Founded: 1924
Arena: TD Banknorth Garden
Stanley Cups: 5
1929, 1939, 1941, 1970, 1972
The Bruins became the NHL's first American franchise in 1924, and also played in the first all-American Stanley Cup Final, beating the New York Americans in two straight games in 1929.
In the early years, the team's biggest stars were Hall of Fame goaltender Tiny Thompson and legendary defenceman Eddie Shore. Shore would prove to be one of hockey's more controversial figures in a lengthy career as a player and coach, infamous for his vicious and vindictive ways.
Boston's run of two Stanley Cups in 1939 and 1941 were led by the famous Kraut Line of Milt Schmidt-Bobby Bauer-Woody Dumart, and goaltender Frankie Brimsek. Soon after the 1941 title, the Bruins lost many players to military service, as did other teams. In Boston, the war marked the beginning of a long Stanley Cup drought.
There were good seasons in the immediate post-war era, as Brimsek, Schmidt, and the rest returned. But by the mid-1950s, a long stretch of mediocrity was underway. In the 1960s, the Bruins were regularly found at the bottom of the NHL. Thinking long-term, the team scouted a young defenceman named Bobby Orr, signing him to a development deal at the age of 14.
Orr made his Bruins debut in 1966, beginning one of the great careers in hockey. He revolutionized his position, establishing the rushing defenceman as a fixture of the game, and led the team to a pair of Stanley Cups.
The Bruins of that era, with larger-than-life personalities like Phil Esposito and Derek Sanderson, remain one of hockey's most memorable teams, the first celebrities of the NHL's television age.Boston has been home to several stars since the 1970s, most notably Hall of Fame defenceman Ray Bourque. But the team's first championship of the post-Orr era remains elusive.
Boston Bruins Retired Numbers:
2 Eddie Shore
3 Lionel Hitchman
4 Bobby Orr
5 Dit Clapper
7 Phil Esposito
8 Cam Neely
9 John Bucyk
15 Milt Schmidt
24 Terry O'Reilly
77 Ray Bourque
Boston Bruins Hockey Hall of Fame Members:
Martin A. (Marty) Barry
Robert Theodore (Bobby) Bauer
Leo Joseph Boivin
Raymond Jean Bourque
Francis Charles (Frank) Brimsek
John Paul (Johnny) Bucyk
William (Billy) Burch
Gerald Michael (Gerry) Cheevers
Aubrey V. (Dit) Clapper
Sprague Cleghorn
Paul Douglas Coffey
Roy Gordon Conacher
Frederick Joseph (Bun) Cook
William Mailes (Bill) Cowley
Cyril Joseph (Cy) Denneny
Woodrow Clarence (Woody) Dumart
Philip Anthony (Phil) Esposito
Ferdinand Charles (Fernie) Flaman
Frank Fredrickson
Harvey (Busher) Jackson
Thomas Christian (Tom) Johnson
Gordon Blanchard (Duke) Keats
Joseph Jacques Hughes Laperriere
Guy Gerard Lapointe
Harry (Apple Cheeks) Lumley
Duncan McMillan (Mickey) MacKay
Sylvio Mantha
Joseph Mullen
Cam Neely
Harold (Harry) Oliver
Robert Gordon (Bobby) Orr
Bernard Marcel (Bernie) Parent
Douglas Bradford (Brad) Park
Joseph Jacques (Jake the Snake) Plante
Walter (Babe) Pratt
Hubert George (Bill) Quackenbush
Joseph Gilbert Yvon (Jean) Ratelle
Terrance Gordon (Terry) Sawchuk
Milton Conrad (Milt) Schmidt
Edward William (Eddie) Shore
Albert Charles (Babe) Siebert
Reginald (Hooley) Smith
Allan Herbert Stanley
Nelson (Old Poison) Stewart
Cecil R. (Tiny) Thompson
Ralph (Cooney) Weiland
