Bruins turn the page to the next 100 years

Bruins’ legend Ray Bourque was still very much a Montreal Canadiens fan in the spring of 1979 when, on a bus ride back from a Memorial Cup game, he’d heard that his beloved Habs had come from two goals down in the third period to beat the Bruins in the infamous too-many-men Game 7 at the Montreal Forum. He remembers taking his usual quiet satisfaction from his Canadiens coming out on top, yet again.

“All of that changed a couple of months later,” mused Bourque on Sunday at the Garden.

Bourque, one of the many Black-and-Gold icons in attendance for the team’s Centennial Game against Montreal, was of course drafted by the Bruins and he would embark on a Hall of Fame career. It didn’t end with a Stanley Cup here but he was instrumental in ending the 45-year playoff hex the Habs held over the B’s in 1988.

Bourque won his Cup in Colorado in his final season, but make no mistake, he’s a Bruin.

“The Bruins flew (fellow draftee) Brad McCrimmon and I into town to meet with some of the press and I just remember seeing Boston Garden for the first time. There was no ice, it was dark, but you could just feel the energy and how much fun it was going to be to play there,” said Bourque.

“I remember playing that first game against the Winnipeg Jets, coming through those doors where the Zamboni comes out , I remember very vividly how that felt. It was just amazing. The Boston Garden was such a special building. People were on top of you and sometimes it would just get trembling.”

The old Garden was just one of the many memories relived on Sunday afternoon at the new Garden befire and during an on-ice ceremony that honored the rich history of the oldest American NHL franchise.

Johnny Bucyk started his career in Detroit, but he’s been a Bruin since arriving in a trade in 1957. He lived through the lean years in the 1960s to be part of a group of players that became the roguish princes of the city in the early 1970s.

Sunday’s game was the culmination of a year-long celebration of the club’s Centennial season, with various celebrations of each of the team’s varied eras.

“This celebration’s been unbelievable. It’s good to see a lot of player that I played with – and I played with a lot – just to see them and to see that they’re OK, they’re having fun and enjoying it. We’re all enjoying this whole thing. It’s been terrific,” said Bucyk.

The B’s have not won nearly as many Cups as their guests on Sunday – just six but there has always been an all-for-one-one-for-all ethic that has defined the team.

Willie O’Ree, the first Black player to play for an NHL team, remembers Bucyk taking him under his wing in the 1957-58 season. And on the ice, he didn’t have to watch his back any more than any other player did back in those rough-and-tumble days.

“If there was something going on on the ice, there was always a Bruin there to back me up,” said O’Ree. “When I found out I was coming on this trip, I was overjoyed, really.”

Sunday’s on-ice ceremony represented a turning of the page from the past 100 years to the next 100. Players and descendants of players represented each era of the club. Patrice Bergeron’s ovation is now rivaling that for Bobby Orr.

The 92-year-old Harry Sinden, the long-time team president and GM, who made a handful of trades that would have made the careers of many managers today, had been absent, at least publicly, throughout the centennial year. But he made a welcome appearance via a video address, explaining the will-versus-skill mantra of what it means to be a Bruin. During one of the more poignant videos that has been shown frequently at the Garden, an impromptu “Let’s Go Bruins!” chant broke out.

Finally, in a symbolic passing of the torch, the Bruins’ legends were surrounded by youth players, to whom the B’s players – Orr, Bourque, Rick Middleton, Wayne Cashman, Phil Esposito and current captain Brad Marchand – passed the puck. Nice touch.

From Bucyk and O’Ree, both of whom are 89, the youngest alumni among the honorees was 39-year-old Bergeron, who retired in 2023. He was an 18-year-old from just outside Quebec City when he made the roster in 2003. He’s aware that now it’s his turn to pass on his wisdom when called upon.

“To be honest, I didn’t know that much about the history and everything, but as soon as you walk in the doors and you see the legends walk in at any given time, from John Bucyk to Wayne Cashman, who was an assistant coach back then to Ray and all the amazing players,” said Bergeron. “It’s very special. I think you under stand it very quickly. These guys have always been available to answer any questions and it kind of makes you understand what it means to wear that jersey and the pride that have to have to wear it.”

 

 

 

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/6usD1o2