10 Decades of Important Bruins History as the Team Celebrates 100 Years

As seasons and playoff runs pass, players come and go. The Boston Bruins have collected many memorable moments in their 100 years of existence. Although some memories are distant, they are still not forgotten. Let’s take a journey through time to the most seminal moments in Bruins history.

1920s

For its first seven years, the NHL operated with four teams from Canada until the 1924-25 season when the Boston Bruins entered the league as the first American franchise in league history. This opened the gates to a few other American franchises as New York, Chicago and Detroit soon followed and became part of the Original Six. The Bruins won their first Stanley Cup in 1929 with names like Eddie Shore, Tiny Thompson, Dit Clapper and Lionel Hitchman making their presence known in the black and gold.

1930s

The Bruins had a great start to the 1930s, setting what was then the longest winning streak in NHL history at 14 games in 1929-30, a mark that would stand for 52 years until it was broken by the New York Islanders (16 games) in 1982 and again in 1993 by the current record-holders, the Pittsburgh Penguins (17 games). The Bruins also made their third Stanley Cup final appearance in 1929-30 where they fell short to the Montreal Canadiens. Ten years later, however, the Bruins rekindled victory and hoisted Lord Stanley's trophy for a second time in franchise history, led by what was famously known as the ‘Kraut Line’ of Milt Schmidt, Bobby Bauer and Woody Dumart.

1940s

In 1940-41, the B’s were booming. Bruins center Bill Cowley led the league in scoring and Boston won its third Stanley Cup in a sweep over the Detroit Red Wings. In the 1941-42 season, the ‘Kraut Line,’ who held the top three spots in the scoring race, left the Bruins to serve in the Royal Canadian Air Force amidst the Second World War, with Schmidt carried off the ice by members of the rival Montreal Canadiens in his last game before leaving for the war. Schmidt, Bauer and Dumart missed three seasons, but returned after the war for the 1946-47 campaign.

1950s

The same ‘Kraut Line’ that had dominated in the 1930s and ’40s was still going, and the possibilities seemed endless. When it came to consistent success, the Bruins’ Schmidt returned stronger after earning the ‘C’ in 1950 and the team made the Stanley Cup final once under his captaincy, in which the Bruins lost to the Canadiens. In 1957-58, Bruins winger Willie O’Ree became the NHL's first Black player, following the footsteps of Taffy Abel, Larry Kwong and Fred Saskamoose as some of the first skaters to break the color barrier and pave the way for future players of color in the league.

1960s

In the early part of the '60s, things were not clicking for the Bruins, despite the emergence of Johnny Bucyk, Bobby Orr, Gerry Cheevers and many others. The Bruins missed the playoffs eight straight years until 1967-68, when the NHL expanded with six new teams. Bruins GM Milt Schmidt acquired center Phil Esposito, right winger Ken Hodge and left winger Fred Stanfield from the Chicago Black Hawks in return for goaltender Jack Norris, center Pit Martin and defenseman Gilles Marotte.

1970s

The '70s were one of the most memorable decades, not only in Bruins history, but in NHL history as well. Orr would become one of the most iconic players in the league when he scored the Cup-winning overtime goal in the 1970 final– “flying” past St. Louis Blues goaltender Glenn Hall in the process – giving the Bruins their fourth championship in franchise history, and first in 29 years. That Cup victory kicked off the era of the ‘Big Bad Bruins’ as they would win their fifth Stanley Cup in 1972. Soon after, the Bruins traded Esposito and Carol Vadnais to the New York Rangers in 1975-76 for defensemen Brad Park and Joe Zanussi and center Jean Ratelle. To follow up, their nickname spoke for itself in a brawl between Bruins players and fans at Madison Square Garden during a game against the Rangers in 1978-79, the same season they were on the brink of another Cup final appearance but infamously squandered a 4-3 lead against Montreal in the third period of Game 7 after committing a too-many-men penalty, eventually losing in overtime.

1980s

At this point, the days of the ‘Big Bad Bruins’ were all but over, as Orr signed with Chicago in 1976 and stars Brad Park and Jean Ratelle finished their time with the Bruins in the early ’80s. The team was handed over to Peter McNab, Rick Middleton, Terry O’Reilly and veteran goaltender Rogie Vachon. While the Bruins had a lot of aging talent, they also had promising prospect Ray Bourque (drafted eighth overall in 1979). Left winger Wayne Cashman finished his tenure as captain of the team in 1983. Then, after the Bruins acquired right winger Cam Neely in 1985 in exchange for a 1987 first-round pick and center Barry Pederson, things started right back where they left off with the B’s making the Cup final in 1988, losing to the Edmonton Oilers.

1990s

In 1990, the Bruins made yet another appearance in the Cup final, with a second chance at beating the Oilers. Unfortunately, they could not capitalize once again. They spent the rest of the decade with shorter playoff stints, making it as far as the conference final. During these back-and-forth seasons, the ‘90s saw the likes of Bruins star Ray Bourque solidify himself as one of the best accuracy shooters in the all-star skills competition, going four-for-four in back-to-back years in the 1992 and 1993 accuracy events and winning the accuracy competition a total of five times while representing the Bruins. The Boston Gardens, which had seen most of the franchise’s greatest moments, came to a close after 67 years of hosting the Bruins from 1928 to 1995, as it was demolished in 1998.

2000s

A rollercoaster, to say the least, as the Bruins found themselves in and out of playoff contention until enough was enough. In 2006, Boston hired 41-year-old Peter Chiarelli, formerly part of the Ottawa Senators’ front office, to replace Mike O’Connell as GM. A clean slate was underway, with center Patrice Bergeron, a second-round pick (45th overall) in 2003, in the middle of it all. Under Chiarelli, the Bruins drafted right winger Phil Kessel (fifth overall, 2006), left winger Milan Lucic (50th overall, 2006), left winger Brad Marchand (71st overall, 2006) and signed defenseman Zdeno Chara and center Marc Savard in 2006. As a result of Chiarelli’s magic, a new era was born in Boston.

2010s

Things were tense, as the Bruins blew a 3-0 series lead in the 2010 Eastern Conference semifinal against the Philadelphia Flyers. With that in mind, the Bruins went into the next season with only one thing in mind, to win it all. And they accomplished their mission, beating the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of the Cup final for their sixth NHL championship after a 39-year drought. The hockey gods would help them in 2013 when they made a comeback in Game 7 of first-round play while down 4-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs, going on to tie the game late and then win it in overtime. They would then make it to the final against the Chicago Blackhawks where their run would end in a loss. GM Peter Chiarelli parted ways in 2015, ending an era.

2020s

As a new era begins, COVID caught the B’s by surprise – like every other team in the league – two seasons after they were in the 2019 Stanley Cup final against the Blues. This time they would lose, and there wasn’t a flying Bobby Orr to be seen. Chara handed over the ‘C’ in 2020 to Bergeron. The Bruins were out of their cave once again, and in the 2022-23 season, they set the NHL’s all-time wins and points records, becoming the winningest team in NHL history. Despite that, they would lose another series lead and fall in seven games to the Florida Panthers in the first round of the playoffs after a magical season.