The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the National Hockey League (NHL). Their logo is comprised of a black "B" in a black circle with gold spokes radiating from the center.
| Boston Bruins | |
|---|---|
| File:Boston Bruins.gif | |
| Conference | Eastern |
| Division | Northeast |
| Founded | 1924 |
| History | Boston Bruins 1924-present |
| Home arena | TD Banknorth Garden |
| City | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Team colors | Black and Gold |
| Media | NESN WBZ (1030 AM) |
| Owner | Jeremy Jacobs |
| General manager | Peter Chiarelli |
| Head coach | Dave Lewis |
| Captain | Vacant |
| Minor league affiliates | Providence Bruins (AHL) |
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
- 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
- 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
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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 -- 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, 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.
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.
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 occasions (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.
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
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.
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 in favour of Dave Lewis, despite the latter's poor playoff record, 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 and Marc Savard. But the price they paid was Toronto's acquisition of defenseman Hal Gill.
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 [1]
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Playoffs |
| 1924-25 | 30 | 6 | 24 | 0 | — | 12 | 49 | 119 | 264 | 6th (last) in NHL | Out of playoffs |
| 1925-26 | 36 | 17 | 15 | 4 | — | 38 | 92 | 85 | 279 | 4th in NHL | Out of playoffs |
| 1926-27 | 44 | 21 | 20 | 3 | — | 45 | 97 | 89 | 521 | 2nd in American | Lost in Stanley Cup finals (Ottawa) |
| 1927-28 | 44 | 20 | 13 | 11 | — | 51 | 77 | 70 | 558 | 1st in American | Lost in semi-finals (NY Americans) |
| 1928-29 | 44 | 26 | 13 | 5 | — | 57 | 89 | 52 | 472 | 1st in American | Won Stanley Cup (NY Rangers) |
| 1929-30 | 44 | 38 | 5 | 1 | — | 77 | 179 | 98 | 449 | 1st in American | Lost in Stanley Cup finals (Maroons) |
| 1930-31 | 44 | 28 | 10 | 6 | — | 62 | 143 | 90 | 403 | 1st in American | Lost in semi-finals (Montreal) |
| 1931-32 | 48 | 15 | 21 | 12 | — | 42 | 122 | 117 | 373 | 4th (last) in American | Out of playoffs |
| 1932-33 | 48 | 25 | 15 | 8 | — | 58 | 124 | 88 | 517 | 1st in American | Lost in semi-finals (Toronto) |
| 1933-34 | 48 | 18 | 25 | 5 | — | 41 | 111 | 130 | 385 | 4th (last) in American | Out of playoffs |
| 1934-35 | 48 | 26 | 16 | 6 | — | 58 | 129 | 112 | 368 | 1st in American | Lost in semi-finals (Toronto) |
| 1935-36 | 48 | 22 | 20 | 6 | — | 50 | 92 | 83 | 397 | 2nd in American | Lost in quarter-finals (Toronto) |
| 1936-37 | 48 | 23 | 18 | 7 | — | 53 | 120 | 110 | 303 | 2nd in American | Lost in quarter-finals (Maroons) |
| 1937-38 | 48 | 30 | 11 | 7 | — | 67 | 142 | 89 | 284 | 1st in American | Lost in semi-finals (Toronto) |
| 1938-39 | 48 | 36 | 10 | 2 | — | 74 | 156 | 76 | 251 | 1st in NHL | Won Stanley Cup (Toronto) |
| 1939-40 | 48 | 31 | 12 | 5 | — | 67 | 170 | 98 | 330 | 1st in NHL | Lost in semi-finals (NY Rangers) |
| 1940-41 | 48 | 27 | 8 | 13 | — | 67 | 168 | 102 | 246 | 1st in NHL | Won Stanley Cup (Detroit) |
| 1941-42 | 48 | 25 | 17 | 6 | — | 56 | 160 | 118 | 349 | 3rd in NHL | Lost in semi-finals (Chicago) |
| 1942-43 | 50 | 24 | 17 | 9 | — | 57 | 195 | 176 | 364 | 2nd in NHL | Lost in Stanley Cup finals (Detroit) |
| 1943-44 | 50 | 19 | 26 | 5 | — | 43 | 223 | 268 | 207 | 5th in NHL | Out of playoffs |
| 1944-45 | 50 | 16 | 30 | 4 | — | 36 | 179 | 219 | 275 | 4th in NHL | Lost in semi-finals (Detroit) |
| 1945-46 | 50 | 24 | 18 | 8 | — | 56 | 167 | 156 | 273 | 2nd in NHL | Lost in Stanley Cup finals (Montreal) |
| 1946-47 | 60 | 26 | 23 | 11 | — | 63 | 190 | 175 | 463 | 3rd in NHL | Lost in semi-finals (Montreal) |
| 1947-48 | 60 | 23 | 24 | 13 | — | 59 | 167 | 168 | 515 | 3rd in NHL | Lost in semi-finals (Toronto) |
| 1948-49 | 60 | 29 | 23 | 8 | — | 66 | 178 | 163 | 434 | 2nd in NHL | Lost in semi-finals (Toronto) |
| 1949-50 | 70 | 22 | 32 | 16 | — | 60 | 198 | 228 | 449 | 5th in NHL | Out of playoffs |
| 1950-51 | 70 | 22 | 30 | 18 | — | 62 | 178 | 197 | 656 | 4th in NHL | Lost in semi-finals (Toronto) |
| 1951-52 | 70 | 25 | 29 | 16 | — | 66 | 162 | 176 | 601 | 4th in NHL | Lost in semi-finals (Montreal) |
| 1952-53 | 70 | 28 | 29 | 13 | — | 69 | 152 | 172 | 528 | 3rd in NHL | Lost in Stanley Cup finals (Montreal) |
| 1953-54 | 70 | 32 | 28 | 10 | — | 74 | 177 | 181 | 685 | 4th in NHL | Lost in semi-finals (Montreal) |
| 1954-55 | 70 | 23 | 26 | 21 | — | 67 | 169 | 188 | 863 | 4th in NHL | Lost in semi-finals (Montreal) |
| 1955-56 | 70 | 23 | 34 | 13 | — | 59 | 147 | 185 | 929 | 5th in NHL | Out of playoffs |
| 1956-57 | 70 | 34 | 24 | 12 | — | 80 | 195 | 174 | 978 | 3rd in NHL | Lost in Stanley Cup finals (Montreal) |
| 1957-58 | 70 | 27 | 28 | 15 | — | 69 | 199 | 194 | 849 | 4th in NHL | Lost in Stanley Cup finals (Montreal) |
| 1958-59 | 70 | 32 | 29 | 9 | — | 73 | 205 | 215 | 838 | 2nd in NHL | Lost in semi-finals (Toronto) |
| 1959-60 | 70 | 28 | 34 | 8 | — | 64 | 220 | 241 | 932 | 5th in NHL | Out of playoffs |
| 1960-61 | 70 | 15 | 42 | 13 | — | 43 | 176 | 254 | 810 | 6th (last) in NHL | Out of playoffs |
| 1961-62 | 70 | 15 | 47 | 8 | — | 38 | 177 | 306 | 712 | 6th (last) in NHL | Out of playoffs |
| 1962-63 | 70 | 14 | 39 | 17 | — | 45 | 198 | 281 | 636 | 6th (last) in NHL | Out of playoffs |
| 1963-64 | 70 | 18 | 40 | 12 | — | 48 | 170 | 212 | 858 | 6th (last) in NHL | Out of playoffs |
| 1964-65 | 70 | 21 | 43 | 6 | — | 48 | 166 | 253 | 946 | 6th (last) in NHL | Out of playoffs |
| 1965-66 | 70 | 21 | 43 | 6 | — | 48 | 174 | 275 | 787 | 5th in NHL | Out of playoffs |
| 1966-67 | 70 | 17 | 43 | 10 | — | 44 | 182 | 253 | 764 | 6th (last) in NHL | Out of playoffs |
| 1967-68 | 74 | 37 | 27 | 10 | — | 84 | 259 | 216 | 1043 | 3rd in East | Lost in quarter-finals (Montreal) |
| 1968-69 | 76 | 42 | 18 | 16 | — | 100 | 303 | 221 | 1297 | 2nd in East | Lost in semi-finals (Montreal) |
| 1969-70 | 76 | 40 | 17 | 19 | — | 99 | 277 | 216 | 1196 | 2nd in East | Won Stanley Cup (St. Louis) |
| 1970-71 | 78 | 57 | 14 | 7 | — | 121 | 399 | 207 | 1154 | 1st in East | Lost in quarter-finals (Montreal) |
| 1971-72 | 78 | 54 | 13 | 11 | — | 119 | 330 | 204 | 1112 | 1st in East | Won Stanley Cup (New York Rangers) |
| 1972-73 | 78 | 51 | 22 | 5 | — | 107 | 330 | 235 | 1097 | 2nd in East | Lost in quarter-finals |
| 1973-74 | 78 | 52 | 17 | 9 | — | 113 | 349 | 221 | 968 | 1st in East | Lost in Stanley Cup finals (Philadelphia) |
| 1974-75 | 80 | 40 | 26 | 14 | — | 94 | 345 | 245 | 1153 | 2nd in Adams | Lost in preliminary round (Chicago) |
| 1975-76 | 80 | 48 | 15 | 17 | — | 113 | 313 | 237 | 1195 | 1st in Adams | Lost in semi-finals (Philadelphia) |
| 1976-77 | 80 | 49 | 23 | 8 | — | 106 | 312 | 240 | 1065 | 1st in Adams | Lost in Stanley Cup finals (Montreal) |
| 1977-78 | 80 | 51 | 18 | 11 | — | 113 | 333 | 218 | 1237 | 1st in Adams | Lost in Stanley Cup finals (Montreal) |
| 1978-79 | 80 | 43 | 23 | 14 | — | 100 | 316 | 270 | 1222 | 1st in Adams | Lost in semi-finals (Montreal) |
| 1979-80 | 80 | 46 | 21 | 13 | — | 105 | 310 | 234 | 1460 | 2nd in Adams | Lost in quarter-finals (NY Islanders) |
| 1980-81 | 80 | 37 | 30 | 13 | — | 87 | 316 | 272 | 1836 | 2nd in Adams | Lost in preliminary round (North Stars) |
| 1981-82 | 80 | 43 | 27 | 10 | — | 96 | 323 | 285 | 1266 | 2nd in Adams | Lost in division finals (Québec) |
| 1982-83 | 80 | 50 | 20 | 10 | — | 110 | 327 | 228 | 1202 | 1st in NHL | Lost in conference final (NY Islanders) |
| 1983-84 | 80 | 49 | 25 | 6 | — | 104 | 336 | 261 | 1606 | 1st in Adams | Lost in division semi-finals |
| 1984-85 | 80 | 36 | 34 | 10 | — | 82 | 303 | 287 | 1825 | 4th in Adams | Lost in division semi-finals |
| 1985-86 | 80 | 37 | 31 | 12 | — | 86 | 311 | 288 | 1919 | 3rd in Adams | Lost in division semi-finals (Montreal) |
| 1986-87 | 80 | 39 | 34 | 7 | — | 85 | 301 | 276 | 1870 | 3rd in Adams | Lost in division semi-finals |
| 1987-88 | 80 | 44 | 30 | 6 | — | 94 | 300 | 251 | 2443 | 2nd in Adams | Lost in Stanley Cup finals (Edmonton) |
| 1988-89 | 80 | 37 | 29 | 14 | — | 88 | 289 | 256 | 1929 | 2nd in Adams | Lost in division finals Montreal |
| 1989-90 | 80 | 46 | 25 | 9 | — | 101 | 289 | 232 | 1458 | 1st in Adams | Lost in Stanley Cup finals (Edmonton) |
| 1990-91 | 80 | 44 | 24 | 12 | — | 100 | 299 | 264 | 1694 | 1st in NHL | Lost in Conference Finals (Pittsburgh) |
| 1991-92 | 80 | 36 | 32 | 12 | — | 84 | 270 | 275 | 1752 | 2nd in Adams | Lost in Conference Finals (Pittsburgh) |
| 1992-93 | 84 | 51 | 26 | 7 | — | 109 | 332 | 268 | 1552 | 1st in Adams | Lost in division semi-finals (Buffalo) |
| 1993-94 | 84 | 42 | 29 | 13 | — | 97 | 289 | 252 | 1442 | 2nd in Northeast | Lost in conference semi-finals (New Jersey) |
| 1994-951 | 48 | 27 | 18 | 3 | — | 57 | 150 | 127 | 793 | 3rd in Northeast | Lost in conference quarter-finals (New Jersey) |
| 1995-96 | 82 | 40 | 31 | 11 | — | 91 | 282 | 269 | 1039 | 2nd in Northeast | Lost in conference quarter-finals (Florida) |
| 1996-97 | 82 | 26 | 47 | 9 | — | 61 | 234 | 300 | 1369 | 6th (last) in Northeast | Out of playoffs |
| 1997-98 | 82 | 39 | 30 | 13 | — | 91 | 221 | 194 | 1117 | 2nd in Northeast | Lost in conference quarter-finals (Washington) |
| 1998-99 | 82 | 39 | 30 | 13 | — | 91 | 214 | 181 | 1182 | 3rd in Northeast | Lost in conference semi-finals |
| 1999-00 | 82 | 24 | 33 | 19 | 6 | 73 | 210 | 248 | 865 | 5th (last) in Northeast | Out of playoffs |
| 2000-01 | 82 | 36 | 30 | 8 | 8 | 88 | 227 | 249 | 1325 | 4th in Northeast | Out of playoffs |
| 2001-02 | 82 | 43 | 24 | 6 | 9 | 101 | 236 | 201 | 1454 | 1st in Northeast | Lost in conference quarter-finals (Montreal) |
| 2002-03 | 82 | 36 | 31 | 11 | 4 | 87 | 245 | 237 | 1370 | 3rd in Northeast | Lost in conference quarter-finals (New Jersey) |
| 2003-04 | 82 | 41 | 19 | 15 | 7 | 104 | 209 | 188 | 1208 | 1st in Northeast | Lost in conference quarter-finals (Montreal) |
| 2004-052 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2005-06 | 82 | 29 | 37 | —3 | 16 | 74 | 230 | 266 | 1162 | 5th (last) in Northeast | Out of playoffs |
| Total | 5564 | 2593 | 2130 | 791 | 50 | 6027 | 17683 | 16809 | 74984 | — | — |
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
| Goaltenders | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Catches | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
| - | 
|
Brian Finley | R | 2006 | Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario |
| 30 | 
|
Tim Thomas | L | 2002 | Flint, Michigan |
| 33 | 
|
Hannu Toivonen | L | 2002 | Kalvola, Finland |
| Defensemen | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Shoots | Acquired | Place of Birth | ||
| - |
|
Bobby Allen | L | 2006 | Braintree, Massachusetts | |
| - |
|
Wade Brookbank | L | 2006 | Lanigan, Saskatchewan | |
| - | 
|
Zdeno Chára | L | 2006 | Trencin, Slovakia | |
| - |
|
Matt Lashoff | L | 2005 | East Greenbush, New York | |
| - |
|
Jason York | R | 2006 | Nepean, Ontario | |
| 6 |
|
Brad Stuart | L | 2005 | Rocky Mountain House, Alberta | |
| 23 |
|
Paul Mara | L | 2006 | Ridgewood, New Jersey | |
| 41 |
|
Andrew Alberts | L | 2001 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
| 45 |
|
Mark Stuart | L | 2003 | Rochester, Minnesota | |
| 55 |
|
David Tanabe | R | 2005 | White Bear Lake, Minnesota | |
| 68 |
|
Milan Jurcina | R | 2001 | Liptovsky Mikulas, Slovakia | |
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
| Player | POS | GP | G | A | Pts | P/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raymond 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 |
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
- 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)
- 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)
- 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
- Tiny Thompson: 1929-30, 1932-33, 1935-36, 1937-38
- Frank Brimsek: 1938-39, 1941-42
- Pete Peeters: 1982-83
- 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
- Bobby Bauer: 1939-40, 1940-41, 1946-47
- Don McKenny: 1959-60
- John Bucyk: 1970-71, 1973-74
- Rick Middleton: 1981-82
Bill Masterton Memorial 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
External links
- ^ Hockeydb.com, Boston Bruins season statistics and records.