it will land and the path he needs to take to retrieve it.

 Auston Matthews is already one of the league’s best at this move. Matthews dropped jaws in October when he pushed the puck to himself past the Canadiens in the neutral zone, then scored to complete the rush. Sometimes giving up the puck in one area leads to better chances in another. 

Greenway could follow McAvoy

Boston University junior Jordan Greenway, Minnesota’s second-round pick in 2015, attended the Bruins-Wild game on Nov. 6. Greenway spent time chatting with GM Chuck Fletcher. He also kept tabs on former classmate Charlie McAvoy, who is excelling in the NHL instead of being a junior at BU. Greenway, already a specimen at 6 feet 5 inches and 238 pounds, could follow McAvoy’s lead by playing in the NHL the same year he leaves school. BU coach David Quinn is a realist, meaning he has minimal expectations of Greenway returning for his senior season. The left-shot forward had two goals and five assists through 10 games. Last year, Greenway scored 10 goals and 21 assists in 37 games.

Rangers’ Vesey gaining traction

During their pursuit of Jimmy Vesey, the Bruins projected the North Reading native as their No. 2 left wing. The Rangers had the same belief and won the bidding. The Harvard graduate saw some time as a top-six forward as a rookie, but has played a third-line role for most of this season. That may change if Vesey continues to go to the net as he did during a two-goal performance against his hometown team. Vesey punched in both goals from close range, which is the territory Alain Vigneault has always wanted him to own. “Before he scored the goals, he made a couple real strong plays along the wall in our end that permitted us to get the puck out,’’ Vigneault said. “So there’s more than just finishing. There’s a complete 200-foot game. Tonight, the positive thing and the confidence-builder for him is he was able to finish on a couple of those and he went to the tough areas. As far as finishing and contributing, that’s a real positive step for him.’’

Loose pucks

Tough luck for the Ducks, who could be without Ryan Getzlaf until January. Getzlaf required surgery on Nov. 7 to repair a fractured cheekbone. Anaheim is now down Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler, who would combine to make opponents ask for pain medication following back-to-back shifts . . . It’s been a so-so start for Matt Dumba. The 23-year-old is the No. 4 defenseman on Minnesota’s depth chart. The right-shot Dumba will be due for a raise after this year. The Wild will have some money coming off their books (Chris Stewart, Matt Cullen, Daniel Winnik, and Kyle Quincey will be unrestricted), but Dumba, who will be eligible for arbitration, should have the numbers to double his $2.55 million average annual value . . . If time allows, every visiting team in Toronto should be required to include the Hockey Hall of Fame in its itinerary. Dreaming does everyone good.

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeFluto. Material from interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.