Early Years
The Boston Bruins became the first American hockey team to join the NHL in 1924. It was one of six wins that season. In 1926 the Bruins luck seemed to have shifted when they landed the Canadian talent Eddie Shore who would later be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The first 15 years of the Bruins were magical they finished first in their division 8 times, went to the Stanley Cup 4 times, won it twice, and in this time span had 17 players go to the hall of fame.
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Boston's original logo (1925-1926)
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Original Six Era
After a great opening to the decade with a Stanley Cup to end the season, there was a halt for the Bruins with 5 future Hall of Famers leaving to join the war effort in the early 40s. The 50s saw the Bruins go to 3 Stanley Cups but win none of them and never finished higher than second in the regular season. They would never win the Stanley Cup in the Original Six era. The team began to decline in the early 60s until the 66-67 (The season before the NHL expansion) season the Bruins signed a transcendent talent in Bobby Orr and came up with one of the most one-sided trades in NHL history trading Pit Martin, Gil Marotte, and Jack Norris for, Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge, and Fred Stanfield from the Chicago Blackhawks paving the way for some great years in the 70s.
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Boston's first Original Six logo 1935-1949)
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Greatest Players
2. Defense: Ray Bourque: Ray Bourque (1979-2000) was the successor to Bobby Orr. Bourque won 5 James Norris trophies (best defensemen) and was the runner-up 6 other times. Bourque would finish second in the Hart Trophy twice something rare for a defenseman. In his 22 years in the NHL Bourque lived up to the hype surrounding him and then some becoming the all-time leader in goals and assists by a defenseman and all-time leading scorer in Bruins history.
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3. Offense: Phil Esposito: Phil Esposito (1968-1976) was traded to the Bruins in 1967 and would turn out to be one of the league's premier goal scorers. In the 1970-71 season, Esposito would break Bobby Hull's record of 58 goals in a season by scoring a whopping 76 goals that year. Phil Esposito ranks 6th all-time in goals scored and 10th all-time in points scored.
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4. Offense: Patrice Bergeron: Patrice Bergeron (2003-Present) is the alternate captain for the Boston Bruins and one of the leaders on the team. Bergeron would become the youngest Bruin in team history to score 30 goals in a season in a year that showed the team's fortunes had begun to turn. In their 2011 Stanley Cup win, Bergeron scored two goals in the deciding game. Bergeron has shown to be one of the best defensive forwards in the league winning the Frank J. Selke Trophy (best defensive forward) a record-tying 4 times. Bergeron is possibly the greatest active Boston Bruin right now.
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5. Goalie: Cecil "Tiny" Thompson: Cecil "Tiny" Thompson (1929-1939) is one of the greatest goalies to ever play the game. Standing at only 5ft 9in with he would go on to win four Vezina trophies (Best Goalie) in his time with the Bruins. Thompson currently holds the Boston goalie records in wins (252), shutouts (74), and goals against average (1.99). Thompson became one of the first goalies to catch the puck to make a save and was the first goalie ever to record an assist in a game.
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Stanley Cup Wins
The Bruins have won the Stanley Cup a total of six times since they were founded in 1924. Boston has won the cup in 19-2829, 1938-39, 1940-41, 1969-70, 1971-72, and 2010-11.