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Boston Bruins

{{NHL Team
team_name = Boston Bruinsbg_color = black text_color = #FFBF00logo_image = Boston Bruins.gifconference = Easterndivision = Northeastfounded = 1924history = Boston Bruins
1924-present
arena = TD Banknorth Gardencity = Boston, Massachusettsmedia_affiliates = NESN
WBZ (1030 AM)
team_colors = Black and Goldhead_coach = Dave Lewisgeneral_manager = Peter Chiarelliowner = Jeremy Jacobscaptain = Vacantminor_league_affiliates = Providence Bruins (AHL)The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Facts

:Founded: 1924:Team Colors: Black and gold:Home Arena: TD Banknorth Garden (also known as Fleet Center, 1995-2005)::Former Home Arenas: Boston Arena (1924-1927); Boston Garden (1928-1995):Stanley Cup Champions: 5 — 1928-29, 1938-39, 1940-41, 1969-70, 1971-72::Runner-up: 12 — 1926-27, 1929-30, 1942-43, 1945-46, 1952-53, 1956-57, 1957-58, 1973-74, 1976-77, 1977-78, 1987-88, 1989-90:League Champions (and Presidents' Trophy winner after 1985-86): 12 — 1929-30, 1930-31, 1932-33, 1937-38, 1938-39, 1939-40, 1940-41, 1970-71, 1971-72, 1973-74, 1982-83, 1989-90:Conference Champions (since 1974-75): 2 — 1987-88, 1989-90:Division Champions (between 1926-27-1937-38 and since 1967-68): 21::American Division: 7 — 1927-28, 1928-29, 1929-30, 1930-31, 1932-33, 1934-35, 1937-38::East Division: 3 — 1970-71, 1971-72, 1973-74::Adams Division: 9 — 1975-76, 1976-77, 1977-78, 1978-79, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1992-93::Northeast Division: 2 — 2001-02, 2003-04:Main Rivals: Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres:One of the NHL's 'Original Six' franchises, along with the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs:Local Television: NESN

Franchise history

The Pre-War years

Dit Clapper, longtime Bruins' captain and coach

In 1924, at the convincing of Boston grocery magnate Charles Adams, the NHL decided to expand into the United States. As a long-time hockey hotbed, Boston was a natural choice for the NHL's first American team.

Logo (1927-1932)

Adams hired Art Ross as general manager. Ross would stay with the team for 30 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," after the brown bear. The nickname also went along with the team's colours of brown and gold (brown became black in 1939), which came from Adams' grocery chain, Brookside Stores. The team finished dead last in its inaugural season, but rebounded to finish just a point out of the playoffs a year later.

In only their third season (1926-27), the team's fortune changed. Ross took advantage of the collapse of the Western Hockey League to purchase several western stars, including the team's first great star, defenseman Eddie Shore. The Bruins reached the Stanley Cup final despite finishing only one game above .500, but lost to the Ottawa Senators, but won their first Cup two years later by defeating the New York Rangers behind Shore, Harry Oliver, Dit Clapper, Dutch Gainor and superstar goaltender Tiny Thompson. That season was also the first in the legendary 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, losing only six out of 44 games), but would lose to the Montreal Canadiens in the finals.

Logo (1939-1947)

Except for a couple seasons, the Bruins would remain excellent through the 1930s with superb players such as Shore, Thompson, Clapper, Babe Siebert, and Cooney Weiland, but failed to capture their second Cup until 1939. That year, in a move then considered the most insane ever by hockey pundits, Ross dealt Thompson in favour of untried rookie goaltender Frank Brimsek. "Mr. Zero" Brimsek would electrify the league in his rookie season, and headlined by the "Kraut Line" (centre Milt Schmidt, left winger Bobby Bauer, and right winger Woody Dumart), playmaking wizard Bill Cowley, Shore, Clapper, and unexpected hero "Sudden Death" Mel Hill (who scored three overtime goals in one playoff series), the Bruins won the Cup. Shore was dealt to the New York Americans for his final NHL season the next year, but the following season, the Bruins – having led the league in a magnificent regular season, with only eight losses, won their third Stanley Cup with Weiland as their new coach, behind the brilliance of Cowley, the Krauts and Brimsek. It would be their last Stanley Cup for 29 years.

World War II and the "Original Six" Era

The "Kraut Line": Woody Dumart, Milt Schmidt and Bobby Bauer

Unfortunately, World War II decimated the Bruins worse than most teams; Brimsek and the "Krauts" all enlisted after 1940-41, and lost the most productive years of their careers at war. Cowley, assisted by elder statesmen Clapper and Busher Jackson, was the team's remaining star. Even though the NHL had by 1943 pared down to the six teams that would in a later era be – erroneously – called the "Original Six", talent was depleted enough that freak seasons could predominate, as in 1943-44, 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 year, and Cain would be out of the NHL two years later.

Milt Schmidt, Hall of Famer and captain of the Bruins in the early Fifties

The stars would return for the 1945-46 NHL season, and Clapper led the team all the way to the Cup finals as player-coach. He retired as a player after the next season, but stayed behind the bench two more years. Unfortunately, Brimsek was not as good as he was pre-war, and after 1946 the Bruins lost in the first playoff round three straight years, resulting in Clapper's ouster. An ominous bit of misfortune came with the banning of young star Don Gallinger for life on suspicion of gambling, and 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 TV color commentator in the Seventies.

The 1950s began with Adams' son, Weston (who had been team president since 1936), facing financial trouble, and was forced to accept a buyout offer from Walter A. Brown, the owner of the Boston Celtics and the Garden, in 1951. Although there were some flashes of success (such as making the Stanley Cup finals 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, but fan support remained high – the Bruins consistently outdrew the Celtics even as the latter team won eight straight basketball world championships.

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 1958 signed Willie O'Ree, the first black player in the NHL and in 1962 signed Tommy Williams from the gold medal winning American national men's hockey team at the 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Olympics who was at the time the only American player in the NHL. Boston fans were desperate to have something to take their minds off a very long Stanley Cup drought.

Expansion and the Big, Bad Bruins

Bobby Orr, eight-consecutive-time Norris Trophy winner and a brilliant blue-liner in NHL history

Weston Adams repurchased the Bruins in 1964 after Brown's death and set about rebuilding the team. Adams drafted young Bobby Orr, who entered the league in 1966 and would become, in the eyes of many, the greatest defenseman of all time. He was announced that season's winner of the Calder Trophy for Rookie of the Year and named to the Second NHL All-Star Team. When asked about Orr's NHL debut game, October 18, 1966, against the Detroit Red Wings, then-Bruins coach Harry Sinden recalled, "Our fans had heard about this kid for a really long time. He was incredibly pressured, but he was a star from the instant the American national anthem played at the beginning of the Detroit game."

The Bruins then obtained forwards Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield from the Black Hawks in one of the most one-sided deals in history. Hodge and Stanfield became useful players in Boston, but Esposito, who centered a line with Hodge and Wayne Cashman, would blossom into the league's top goal scorer, being the first NHL player to break the one hundred point mark and 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, Gretzky and Gordie Howe). With other stars like wingers Johnny Bucyk, John McKenzie, Hodge and Derek Sanderson, 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, combining a rugged, barroom style of play with one of the greatest offencive juggernauts the NHL had ever seen.

In 1970, a 29-year Stanley Cup drought came to an end in Boston, as the Bruins smashed the St. Louis Blues in four games in the finals. Bobby Orr scored the game-winning goal in overtime of Game 4. The same season was Orr's epiphany – the third of eight consecutive years he won the James Norris Memorial Trophy – 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 famous image of Orr being tripped up and flying through the air after scoring "The Goal", his arms raised in victory, remains perhaps the best-known photograph in professional hockey to this present day.

Boston's logo used from 1967 to 1994

1971 was in respects 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' dominance was cataclysmic, shattering dozens of offensive scoring records. They had seven of the league's top ten scorers set the record for wins in a season, and in a league that had never seen a 100-point scorer before 1969, the Bruins had four that season. All four (Orr, Esposito, Bucyk and Hodge) were named First Team All-Stars, a feat matched in the expansion era only by the 1977 Canadiens. Boston looked poised to repeat as Cup champions, but ran into a roadblock in the playoffs. Up 5-1 at one point in Game Two of a quarter-final match against the Canadiens (and rookie goaltender Ken Dryden), the Bruins squandered the lead to lose 7-5. They 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 9th place) and they returned to glory in the playoffs, defeating a strong challenge from the New York Rangers in six games in the Cup finals behind Orr's wizardry. The 1972 Cup win is Boston's most recent to date.

Home Sweater

Boston continued to dominate through the 1970s (despite losing Cheevers, McKenzie, Sanderson and other stars to the renegade 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 finals to the rough Philadelphia Flyers.

The flamboyant Don Cherry stepped behind the bench as the new coach in 1974-75. The Bruins stocked themselves with enforcers and grinders, and remained a threat under Cherry's reign, the so-called "Lunch Pail A.C.," behind players such as slick Gregg Sheppard, rugged Terry O'Reilly and Stan Jonathon, and high-scoring Peter McNab.

Away Sweater

Orr, however, did not. He left the Bruins for the Blackhawks after the 1975-76 NHL season and retired after many knee operations in 1979. The Bruins excelled without him, picking up another great blueliner, Brad Park, from the Rangers (along with Jean Ratelle) in a blockbuster trade for Esposito as they made the semi-finals again, losing to the Flyers.

Cheevers returned from the WHA in 1977, and the Bruins got past the Flyers in the semi-finals, but lost to the Canadiens in the finals for the Cup. The story would repeat itself in 1978 as the Bruins made the finals once more, but lost to a Canadiens team that had recorded the best regular season in modern history.

The 1979 semi-final series against the Canadiens 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.

The Eighties and Nineties

Coupled with front office dislike of Cherry's outspoken ways, the following season saw his replacement as coach by Fred Creighton in 1979, a newly-retired Cheevers the following year, and the coming of Ray Bourque. The defenceman – one of the true greats of NHL history – was an icon for the team for over two decades, although in the end it took a trade to the Colorado Avalanche for him to win the Stanley Cup.

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-winning season from ex-Flyer goaltender Pete Peeters – but usually did not get very far in the playoffs. By the late 1980s, they were once again a force. In addition to Bourque, players like the indomitable Cam Neely, Keith Crowder, and Bob Sweeney would lead the Bruins to another finals appearance in 1988 against the Edmonton Oilers. The Bruins lost in a four-game sweep, but created a memorable moment in Game 4, when the lights at the Boston Garden went out, due to a blown fuse, in the second period with the game tied. The rest of the game was cancelled and the series shifted to Edmonton.

Boston returned to the finals in 1990 (with Neely, Bourque, Craig Janney, and Bobby Carpenter and rookie Don Sweeney leading the team in scoring, and Andy Moog and Rejean Lemelin splitting goaltending duties), but would again lose to the Oilers.

In 1988, 1990-1992, 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 champions, the Mario Lemieux-led Pittsburgh Penguins.

The 1993 season and beyond would not be kind to the Bruins. Despite picking up more talent like Adam Oates, Rick Tocchet, and Jozef Stumpel, they did not get past the second round of the playoffs. The 1993 season ended on a sour note for several reasons. Despite finishing with the second best regular season record after Pittsburgh, Boston was swept in the first round in a shocking upset by the Buffalo Sabres. During the postseason awards ceremony, Bruin players finished as runner-up on many of the honors (Ray Bourque for the Norris Trophy, Adam Oates for the Art Ross Trophy and Lady Byng Trophy, Joe Juneau (who had broken the NHL record for assists in a season by a left wing, a mark he still holds) for the Calder Trophy, Dave Poulin for the Selke Trophy, Andy Moog for the Jennings Trophy, and Brian Sutter for the Jack Adams Award), although Bourque made the NHL All-Star First Team and Juneau made the NHL All-Rookie Team.

In 1997, they 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 1990s also saw the Bruins moving from the storied Boston Garden, to their new home, the FleetCenter, now known as the TD Banknorth Garden.

Their bitterest archrivals have historically been the Montreal Canadiens, but Montreal's lack of success in recent years has helped to mute the century-old rivalry.

The 21st Century

Alternate Sweater

The Bruins got off to a poor start in the new century. Despite a 15 point improvement from the previous season, the Bruins missed the playoffs in 2000-01. They finished with 88 points, which left them out of the playoff picture, in a tie with the 8th place Carolina Hurricanes.

The following season (2001-02) saw the Bruins with a 13 point improvement, their first Northeast Division title since 1993 and a solid core built around Joe Thornton, Sergei Samsonov, Brian Rolston, Bill Guerin, and the newly acquired Glen Murray. Their regular season success didn't translate to postseason success, as they bowed out in six games to the underdog 8th-place Montreal Canadiens. Goaltending was the biggest flaw in the previous season, as Byron Dafoe struggled in the playoffs.

The 2002-03 season saw very little improvement between the pipes, as the Bruins entered the season with weak goaltending once again. They platooned between the inconsistent Steve Shields and the inexperienced John Grahame for most of the season, but a mid-season trade brought in veteran Jeff Hackett, who showed signs of improvement, but wasn't the answer to the Bruins problems. The Bruins managed to finish seventh in the conference and lose to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils in five games.

In 2003-04, the Bruins again failed to bring in a solid goaltender and began the season with yet another inconsistent goalie between the pipes, ex-Maple Leaf Felix Potvin. Potvin started out solid, but struggled soon enough, forcing the Bruins to put rookie Andrew Raycroft into the starting role. Raycroft proved superb, en route to winning the Calder Memorial Trophy. Raycroft, as well as Thornton, Samsonov, Rolston, Murray, Mike Knuble, Nick Boynton, and rookie Patrice Bergeron carried the Bruins to another division title. The Bruins appeared destined to get out of the first round for the first time in five years, with a solid 3-1 series lead on the rival Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens miraculously rallied back to win three straight games, upsetting the Bruins once again.

The 2004-05 NHL season was wiped out by a lockout, and the Bruins appeared to be in good position for the following year, with a lot of space within the new salary cap implemented for the 2005-06 NHL season. However, Bruins' management eschewed younger free agents in their prime in favour of older veterans such as Alexei Zhamnov and Brian Leetch. The newcomers were oft-injured and underachieved, and by the end of November, a struggling Bruins team traded their captain and franchise player, Joe Thornton (who would go on to win the Art Ross and Hart Trophies that season). In exchange, the Bruins received Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau from the San Jose Sharks.

Boston's alternate logo.

After losing 10 of 11 games before the trade (while the Sharks won Thornton's first seven games in San Jose), the Bruins stormed 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, lightning struck twice, as journeyman goalie Tim Thomas started 16 straight games and brought the Bruins back into the playoff hunt. Two points out of eighth place at the Winter Olympic break, the Bruins struggled throughout March, resulting in the firing of general manager Mike O'Connell, and the Bruins missed the playoffs for the first time in five years. They finished 13th in the Eastern Conference and earned the 5th pick in the NHL Draft Lottery, which they used to draft promising U.S. college star Phil Kessel.

In May, 2006, former Ottawa Senators assistant general manager Peter Chiarelli was hired as the new general manager of the team. Coach Mike Sullivan was fired because of his humiliating record during his second season as the Bruins coach and Dave Lewis, former coach of the Detroit Red Wings was hired to replace him while Marc Habscheid was named associate coach. The Bruins then made a splash on the first day of free-agent signing by signing Zdeno Chara, one of the most coveted defensemen in the NHL and a former NHL All-star and Marc Savard.

Season-by-season record

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

Records as of July 13, 2006 Hockeydb.com, Boston Bruins season statistics and records.| Season| Total
GPWLTOTLPtsGFGAPIMFinishPlayoffs
1924-25306240â€"12491192646th (last) in NHLOut of playoffs
1925-263617154â€"3892852794th in NHLOut of playoffs
1926-274421203â€"4597895212nd in AmericanLost in Stanley Cup finals (Ottawa)
1927-2844201311â€"5177705581st in AmericanLost in semi-finals (NY Americans)
1928-294426135â€"5789524721st in AmericanWon Stanley Cup (NY Rangers)
1929-30443851â€"77179984491st in AmericanLost in Stanley Cup finals (Maroons)
1930-314428106â€"62143904031st in AmericanLost in semi-finals (Montreal)
1931-3248152112â€"421221173734th (last) in AmericanOut of playoffs
1932-334825158â€"58124885171st in AmericanLost in semi-finals (Toronto)
1933-344818255â€"411111303854th (last) in AmericanOut of playoffs
1934-354826166â€"581291123681st in AmericanLost in semi-finals (Toronto)
1935-364822206â€"5092833972nd in AmericanLost in quarter-finals (Toronto)
1936-374823187â€"531201103032nd in AmericanLost in quarter-finals (Maroons)
1937-384830117â€"67142892841st in AmericanLost in semi-finals (Toronto)
1938-394836102â€"74156762511st in NHLWon Stanley Cup (Toronto)
1939-404831125â€"67170983301st in NHLLost in semi-finals (NY Rangers)
1940-414827813â€"671681022461st in NHLWon Stanley Cup (Detroit)
1941-424825176â€"561601183493rd in NHLLost in semi-finals (Chicago)
1942-435024179â€"571951763642nd in NHLLost in Stanley Cup finals (Detroit)
1943-445019265â€"432232682075th in NHLOut of playoffs
1944-455016304â€"361792192754th in NHLLost in semi-finals (Detroit)
1945-465024188â€"561671562732nd in NHLLost in Stanley Cup finals (Montreal)
1946-4760262311â€"631901754633rd in NHLLost in semi-finals (Montreal)
1947-4860232413â€"591671685153rd in NHLLost in semi-finals (Toronto)
1948-496029238â€"661781634342nd in NHLLost in semi-finals (Toronto)
1949-5070223216â€"601982284495th in NHLOut of playoffs
1950-5170223018â€"621781976564th in NHLLost in semi-finals (Toronto)
1951-5270252916â€"661621766014th in NHLLost in semi-finals (Montreal)
1952-5370282913â€"691521725283rd in NHLLost in Stanley Cup finals (Montreal)
1953-5470322810â€"741771816854th in NHLLost in semi-finals (Montreal)
1954-5570232621â€"671691888634th in NHLLost in semi-finals (Montreal)
1955-5670233413â€"591471859295th in NHLOut of playoffs
1956-5770342412â€"801951749783rd in NHLLost in Stanley Cup finals (Montreal)
1957-5870272815â€"691991948494th in NHLLost in Stanley Cup finals (Montreal)
1958-597032299â€"732052158382nd in NHLLost in semi-finals (Toronto)
1959-607028348â€"642202419325th in NHLOut of playoffs
1960-6170154213â€"431762548106th (last) in NHLOut of playoffs
1961-627015478â€"381773067126th (last) in NHLOut of playoffs
1962-6370143917â€"451982816366th (last) in NHLOut of playoffs
1963-6470184012â€"481702128586th (last) in NHLOut of playoffs
1964-657021436â€"481662539466th (last) in NHLOut of playoffs
1965-667021436â€"481742757875th in NHLOut of playoffs
1966-6770174310â€"441822537646th (last) in NHLOut of playoffs
1967-6874372710â€"8425921610433rd in EastLost in quarter-finals (Montreal)
1968-6976421816â€"10030322112972nd in EastLost in semi-finals (Montreal)
1969-7076401719â€"9927721611962nd in EastWon Stanley Cup (St. Louis)
1970-717857147â€"12139920711541st in EastLost in quarter-finals (Montreal)
1971-7278541311â€"11933020411121st in EastWon Stanley Cup (New York Rangers)
1972-737851225â€"10733023510972nd in EastLost in quarter-finals
1973-747852179â€"1133492219681st in EastLost in Stanley Cup finals (Philadelphia)
1974-7580402614â€"9434524511532nd in AdamsLost in preliminary round (Chicago)
1975-7680481517â€"11331323711951st in AdamsLost in semi-finals (Philadelphia)
1976-778049238â€"10631224010651st in AdamsLost in Stanley Cup finals (Montreal)
1977-7880511811â€"11333321812371st in AdamsLost in Stanley Cup finals (Montreal)
1978-7980432314â€"10031627012221st in AdamsLost in semi-finals (Montreal)
1979-8080462113â€"10531023414602nd in AdamsLost in quarter-finals (NY Islanders)
1980-8180373013â€"8731627218362nd in AdamsLost in preliminary round (North Stars)
1981-8280432710â€"9632328512662nd in AdamsLost in division finals (Québec)
1982-8380502010â€"11032722812021st in NHLLost in conference final (NY Islanders)
1983-848049256â€"10433626116061st in AdamsLost in division semi-finals
1984-8580363410â€"8230328718254th in AdamsLost in division semi-finals
1985-8680373112â€"8631128819193rd in AdamsLost in division semi-finals (Montreal)
1986-878039347â€"8530127618703rd in AdamsLost in division semi-finals
1987-888044306â€"9430025124432nd in AdamsLost in Stanley Cup finals (Edmonton)
1988-8980372914â€"8828925619292nd in AdamsLost in division finals Montreal
1989-908046259â€"10128923214581st in AdamsLost in Stanley Cup finals (Edmonton)
1990-9180442412â€"10029926416941st in NHLLost in Conference Finals (Pittsburgh)
1991-9280363212â€"8427027517522nd in AdamsLost in Conference Finals (Pittsburgh)
1992-938451267â€"10933226815521st in AdamsLost in division semi-finals (Buffalo)
1993-9484422913â€"9728925214422nd in NortheastLost in conference semi-finals (New Jersey)
1994-9514827183â€"571501277933rd in NortheastLost in conference quarter-finals (New Jersey)
1995-9682403111â€"9128226910392nd in NortheastLost in conference quarter-finals (Florida)
1996-978226479â€"6123430013696th (last) in NortheastOut of playoffs
1997-9882393013â€"9122119411172nd in NortheastLost in conference quarter-finals (Washington)
1998-9982393013â€"9121418111823rd in NortheastLost in conference semi-finals (Buffalo)
1999-00822433196732102488655th (last) in NortheastOut of playoffs
2000-01823630888822724913254th in NortheastOut of playoffs
2001-028243246910123620114541st in NortheastLost in conference quarter-finals (Montreal)
2002-038236311148724523713703rd in NortheastLost in conference quarter-finals (New Jersey)
2003-0482411915710420918812081st in NortheastLost in conference quarter-finals (Montreal)
2004-052â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"
2005-06822937â€"3167423026611625th (last) in NortheastOut of playoffs
556425932130791506027176831680974984â€"â€"
1 Season was shortened due to the 1994-95 NHL lockout.
2 Season was cancelled due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout.
3 As of the 2005-06 NHL Season, all games will have a winner and OTL includes SOL (Shootout losses).

Notable players

Current squad

As of August 7, 2006 [1]|- bgcolor="#eeeeee"
Goaltenders
Number!width=15%|PlayerCatchesAcquiredPlace of Birth
-Brian FinleyR2006Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario>- bgcolor="#eeeeee"30Tim ThomasL2002Flint, Michigan>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"33Hannu Toivonen L2002Kalvola, Finland
|-bgcolor="#eeeeee"
Defensemen
Number!width=15%|PlayerShootsAcquiredPlace of Birth
-Bobby Allen L2006Braintree, Massachusetts>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"-Wade BrookbankL2006Lanigan, Saskatchewan>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"-Zdeno Chara L2006Trencin, Czechoslovakia>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"-Nathan DempseyR2006Spruce Grove, Alberta>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"-Jason YorkR2006Nepean, Ontario>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"6Brad StuartL2005Rocky Mountain House, Alberta>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"23Paul MaraL2006Ridgewood, New Jersey>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"41Andrew AlbertsL2001Minneapolis, Minnesota>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"45Mark StuartL2003Rochester, Minnesota>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"49Matt Lashoff L2005East Greenbush, New York>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"68Milan JurcinaR2001Liptovsky Mikulas, Czechoslovakia
|-bgcolor="#eeeeee"
Forwards
Number!width=15%|PlayerShootsPositionAcquiredPlace of Birth
-Jeff HogganLLW2006Hope, British Columbia>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"-Mark MowersRC/RW2006Whitesboro, New York>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"-Petr TenkratRRW/LW2006Kladno, Czechoslovakia>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"10Alexei Zhamnov LC2005Moscow, U.S.S.R.>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"11P.J. AxelssonLLW/RW1995Kungalv, Sweden>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"16Marco SturmLLW/RW2005Dingolfing, West Germany>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"20Wayne PrimeauLC/LW2005Scarborough, Ontario>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"22Shean DonovanRRW2006Timmins, Ontario>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"26Brad BoyesRC/RW2004Mississauga, Ontario>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"27Glen Murray - ARRW2001Halifax, Nova Scotia>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"37Patrice BergeronRC/RW2003L'Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"43Yan StastnyLC/W2006Quebec City, Quebec>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"63Petr KalusRRW/LW2005Ostrava, Czechoslovakia>-bgcolor="#eeeeee"71Marc SavardLC2006Ottawa, Ontario>- bgcolor="#eeeeee"82Jeremy ReichLLW2005Craik, Saskatchewan

Hall of Famers


Team captains


*no captain 1924-27
*Lionel Hitchman 1927-31
*George Owen 1931-32
*Dit Clapper 1932-38
*Cooney Weiland 1938-39
*Dit Clapper 1939-46
*Dit Clapper & John Crawford 1946-47
*John Crawford 1947-50
*Milt Schmidt 1950-54
*Milt Schmidt/Ed Sandford 1954-55
*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 1988-00
*Jason Allison 2000-01
*no captain 2001-02
*Joe Thornton 2002-05
*no captain 2005- present

Retired numbers

*2 Eddie Shore, D, 1926-40
*3 Lionel Hitchman, D, 1925-34
*4 Bobby Orr, D, 1966-76
*5 Aubrey "Dit" Clapper, D, 1927-47; Head Coach, 1945-49
*7 Phil Esposito, C, 1967-75
*8 Cam Neely, LW, 1986-96
*9 Johnny Bucyk, LW, 1955-78
*15 Milt Schmidt, C, 1936-55; Head Coach, 1954-66; General Manager, 1968-72
*24 Terry O'Reilly, RW, 1972-85; Head Coach, 1986-89
*77 Ray Bourque, D, 1979-2000
*99 Wayne Gretzky (retired league-wide by the NHL)

First round draft picks


* 1963: Orest Romashya (3rd overall)
* 1964: Alec Campbell (2nd overall)
* 1965: Joe Bailey (4th overall)
* 1966: Barry Gibbs (1st overall)
* 1967: Meehan Bonner (10th overall)
* 1968: Danny Schock (12th overall)
* 1969: Don Tannahill (3rd overall), Frank Spring (4th overall) & Ivan Boldirev (11th overall)
* 1970: Reggie Leach (3rd overall), Rick MacLeish (4th overall), Ron Plumb (9th overall) & Bob Stewart (13th overall)
* 1971: Ron Jones (6th overall) & Terry O'Reilly (14th overall)
* 1972: Mike Bloom (16th overall)
* 1973: Andre Savard (6th 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 (1st overall)
* 1983: Nevin Markwart (21st overall)
* 1984: Dave Pasin (19th overall)

* 1985: none
* 1986: Craig Janney (13th overall)
* 1987: Glen Wesley (3rd 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: Evgeny Ryabchikov (21st overall)
* 1995: Kyle McLaren (9th overall) & Sean Brown (21st overall)
* 1996: Johnathan Aitken (8th overall)
* 1997: Joe Thornton (1st overall) & Sergei Samsonov (8th 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 (5th overall)

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in the history of the Bruins. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, P/G = Pts per Game
PlayerPOS GP G A Pts P/G
Raymond BourqueD151839511111506.99
Johnny BucykLW14365457941339.93
Phil EspositoC62545955310121.63
Rick MiddletonRW8814024968981.02
Bobby OrrD6312646248881.41
Wayne CashmanLW1027277516793.77
Ken HodgeRW6522893856741.03
Terry O'ReillyRW891204402606.68
Cam NeelyRW5253442465901.12
Peter McNabC595263324587.99

NHL Awards and Trophies

Stanley Cup
*1928-29, 1938-39, 1940-41, 1969-70, 1971-72

Prince of Wales Trophy
*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

Presidents' Trophy
*1989-90

Hart Memorial Trophy
*Eddie Shore: 1932-33, 1934-35, 1935-36, 1937-38
*Bill Cowley: 1940-41, 1942-43
*Milt Schmidt: 1950-51
*Phil Esposito: 1968-69, 1973-74
*Bobby Orr: 1969-70, 1970-71, 1971-72
*Joe Thornton*: 2005-06

(* - traded to the San Jose Sharks during the 2005-06 season)

Lester B. Pearson Award
*Phil Esposito: 1970-71, 1972-73
*Bobby Orr: 1974-75

Art Ross Trophy
*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)

NHL Leading Scorer (prior to awarding of Art Ross Trophy)
*Herb Cain: 1943-44
*Bill Cowley: 1940-41
*Milt Schmidt: 1939-40
*Cooney Weiland: 1929-30

Conn Smythe Trophy
*Bobby Orr: 1969-70, 1971-72

James Norris Memorial Trophy
*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

Vezina Trophy
*Tiny Thompson: 1929-30, 1932-33, 1935-36, 1937-38
*Frank Brimsek: 1938-39, 1941-42
*Pete Peeters: 1982-83

Frank J. Selke Trophy
*Steve Kasper: 1981-82

Calder 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

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
*Bobby Bauer: 1939-40, 1940-41, 1946-47
*Don McKenny: 1959-60
*John Bucyk: 1970-71, 1973-74
*Rick Middleton: 1981-82

William M. Jennings Trophy
*Andy Moog & Rejean Lemelin: 1989-90

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
*Charlie Simmer: 1985-86
*Gord Kluzak: 1989-90
*Cam Neely: 1993-94

King Clancy Memorial Trophy
*Ray Bourque: 1991-92
*Dave Poulin: 1992-93

Jack Adams Award
*Don Cherry: 1975-76
*Pat Burns: 1997-98

Lester Patrick Trophy
*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

Boston Bruins 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)
*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: Tiny Thompson, 12 (1928-29)

See also

* List of Stanley Cup champions
* Head Coaches of the Boston Bruins
* List of Boston Bruins players
* List of NHL players
* Bruins-Canadiens Rivalry

External links

*Boston Bruins official web site



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