Boston Bruins
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For current information on this topic, see 2008–09 Boston Bruins season. |
| Boston Bruins | |
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| Conference | Eastern |
|---|---|
| Division | Northeast |
| Founded | 1924 |
| History | Boston Bruins 1924–present |
| Home arena | TD Banknorth Garden |
| City |  Boston, Massachusetts |
| Colors | Black, gold, white
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| Media | NESN WBZ (1030 AM) |
| Owner(s) | Jeremy Jacobs |
| General manager |  Peter Chiarelli |
| Head coach | Claude Julien |
| Captain |  Zdeno Chara |
| Minor League affiliates | Providence Bruins (AHL) |
| Stanley Cups | (5) 1929, 1939, 1941, 1970, 1972 |
| Conference championships | (6) 1977, 1978, 1988, 1990, 2002, 2009 |
| Division championships | (22) 1927, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1935, 1938, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1990, 1991, 1993, 2002, 2004, 2009 |
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team has been in existence since 1924, entering the league as the first United States-based expansion franchise. They are also an Original Six team, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks. Their home arena is the 17,565 capacity TD Banknorth Garden where they have played since 1995, after leaving the Boston Garden which had been their home since 1928. Boston currently has the second most Stanley Cup championships by an American team (5); Detroit has 11.
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[edit] Franchise history
[edit] The Pre-World War II years
In 1923, at the convincing of Boston grocery tycoon Charles Adams, the National Hockey League decided to expand to the United States. Adams had fallen in love with hockey while watching, in person, the 1924 Stanley Cup Finals between the NHL champion Montreal Canadiens, and the WCHL champion Calgary Tigers. He persuaded the NHL to grant him a franchise for Boston, which occurred on November 1, 1924. With the Montreal Maroons, the team was one of the NHL's first two expansion teams.
Adams' first act was to hire Art Ross, a former star player and innovator, as general manager. Ross would be the face of the franchise for thirty years, including four separate stints as coach.
Adams directed Ross to come up with a nickname that would portray an untamed animal displaying speed, agility, and cunning. Ross came up with "Bruins", an Old English word used for brown bears in classic folk-tales. The team's bearlike nickname also went along with the team's original uniform colors of brown and yellow, which came from Adams' grocery chain, First National Stores.[1]
It was on December 1, 1924, that the new Bruins team would play their very first NHL game against the Maroons, playing them at what was the Boston Arena, with the Bruins winning the game by a 2-1 score. But the team only managed a 6-24-0 record (for last place) in its first season, and would play three more seasons in the Boston Arena, after which the Bruins became the main tenant of what would become the famous Boston Garden[2], while the old Boston Arena facility was eventually taken over by Northeastern University, and renamed the Matthews Arena, the world's oldest existing indoor ice hockey venue (b.1910), when the university renovated it in 1979.
In their third season, 1926–27, the team markedly improved. Ross took advantage of the collapse of the Western Hockey League to purchase several western stars, including the team's first great star, a defenseman from Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan named Eddie Shore. The Bruins reached the Stanley Cup Final despite finishing only one game above .500, but lost to the Ottawa Senators. In 1929 the Bruins defeated the New York Rangers to win their first Stanley Cup. Standout players on the first championship team included Shore, Harry Oliver, Dit Clapper, Dutch Gainor and goaltender Tiny Thompson. The 1928–29 season was the first played at Boston Garden, which Adams had built after guaranteeing his backers $500,000 in gate receipts over the next five years. The season after that, 1929–30, the Bruins posted the best-ever regular season winning percentage in the NHL (an astonishing .875, winning 38 out of 44 games, a record which still stands), but would lose to the Montreal Canadiens in the Final.
The 1930s Bruins team included Shore, Thompson, Clapper, Babe Siebert and Cooney Weiland. The team led the league's standings five times in that decade. In 1939, the team changed its uniform colors from brown and yellow to the current black and gold, and captured the second Stanley Cup in franchise history. That year, Thompson was traded for rookie goaltender Frank Brimsek. Brimsek had an award-winning season, capturing the Vezina and Calder Trophies, becoming the first rookie named to the NHL First All-Star Team, and earning the nickname "Mr. Zero." The team skating in front of Thompson included Bill Cowley, Shore, Clapper and "Sudden Death" Mel Hill (who scored three overtime goals in one playoff series), together with the "Kraut Line" of center Milt Schmidt, right winger Bobby Bauer and left winger Woody Dumart. In 1940 Shore was traded to the struggling New York Americans for his final NHL season. In 1941 the Bruins won their third Stanley Cup after losing only eight games and finishing first in the regular season. It was their last Stanley Cup for 29 years.
[edit] World War II and the "Original Six" Era
World War II affected the Bruins more than most teams; Brimsek and the "Krauts" all enlisted after the 1940–41 Cup win, and lost the most productive years of their careers at war. Cowley, assisted by veteran player Clapper and Busher Jackson, was the team's remaining star. Even though the NHL had by 1943 been reduced to the six teams that would in the modern era be called the "Original Six", talent was depleted enough that freak seasons could take place, as in 1944, when Bruin Herb Cain would set the then-NHL record for points in a season with 82. But the Bruins didn't make the playoffs that season, and Cain would be out of the NHL two years later.
The stars would return for 1945–46, and Clapper led the team back to the Stanley Cup Final as player-coach. He retired as a player after the next season, becoming the first player in history to play twenty NHL seasons, but stayed on as coach for two more years. Unfortunately, Brimsek was not as good as he was before the war, and after 1946 the Bruins lost in the first playoff round three straight years, resulting in Clapper's resignation. Brimsek was traded to the last-place Chicago Black Hawks in 1949, (citing a wish to help his brother with a business he was starting), followed by the unfortunate banning of young star Don Gallinger for life on suspicion of gambling. The only remaining quality young player who stayed with the team for any length was forward Johnny Peirson, who would later be the team's television color commentator in the 1970s.
During the 1948–49 season for the Bruins, the original form of the "spoked-B" logo appeared on their home uniforms, with the following season saw the introduction of the same logo that would be used, virtually unchanged, up through the 1993–94 season.
The 1950s began with Charles Adams' son Weston (who had been team president since 1936) facing financial trouble. He was forced to accept a buyout offer from Walter A. Brown, the owner of the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics and the Garden, in 1951. Although there were some instances of success (such as making the Stanley Cup Final in 1953, 1957 and 1958, only to lose to the Montreal Canadiens each time), the Bruins mustered only four winning seasons between 1947 and 1967. They missed the playoffs eight straight years between 1960 and 1967.
In 1954, on New Year's Day, Robert Skrak, an assistant to Frank Zamboni, the inventor of the best known ice resurfacing machine of the time, demonstrated a very early model of the machine at Boston Garden to the team management, and as a result, the Bruins ordered one of the then-produced "Model E" resurfacers to be used at the Garden, the first known NHL team to acquire one of the soon-to-be-ubiquitous "Zambonis" for their own use. The Bruins' Zamboni Model E, factory serial number 21, eventually ended up in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto in 1988 for preservation.[2]
On January 18, 1958, a milestone in NHL history occurred, as the first black Canadian person ever to play in the NHL stepped onto the ice for the Bruins, Fredericton, New Brunswick-born left wing Willie O'Ree. He would play in 45 games for the Bruins, in the 1957–58 and 1960–61 seasons, scoring six goals and ten assists in his NHL career.
During this period, the farm system of the Bruins was not as expansive or well-developed as most of the other five teams. The Bruins sought players not protected by the other teams, and in like fashion to the aforementioned signing of Willie O'Ree, the team signed Tommy Williams from the 1960 Olympic-gold medal winning American national men's hockey team — at the time the only American player in the NHL — in 1962. The "Uke Line" — named for the Ukrainian heritage of Johnny Bucyk and Vic Stasiuk (their linemate, Bronco Horvath, was largely Hungarian) — came to Boston and enjoyed four productive offensive seasons even as the Bruins were struggling overall.
[edit] Expansion and the Big Bad Bruins
Weston Adams repurchased the Bruins in 1964 after Brown's death and set about rebuilding the team. Adams signed a defenseman from Parry Sound, Ontario, named Bobby Orr, who entered the league in 1966 and would become, in the eyes of many, the greatest player of all time. He was announced that season's winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy for Rookie of the Year and named to the Second NHL All-Star Team. When asked about Orr's NHL debut game, October 19, 1966, against the Detroit Red Wings, then-Bruins coach Harry Sinden recalled:
"Our fans had heard about this kid for a few years now. There was a lot of pressure on him, but he met all the expectations. He was a star from the moment they played the national anthem in the opening game of the season."
The Bruins then obtained young forwards Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield from Chicago in a deal that turned out to be very one-sided. Hodge and Stanfield became key elements of the Bruins' success, and Esposito, who centered a line with Hodge and Wayne Cashman, would become the league's top goal-scorer and the first NHL player to break the 100–point mark, setting many goal- and point-scoring records. Esposito remains one of four players to win the Art Ross Trophy four consecutive seasons (the other three are Jaromir Jagr, Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe). With other stars like forwards Bucyk, John McKenzie, Derek Sanderson and Hodge, steady defenders like Dallas Smith and goaltender Gerry Cheevers, the "Big Bad Bruins" became one of the league's top teams from the late 1960s through the 1970s.
In 1970, a 29–year Stanley Cup drought came to an end in Boston, as the Bruins defeated the St. Louis Blues in four games in the Final. Orr scored the game-winning goal in overtime to clinch the stanley Cup. The same season was Orr's most awarded — the third of eight consecutive years he won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the top defenseman in the NHL — and he won the Art Ross Trophy, the Conn Smythe Trophy, and the Hart Memorial Trophy, the only player to win those four awards all in the same season.
The 1970–71 season was, in retrospect, the high watermark of the Seventies for Boston. While Sinden temporarily retired from hockey to enter business (he was replaced by ex-Bruin and Canadien defenceman Tom Johnson) the Bruins' set dozens of offensive scoring records: they had seven of the league's top ten scorers — a feat not achieved before or since — set the record for wins in a season, and in a league that had never seen a 100–point scorer before 1969 (Esposito had 126), the Bruins had four that year. All four (Orr, Esposito, Bucyk and Hodge) were named First Team All-Stars, a feat matched in the expansion era only by the 1976–77 Canadiens. Boston were favorate to repeat as Cup champions, but ran into a roadblock in the playoffs. Up 5–1 at one point in game two of the quarterfinals against the Canadiens (and rookie goaltender Ken Dryden), the Bruins squandered the lead to lose 7–5. The Bruins never recovered and lost the series in seven games.
While the Bruins were not quite as dominant the next season (although only three points behind the 1971 pace), Esposito and Orr were once again one-two in the scoring standings (followed by Bucyk in ninth place) and they regained the Stanley Cup by defeating the New York Rangers in six games in the Finals. The 1972 Cup win is Boston's most recent to date. Rangers blue liner Brad Park, who came runner-up to Orr's five-year (then) monopoly, said, "Bobby Orr was — didn't make — the difference."
Boston remained a strong contender through the 1970s (despite losing Cheevers, McKenzie, Sanderson, and other stars to the World Hockey Association), only to come up short in the playoffs. Although they had three 100–point scorers on the team (Esposito, Orr, and Hodge), they lost the 1974 Final to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Don Cherry stepped behind the bench as the new coach in 1974–75. The Bruins stocked themselves with enforcers and grinders, and remained competitive under Cherry's reign, the so-called "Lunch Pail A.C.," behind players such as Gregg Sheppard, Terry O'Reilly, Stan Jonathan and Peter McNab.
Orr left the Bruins for the Hawks in 1976, and retired after many knee operations in 1979. The Bruins traded Esposito and Carol Vadnais for Brad Park, Jean Ratelle and Joe Zanussi to the Rangers. They made the semifinals again, losing to the Flyers.
Cheevers returned from the WHA in 1976, and the Bruins got past the Flyers in the semifinals, but lost to the Canadiens in the Final for the Cup. The story would repeat itself in 1978 - with a balanced attack that saw Boston have eleven players with 20+ goal seasons, still the NHL record - as the Bruins made the Final once more, but lost to a Canadiens team that had recorded the best regular season in modern history, after which Johnny Bucyk retired, holding virtually every Bruins' career longevity and scoring mark to that time.
The 1979 semifinal series against the Habs proved to be Cherry's undoing. In the deciding seventh game, the Bruins, up by a goal, were called for having too many men on the ice in the late stages of the third period. Montreal tied the game on the ensuing power play and won in overtime. Never popular with Harry Sinden, by then the Bruins' general manager, Cherry left the team in the off-season for the Colorado Rockies.
At Madison Square Garden, on December 26, 1979, a New York Rangers fan stole Stan Jonathan's stick, hitting him with it during a post-game scrum. When other fans got involved, Terry O'Reilly charged into the stands followed by his teammates. The game's TV commentator remarked that "they're going to pull that guy apart". O'Reilly, a future team captain, received an eight-game suspension for the brawl. TV Clip
[edit] The Eighties and Nineties
Coupled with front-office dislike of Cherry's outspoken ways, 1979 saw new head coach Fred Creighton - himself replaced by a newly-retired Cheevers the following year - and the coming of Ray Bourque. The defenseman remained with the team for over two decades.
The Bruins made the playoffs every year through the 1980s behind stars such as Park, Bourque and Rick Middleton — and had the league's best record in 1983 behind a Vezina Trophy-winning season from ex-Flyer goaltender Pete Peeters — but usually did not get very far in the playoffs.
By the late 1980s, Bourque, Cam Neely, Keith Crowder and Bob Sweeney would lead the Bruins to another Cup Final appearance in 1988 against the Edmonton Oilers. The Bruins lost in a four-game sweep, but created a memorable moment in the would-be fourth game when in the second period with the game tied 3–3, a blown fuse put the lights out at the Boston Garden. The rest of the game was cancelled and the series shifted to Edmonton. The Oilers completed the sweep, 6–3, back at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, in what was originally scheduled as Game Five.
Boston returned to the Stanley Cup Final in 1990 (with Neely, Bourque, Craig Janney, Bobby Carpenter and rookie Don Sweeney, and former Oiler goalie Andy Moog and Rejean Lemelin splitting goaltending duties), but would again lose to the Oilers, this time in five games.
In 1988, 1990–92 and 1994, they defeated their Original Six arch-nemesis in the playoffs, the Montreal Canadiens, getting some revenge for a rivalry which had up to then been lopsided in the Canadiens' favor in playoff action. In 1991 and 1992, they suffered two consecutive Conference Final losses to the eventual Cup champion, the Mario Lemieux-led Pittsburgh Penguins.
Since the 1993 season, Boston has not gotten past the second round of the playoffs despite the talent of Adam Oates, Rick Tocchet and Jozef Stumpel. The 1993 season ended disappointingly for several reasons. Despite finishing with the second-best regular season record after Pittsburgh, Boston was swept in the first-round by the Buffalo Sabres. During the postseason awards ceremony, Bruin players finished as runner-up on many of the honors (Bourque for the Norris, Oates for the Art Ross and Lady Byng Trophy, Joe Juneau [who had broken the NHL record for assists in a season by a left-winger, a mark he still holds] for the Calder Trophy, Dave Poulin for the Frank J. Selke Trophy, Moog for the William M. Jennings Trophy, and Brian Sutter for the Jack Adams Award), although Bourque made the NHL All-Star First Team and Juneau the NHL All-Rookie Team.
In 1997, Boston missed the playoffs for the first time in 30 years, having set the North American major professional record for most consecutive seasons in the playoffs.
The late 1990s also saw the Bruins move from the Boston Garden to their new home, the FleetCenter, now known as the TD Banknorth Garden.
Historically, their most bitter arch rivals have been the Montreal Canadiens, whom the Bruins have played a record 30 times in the playoffs. The Bruins also have a rivalry with the New York Rangers, much like the rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox, although the rivalry with the Canadiens is much more intense.
[edit] The 21st century
After a 3-4-1 start, the Bruins fired head coach Pat Burns and went with Mike Keenan for the rest of the way. Despite a fifteen-point improvement from the previous season, the Bruins missed the playoffs in 2000–01 by just one point. Leading scorer Jason Allison led the Bruins.
The following season, 2001–02, the Bruins improved again with another thirteen points, winning their first Northeast Division title since 1993 with a core built around Joe Thornton, Sergei Samsonov, Brian Rolston, Bill Guerin, Mike Knuble and the newly acquired Glen Murray. Their regular season success didn't translate to the postseason, as they lost in six games to the underdog eighth-place Canadiens in the first round.
The 2002–03 season found the Bruins platooning their goaltending staff between Steve Shields and John Grahame for most of the season. A mid-season trade brought in veteran Jeff Hackett. In the midst of a late-season slump, general manager Mike O'Connell fired head coach Robbie Ftorek with nine games to go and named himself interim coach. The Bruins managed to finish seventh in the East, but lost to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils in five games.
In 2003–04, the Bruins began the season with ex-Toronto Maple Leaf goalie Felix Potvin. Later in the season, the Bruins put rookie Andrew Raycroft into the starting role. Raycroft eventually won the Calder Award that season. The Bruins went on to win another division title and appeared to get past the first round for the first time in five years with a 3–1 series lead on the rival Canadiens. The Canadiens rallied back, however, to win three straight games, upsetting the Bruins.
The 2004–05 NHL season was wiped out by a lockout, and the Bruins had a lot of space within the new salary cap implemented for 2005–06. Bruins management eschewed younger free agents in favor of older veterans such as Alexei Zhamnov and Brian Leetch. The newcomers were oft-injured, and by the end of November, the Bruins team traded their captain and franchise player, Joe Thornton (who went on to win the Art Ross and Hart Trophies). In exchange, the Bruins received Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau from the San Jose Sharks.
After losing ten of eleven games before the trade (while the Sharks won Thornton's first seven games in San Jose), the Bruins came back with a 3–0 victory over the league-leading Ottawa Senators, as rookie goaltender Hannu Toivonen earned his first career NHL shutout victory. When Toivonen went down (for the rest of the season) with an injury in January, journeyman goalie Tim Thomas started sixteen straight games and brought the Bruins back into the playoff run. Two points out of eighth place at the Winter Olympic break, the Bruins fired general manager Mike O'Connell in March and the Bruins missed the playoffs for the first time in five years. They finished thirteenth in the Eastern Conference and earned the fifth pick in the NHL Draft Lottery, which they used to draft U.S. college player Phil Kessel, who dropped out of college early to sign with the team on August 17, 2006.
Peter Chiarelli was hired as the new GM of the team. Head coach Mike Sullivan was fired and Dave Lewis, former coach of the Detroit Red Wings, was hired to replace him while Marc Habscheid and Doug Houda were named associate coaches. The Bruins signed Zdeno Chara, one of the most coveted defensemen in the NHL and a former NHL All-Star, from the Senators, and Marc Savard, who finished just three points short of a 100–point season in 2005–06 with the Atlanta Thrashers, to long-term deals. Bergeron was re-signed by the Bruins on August 22, 2006, to a multi-year contract, keeping the developing player on the team for some years to come.
The 2006–07 season ended in the team finishing in last place in the division. The Bruins traded Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau to the Calgary Flames for Andrew Ference and forward Chuck Kobasew.
The 2007–08 season ended on a bright note for the Bruins when they forced the Canadiens to play a 7-game playoff series, including a memorable Game 6 in which Boston came back to win 5–4. Although Bruins center Patrice Bergeron was injured with a concussion most of the season, youngsters Milan Lucic, David Krejci, Vladimir Sobotka, and Petteri Nokelainian showed promise in the playoffs. In the offseason The Bruins lost center Glen Metropolit to Eastern Conference rival Philadelphia Flyers. They did however sign winger Michael Ryder and came to an agreement with Winger Blake Wheeler who left the Minnesota Golden Gophers early. Going into training camp the Bruins released fan-favorite Winger Glen Murray and traded defenseman Andrew Alberts to the Flyers.
[edit] Rejuvenation in Beantown
In the 2007 off-season, the Bruins acquired Finnish professional goaltender Tuukka Rask on May 5, 2007. Rask had previously been the property of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but his NHL rights were acquired by the Bruins as a result of the deal that sent Andrew Raycroft to the Maple Leafs on June 24, 2006.
Rask recorded his first NHL shut-out in his fifth appearance for the Bruins, shutting down the New York Rangers 1-0 on January, 31, 2009. It was the first game Rask had appeared in since he played four games in the 2007-2008 season.[3]
After a very disappointing season in which the Bruins played with little passion and the coaching staff showed very little themselves, a shakeup occurred. On June 15, Dave Lewis was fired along with Marc Habscheid (who devised the power play set up).[4] Only Habscheid is staying on with the organization but in different roles. Lewis was hired to be an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings. Peter Chiarelli has said that he didn't like the inconsistent play of the team which played a part in the firings. The Bruins officially announced on June 21, 2007, that Claude Julien, who was fired late in the 2006–07 season from the New Jersey Devils, had been named as the new Bruins head coach.[5] On August 1, 2007, the Bruins hired Craig Ramsay and Geoff Ward as assistant coaches.[6]
The Bruins also unveiled a new logo basically using a serifed letter "B" for the first time since the 1935–36 NHL season, and a brand new shoulder patch, closely based on the main jersey logo used until the 1931–32 NHL season. The New England Hockey Journal's online website displayed the new home and away jerseys for the Bruins.[7] Unlike the other NHL teams, but similar to all of the "Original Six" teams, the Bruins did not make radical changes from their previous designs. Their new uniform design combines several features of many past Bruins uniforms, substituting the new logo, and adding an NHL logo just below the neck opening.
On June 22, 2007, the NHL entry draft took place, which had been called 'not as deep' as previous years; many experts said that none of the draft-eligible players would be playing in the NHL next year, and that the players would need some development time. The Bruins had the eighth overall pick in the draft, and selected Zach Hamill of the Western Hockey League's Everett Silvertips in the first round. On August 8, 2007, the Bruins signed Hamill to an entry-level contract,[8] but rejoined his junior team for the 2007–08 season.[9]
On September 18, 2007, the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL announced they had entered an affiliation agreement with the Bruins for the 07–08 season.[10] This affiliation ended after the 2007–08 season.[11]
During the 2007–2008 season NESN showed the 2 finalist jerseys (one with two yellow stripes on the bottom and the other without) and will be used as a new third "home" jersey starting in the 2008–2009 NHL season. The new "third" jersey, which premiered on November 24, 2008, is almost totally black, and places the "spoked-B" main logo on the shoulders, and uses the 1920s-inspired style of "retro" shoulder logo for home games, in a much larger size, on the front of the jersey.[3]
The 2007–08 campaign saw the Bruins regain some respectability, finishing 41–29–12 (94 points) and making the playoffs. Despite many injuries and questions about their offense, the Bruins pushed the top-seeded Canadiens to seven games in the first round of the playoffs before falling. Their performance, even in a losing cause, rekindled interest in the team in sports-mad New England, where the Bruins had for years been heavily overshadowed by the Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics. On May 13, the Bruins resigned second-leading scorer Chuck Kobasew to a multi-year extension.
The 2008–09 season started off slowly, losing 5 of their first 7 games, a likely story for the Bruins of the 21st century. The Bruins would then go on to win 17 of their next 20 games leading many to see them as a revival of the "Big Bad Bruins" from the 1970s and '80s. As one reporter said, "After years of wandering in the NHL wilderness, the Boston Bruins appear to have been found, finally hitting on the combination of grit and skill that was the touchstone of the team's glory years more than three decades ago."
In November the Bruins played their first two Friday evening home games in over 30 years, resulting in a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers on November 21, and a week later with a 7-2 win over the New York Islanders. On the day following the victory over the Islanders, the Bruins won a dominating 4-1 game over the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Detroit Red Wings.
During the 2009 All-Star Weekend's "Skills Competition" event in Montreal's Bell Centre, Captain Zdeno Chara made history with the NHL's fastest measured "hardest shot" ever, with a clocked in speed of 105.4 mph (169.7 km/h) velocity. Also Blake Wheeler was name the MVP of the Young Stars game after scoring a hat trick all against Canadiens goalie Carey Price.
The number of injured players, such as Andrew Ference and Marco Sturm in the 2008-09 season, has resulted in the Bruins' "player depth" seeing action from their AHL development team, the Providence Bruins being used, as with rookie defenseman Matt Hunwick and forward Byron Bitz seeing success with the NHL team.
The success that the Bruins enjoyed through the early part of the 08-09 season, which saw them accumulate a total record of 23-2-1 during the games played in November and December of 2008, started to elude them after suffering a 5-2 Boston home ice defeat on February 10, 2009 against the San Jose Sharks, with a 6-9-3 record including and following the loss to the Sharks, leading up to the home game on March 22 against the New Jersey Devils. The Bruins convincingly defeated the New Jersey team 4-1, leading to the Bruins clinching the 2008-09 NHL Northeast Division regular season title with the win over the Devils,[12] and almost two weeks later, after stringing four additional victories together, the Bruins captured the 2008-09 NHL Eastern Conference first place position, going into the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, with a 1-0 shutout home ice win over the New York Rangers.[13]
[edit] Ownership
Since 1975 the team has been owned by Jeremy Jacobs. Jacobs represents the club on the NHL's Board of Governors, and serves on its Executive Committee. At the NHL Board of Governors meeting in June 2007, Jacobs was elected Chairman of the Board, replacing the Calgary Flames' Harley Hotchkiss, who stepped down after 12 years in the position.
Jacobs is not held in high regard by many Bruins fans, who frequently demand that he sell the team.[14] Since Jacobs owns TD Banknorth Garden, has his Delaware North Companies run the arena's concession stands, and broadcasts games on his New England Sports Network(NESN), fans feel he has little interest in improving the team's performance.[15] In his 35 years as owner, the Bruins have not won the Stanley Cup, and have not won a playoff series since 1999. This reputation earned him the top spot in ESPN's 2002 poll of "The Worst Owners in Sports",[16] and #7 on their 2005 "Greediest Owners In sports" list.[17]
The current administrators in the Bruins front office are:
Jeremy Jacobs- Owner
Charlie Jacobs- Principal
Peter Chiarelli- General Manager
Cam Neely- Vice President
Harry Sinden- Senior Advisor to the Owner
[edit] "Unofficial" theme songs
When Boston television station WSBK-TV began showing Bruins games on television in 1967, the television station's managers wanted to come up with a suitable piece of music to air for the introduction of each Bruins game. Because the Boston Ballet's annual Christmas performance of The Nutcracker had become closely identified with Boston, The Ventures' instrumental rock version of the Nutcracker's overture, known as "Nutty", itself likely being inspired by the somewhat earlier Nut Rocker, was selected as the opening piece of music for Bruins telecasts. The song "Nutty" has been identified with the Bruins ever since, even though NESN, who now airs almost all of the Bruins' regular season and playoff games, has used a piece of original instrumental rock music for Bruins telecasts, that it also uses with all its Boston Red Sox televised games. The song "Nutty" is still sometimes played at the TD Banknorth Garden during Bruins games. "Nutty" has also been covered by a popular Boston Irish rock band, Dropkick Murphys. Dropkick Murphys have also written a song about the Bruins, called "Time To Go", and have performed at Bruins games several times.
In the early 1970s, WSBK ran a weekly highlights show hosted by Tom Larson. The instrumental song "Toad" by the late-60s British supergroup Cream was the opening and closing theme for the show.
On ice, the song "Paree," a 1920s hit tune written by Leo Robin and Jose Padilla, has been played as an organ instrumental for decades, typically as the players enter the arena just before the start of each period. It was introduced by John Kiley, the organist for the Bruins, the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Celtics from the 1950s through the 1980s, and is still played during Bruins' games.
The song "Kernkraft 400 (Sport Chant Stadium Remix)", by the band Zombie Nation, is also a popular song at Bruins games as it is played after every Bruins goal scored on home ice.
After every Bruins' win at the TD Banknorth Garden, the song "Dirty Water", by the Standells, is played. The song is also played after every home game win for the Boston Red Sox, and has become an unofficial anthem for the city of Boston.
[edit] Media and broadcasters
- NESN
Jack Edwards - TV play-by-play
Andy Brickley - TV color analyst
Naoko Funayama - rink-side reporter[18]
- WBZ 1030AM (Boston Flagship)
Dave Goucher Radio play-by-play
Bob Charles Beers Radio color analyst
[edit] Season-by-season record
This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Bruins. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Boston Bruins seasons
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Playoffs |
| 2003–04 | 82 | 41 | 19 | 15 | 7 | 104 | 209 | 188 | 1208 | 1st, Northeast | Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 3–4 (Canadiens) |
| 2004–05 | Season cancelled due to 2004–05 NHL lockout | ||||||||||
| 2005–061 | 82 | 29 | 37 | — | 16 | 74 | 230 | 266 | 1162 | 5th, Northeast | Did not qualify |
| 2006–07 | 82 | 35 | 41 | — | 6 | 76 | 219 | 289 | 1256 | 5th, Northeast | Did not qualify |
| 2007–08 | 82 | 41 | 29 | — | 12 | 94 | 212 | 222 | 1069 | 3rd, Northeast | Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 3–4 (Canadiens) |
- 1 As of the 2005–06 NHL season, all games will have a winner; the OTL column includes SOL (Shootout losses).
[edit] Current roster
Updated March 4, 2009.[19]
[edit] Notable players
[edit] Team captains
- No captain, 1924–27
- Lionel Hitchman, 1927–31
- George Owen, 1931–32
- Dit Clapper, 1932–38
- Cooney Weiland, 1938–39
- Dit Clapper, 1939–47
- John Crawford, 1947–50
- Milt Schmidt, 1950–55
- Ed Sandford, 1955
- Fernie Flaman, 1955–61
- Don McKenney, 1961–63
- Leo Boivin, 1963–66
- John Bucyk, 1966–67
- No captain, 1967–73
- John Bucyk, 1973–77
- Wayne Cashman, 1977–83
- Terry O'Reilly, 1983–85
- Ray Bourque & Rick Middleton, 1985–88
(co-captains) - Ray Bourque, 1988–2000
- Jason Allison, 2000–01
- No captain, 2001–02
- Joe Thornton, 2002–05
- No captain, 2005–06
- Zdeno Chara, 2006– present
[edit] Honored members
Hall of Famers
- Players
- Marty Barry, C, 1929–35, inducted 1965
- Bobby Bauer, RW, 1935–52, inducted 1996
- Leo Boivin, D, 1954–66, inducted 1986
- Raymond Bourque, D, 1979–2000, inducted 2004
- Frank Brimsek, G, 1938–49, inducted 1966
- Johnny Bucyk, LW, 1957–78, inducted 1981
- Billy Burch, LW, 1932–33, inducted 1974
- Gerry Cheevers, G, 1965–80, inducted 1985
- Dit Clapper, D, 1927–47, inducted 1947
- Sprague Cleghorn, D, 1925–28, inducted 1948
- Paul Coffey, D, 2000–01, inducted 2004
- Roy Conacher, LW, 1938–45, inducted 1998
- Bun Cook, LW, 1936–37, inducted 1995
- Bill Cowley, C, 1935–47, inducted 1968
- Cy Denneny, LW, 1928–29, inducted 1959
- Woody Dumart, LW, 1935–54, inducted 1992
- Phil Esposito, C, 1967–76, inducted 1984
- Fernie Flaman, D, 1944–50 & 1954–61, inducted 1990
- Frank Frederickson, C, 1926–28, inducted 1958
- Busher Jackson, LW-D, 1941–44, inducted 1971
- Tom Johnson, D, 1963–65, inducted 1970
- Duke Keats, C, 1926, inducted 1958
- Guy Lapointe, D, 1983–84, inducted 1993
- Harry Lumley, G, 1957–60, inducted 1980
- Mickey MacKay, C, 1928–1930, inducted 1952
- Sylvio Mantha, D, 1937, inducted 1960
- Joe Mullen, RW, 1995–96, inducted 2000
- Cam Neely, RW, 1986–96, inducted 2005
- Harry Oliver, C, 1926–34, inducted 1967
- Bobby Orr, D, 1966–76, inducted 1979
- Brad Park, D, 1975–83, inducted 1988
- Bernie Parent, G, 1965–67, inducted 1984
- Jacques Plante, G, 1973, inducted 1978
- Babe Pratt, D, 1946–47, inducted 1966
- Bill Quackenbush, D, 1949–56, inducted 1976
- Jean Ratelle, C, 1975–81, inducted 1985
- Terry Sawchuk, G, 1955–57, inducted 1971
- Milt Schmidt, C, 1936–55, inducted 1961
- Eddie Shore, D, 1926–40, inducted 1947
- Babe Siebert, D, 1933–36, inducted 1964
- Hooley Smith, C, 1936–37, inducted 1972
- Allan Stanley, D, 1956–58, inducted 1981
- Nels Stewart, RW-D, 1933–37, inducted 1962
- Tiny Thompson, G, 1928–39, inducted 1959
- Cooney Weiland, C, 1928–32 & 1935–39, inducted 1971
- Builders
- Charles Adams, President, 1924–36, inducted 1960
- Weston Adams, Sr., Director; President, 1936–51, inducted 1972
- Walter A. Brown, President, 1951–64, inducted 1962
- Frank Patrick, Head coach, 1934–36, inducted 1958
- Art Ross, Head coach; General Manager, 1924–54, inducted 1945
- Harry Sinden, Head coach; General Manager; President; Senior Advisor, 1966–present, inducted 1983
Retired numbers
- 2 Eddie Shore, D, 1926–40, number retired January 1, 1947
- 3 Lionel Hitchman, D, 1925–34, number retired February 22, 1934, first professional hockey player to have number retired
- 4 Bobby Orr, D, 1966–76, number retired January 9, 1979
- 5 Aubrey "Dit" Clapper, D, 1927–47, number retired February 12, 1947
- 7 Phil Esposito, C, 1967–75, number retired December 3, 1987
- 8 Cam Neely, RW, 1986–96, number retired January 12, 2004
- 9 Johnny Bucyk, LW, 1955–78, number retired March 13, 1980
- 15 Milt Schmidt, LW, 1936–55, number retired March 13, 1980
- 24 Terry O'Reilly, RW, 1972–85, number retired October 24, 2002
- 77 Ray Bourque, D, 1979–2000, number retired October 4, 2001
- 99 Wayne Gretzky, number retired league-wide February 6, 2000
[edit] First-round draft picks
- 1963: Orest Romashyna (third overall)
- 1964: Alex Campbell (second overall)
- 1965: Joe Bailey (fourth overall)
- 1966: Barry Gibbs (first overall)
- 1967: Meehan Bonnar (10th overall)
- 1968: Danny Schock (12th overall)
- 1969: Don Tannahill (third overall), Frank Spring (fourth overall), & Ivan Boldirev (11th overall)
- 1970: Reggie Leach (third overall), Rick MacLeish (fourth overall), Ron Plumb (ninth overall), & Bob Stewart (13th overall)
- 1971: Ron Jones (sixth overall) & Terry O'Reilly (14th overall)
- 1972: Mike Bloom (16th overall)
- 1973: Andre Savard (sixth overall)
- 1974: Don Larway (18th overall)
- 1975: Doug Halward (14th overall)
- 1976: Clayton Pachal (16th overall)
- 1977: Dwight Foster (16th overall)
- 1978: Al Secord (16th overall)
- 1979: Ray Bourque (8th overall) & Brad McCrimmon (15th overall)
- 1980: Barry Pederson (18th overall)
- 1981: Normand Leveille (14th overall)
- 1982: Gord Kluzak (first overall)
- 1983: Nevin Markwart (21st overall)
- 1984: Dave Pasin (19th overall)
- 1986: Craig Janney (13th overall)
- 1987: Glen Wesley (third overall) & Stephane Quintal (14th overall)
- 1988: Robert Cimetta (18th overall)
- 1989: Shayne Stevenson (17th overall)
- 1990: Bryan Smolinski (21st overall)
- 1991: Glen Murray (18th overall)
- 1992: Dmitri Kvartalnov (16th overall)
- 1993: Kevyn Adams (25th overall)
- 1994: Evgeni Ryabchikov (21st overall)
- 1995: Kyle McLaren (ninth overall) & Sean Brown (21st overall)
- 1996: Johnathan Aitken (eighth overall)
- 1997: Joe Thornton (first overall) & Sergei Samsonov (eighth overall)
- 1998: None
- 1999: Nick Boynton (21st overall)
- 2000: Lars Jonsson (7th overall) & Martin Samuelsson (27th overall)
- 2001: Shaone Morrisonn (19th overall)
- 2002: Hannu Toivonen (29th overall)
- 2003: Mark Stuart (21st overall)
- 2004: None
- 2005: Matt Lashoff (22nd overall)
- 2006: Phil Kessel (fifth overall)
- 2007: Zach Hamill (eighth overall)
- 2008: Joe Colborne (16th overall)
[edit] Franchise scoring leaders
These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Bruins player
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | P/G |
| Ray Bourque | D | 1518 | 395 | 1111 | 1506 | .99 |
| Johnny Bucyk | LW | 1436 | 545 | 794 | 1339 | .93 |
| Phil Esposito | C | 625 | 459 | 553 | 1012 | 1.63 |
| Rick Middleton | RW | 881 | 402 | 496 | 898 | 1.02 |
| Bobby Orr | D | 631 | 264 | 624 | 888 | 1.41 |
| Wayne Cashman | LW | 1027 | 277 | 516 | 793 | .77 |
| Ken Hodge | RW | 652 | 289 | 385 | 674 | 1.03 |
| Terry O'Reilly | RW | 891 | 204 | 402 | 606 | .68 |
| Cam Neely | RW | 525 | 344 | 246 | 590 | 1.12 |
| Peter McNab | C | 595 | 263 | 324 | 587 | .99 |
[edit] NHL awards and trophies
- 1927–28, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1930–31, 1932–33, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1973–74, 1987–88, 1989–90
- Phil Esposito: 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74
- Bobby Orr: 1969–70, 1974–75
- Joe Thornton*: 2005–06
(* - traded to the San Jose Sharks during the 2005–06 season)
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
- Frank Brimsek: 1938–39 (trophy known as "Calder Trophy")
- Jack Gelineau: 1949–50
- Larry Regan: 1956–57
- Bobby Orr: 1966–67
- Derek Sanderson: 1967–68
- Ray Bourque: 1979–80
- Sergei Samsonov: 1997–98
- Andrew Raycroft: 2003–04
(* - traded to the San Jose Sharks during the 2005–06 season)
- Bobby Orr: 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75
- Ray Bourque: 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1993–94
- Bobby Bauer: 1939–40, 1940–41, 1946–47
- Don McKenny: 1959–60
- John Bucyk: 1970–71, 1973–74
- Rick Middleton: 1981–82
- Charles F. Adams: 1966–67
- Walter A. Brown: 1967–68
- Eddie Shore: 1969–70
- Cooney Weiland: 1971–72
- John Bucyk: 1976–77
- Phil Esposito: 1977–78
- Bobby Orr: 1978–79
- Milt Schmidt: 1995–96
- Harry Sinden: 1998–99
- Willie O'Ree: 2002–03
- Ray Bourque: 2002–03
NHL Leading Scorer (prior to awarding of Art Ross Trophy)
[edit] Team awards
The Bruins have several team awards that are traditionall awarded at the last home game of the regular season.
- Elizabeth C. Dufresne Trophy
Best player in home games - Seventh Player Award
Player performing most beyond expectations - Eddie Shore Award
Player with most hustle and determination - John P. Bucyk Award
Community service - Bruins Radio Network Three-Star Awards
Most three-star selections
[edit] Franchise individual records
- Most goals in a season: Phil Esposito, 76 (1970–71)
- Most assists in a season: Bobby Orr, 102 (1970–71)
- Most points in a season: Phil Esposito, 152 (1970–71)
- Most penalty minutes in a season: Jay Miller, 304 (1987–88)
- Lowest goals against average in a season: Frank Brimsek, 1.56, (1938–39)
- Most points per game in a season: Bill Cowley, 1.97 (1943–44)
- Most points in a season, defenseman: Bobby Orr, 139 (1970–71)
- Most points in a season, rookie: Joe Juneau, 102 (1992–93)
- Most wins in a season: Pete Peeters, 40 (1982–83)
- Most shutouts in a season: Hal Winkler, 15 (1927–28)
- Consecutive games streak: John Bucyk, 418 (January 23, 1969–March 2, 1975)
- Longest point scoring streak: Bronco Horvath, 22 games, (1959–60)
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ Donovan (1997).
- ^ "The Zamboni Story", Zamboni.com.
- ^ http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=407226
- ^ "Chiarelli Speaks: GM Talks About Lewis", Bruins website, June 15, 2007.
- ^ "Boston Bruins Name Claude Julien Head Coach", Bruins website, June 21, 2007.
- ^ "Bruins Add Ramsay and Ward to Coaching Staff", Bruins website, August 1, 2007.
- ^ Edelson, Kevin. "Dressed for Success?", New England Hockey Journal, June 21, 2007.
- ^ "Boston Bruins Sign Hamill, Curry and Sigalet", Bruins website, August 8, 2007.
- ^ "Boston Bruins Announce Roster Moves", Bruins website, September 21, 2007.
- ^ "Chiefs have Something Bruin", Johnstown Chiefs website, September 18, 2007.
- ^ "Chiefs join forces with Blue Jackets, Crunch", Johnstown Chiefs website, August 22, 2008.
- ^ http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2008021078
- ^ [1]
- ^ pleasesellthebruins.com
- ^ Forbes - NHL Team Valuations
- ^ The Worst Owners In Sports - ESPN.com
- ^ The Greediest Owners in Sports - ESPN.com
- ^ "NESN Hires Naoko Funayama". NESN.com. 2008-08-07. http://www.nesn.com/content/about/story.aspx?content_id=af7a2f16-bf8a-4144-b5b0-a3fe61bd9c2b. Retrieved on 2008-09-22.
- ^ "Boston Bruins - Team - Roster". Boston Bruins. http://bruins.nhl.com/team/app?service=page&page=TeamPlayers&type=roster. Retrieved on 2009-03-04.
[edit] Bibliography
- Donovan, Michael Leo (1997). The Name Game: Football, Baseball, Hockey & Basketball How Your Favorite Sports Teams Were Named. Toronto: Warwick Publishing. ISBN 1895629748.
[edit] See also
- Bruins-Canadiens Rivalry
- List of NHL players
- List of NHL seasons
- List of Stanley Cup champions
- Rene Rancourt, singer of the national anthem for most Bruins home games.
- List of Boston Bruins head coaches
[edit] External links
- http://bruins.nhl.com/ Official website of the Boston Bruins
- http://www.bostonbruinsalumni.com/ Boston Bruins Alumni veteran exhibition team
- http://www.bostonbruinsfans.com/ BBF unofficial site
- SoSH's Bruins Forum Bruins message board
- FunClub Boston Bruins
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