Here's a video I made of my BOPP restoration:

Thread is here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/bobby-orrs-power-play-from-scrapper-to-power-player

After:
639e24c3d83c4660f883b49e8d775850214ca30b (resized).jpg

Before:
7ea232c20253b69e57b92615bf2606b80d335580 (resized).jpg

Playfield after:
3bb7031f211407c62e07e192560682d5e09e35d6 (resized).jpg

Playfield before:
IMG_20141127_212357435 (resized).jpg

I don't think there's anything more to it.
According to ipdb, the project was started at the beginning of 77 ans started shipping early 78.
He was still signed to the Blackhawks in the 77-78 season. We can always speculate as to what they would have done had it come out a few years later, but if in 77 he was still a hot enough commodity to base a pinball machine on, you can imagine the Blackhawks also signed him it as sort of a marketing move, on top of what he brought to the team as a player, so they wouldn't have been too happy to see the machine come out with him as a Bruin.
Orr also seems very gentlemanly, so I would think he would have found it disrespectful to his current employer.
And even if it weren't for all that, I'm pretty sure players have it in their contracts that their duties to the team go beyond just putting on the jersey on the ice.

Just a weird timing thing in all likelihood.