Boston Bruins: All-Time Dream Team
The Boston Bruins have had some pretty outstanding players over the years. Let’s take a look at their all-time team.
As one of the Original Six NHL teams, the Boston Bruins have a pretty impressive legacy. Yes, they went nearly 40 years without a Stanley Cup. But fans should feel proud of the Bruins and their long, storied history.
It’s impossible to think about the original team in black and gold without thinking of defensemen. The Bruins have had countless ones. So naturally, their all-time team is led by perhaps the most lethal, effective blueline ever assembled. At the very least, it’s the most impressive that any franchise can boast.
But the Bruins have had some scorers too. And goaltenders as well. They have a very well-balanced all-time team.
Before we continue, let’s set the ground rules. Only players who played at least 300 games with the Bruins are eligible (200 games for goaltenders). There will be some exceptions, but they have special circumstances.
This team will consist of 13 forwards, seven defensemen, and three goaltenders, making up a 22-man roster. Though one’s overall legacy will be considered, a player’s legacy with the Bruins means the most. All eras will be considered and I’ll make it a point to try to include each of them in some way.
Let’s start with some honorable mentions. The best goaltender left off the team? Tuukka Rask. He’s among the franchise leaders in games played for a goalie and even has a Vezina Trophy to his name. However, that’s not enough for a franchise with a history as great as the Bruins.
Paul Coffey is one of the best puck-moving defensemen of all-time. No matter where he went, he produced. All the all-time great centers Coffey played with thought very highly of him, which is saying something. However, he only played for the Bruins for a year, so he didn’t qualify for the all-time team.
Don’t worry too much about the lines. Head coach Claude Julien would have a ton of options with this roster. Let’s take a look at a roster Bruins fans have dreamed about for years – their all-time dream team!
Top Forward Line
This top forward line features two forwards from the Bruins’ glory days in the 1970’s and one with quite possibly the best hockey name of all-time. The latter also played defense, but with such a great blueline, he’s getting moved up to right wing.
You can’t think of the Bruins without thinking of the great Phil Esposito. He was one of the early pioneers of the offense-heavy NHL fans saw in the 1980’s. Esposito is among the franchise leaders in many categories, including points, goals, and assists. This is despite playing just over 600 games with them. Esposito’s 1.69 points per game with the Bruins is by a wide margin the best rate in franchise history. His hardware includes five Art Ross Trophies and two Hart Trophies.
John Bucyk is perhaps the classiest player in Bruins history. He’s the franchise leader in points, goals, and assists. Nobody usually associates the Bruins with “gentlemanly conduct”, but Bucyk won three Lady Byng Trophies with them. He was remarkably consistent, consistently putting up over 50 points. Bucyk is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Time for the best hockey name ever – Dit Clapper. He has a unique legacy, as he was named to six NHL All-Star teams – four as a defenseman, two as a right wing. Clapper played in an offensively dead era, but still put up very impressive point totals. He also spent some time behind the bench for the Bruins. Clapper is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, elected in 1947.
Top Defensive Pairing
Bobby Orr is unquestionably a part of this pairing. You could make the argument the Boston Bruins legend is the greatest player of all-time, considering how much he accomplished in such a short period of time.
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Orr is the golden standard and measuring stick for all defensemen. His “flying” celebration (pictured above) is arguably the most recognizable picture in NHL history. Orr won an unprecedented eight Norris Trophies. He also won three consecutive Hart Trophies from 1969 to 1972. Orr remains active in the Bruins organization, serving as an ambassador of sorts. He’s also heavily involved in Canadian junior hockey, ensuring his legacy will live on long after his time on Earth is over.
The greatness of Eddie Shore is a bit debatable. After all, we have limited at best statistics from his era. But what’s undeniable is Shore was likely the NHL’s first star defenseman. He was a precursor to Orr as a defenseman who could do a bit of everything – score, play defense, hit, and fight. Shore was named to eight All-Star teams and won four Hart Trophies. To this day, that’s the most of any defenseman ever.
You could easily put Ray Bourque next to Orr and have two of the best puck movers ever. But Shore and Orr, on paper, would complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Even if their last names would confuse most broadcasters.
Second Forward Line
The second forward line features a modern great playing with two of the biggest names in franchise history. Patrice Bergeron might retire as one of the three best Bruins forward of all-time. His four Selke Trophies ties him with Bob Gainey for the most of all-time. And considering Bergeron has been far more productive than him, it’s safe to say he’s already cemented his Hockey Hall of Fame case.
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Bergeron would be remembered even more positively if he spent some time as the Bruins captain. But that’s a role the human Energizer Bunny Zdeno Chara has occupied for a long time. Bergeron’s importance to the Bruins can’t be overstated.
Milt Schmidt, much like Dit Clapper, spent time as both a forward and a defenseman. His best years, however, came as a center. Schmidt won the 1951 Hart Trophy after putting up 61 points in 62 games. He was named to several postseason All-Star teams. Schmidt would later coach the Bruins for 11 years.
It’s reasonable that Boston fans might not have positive thoughts about Cam Neely. He hasn’t been a good executive. But this shouldn’t take away from his Hall of Fame career as a player. Neely’s 590 points in 525 games ranks eighth among forwards in franchise history. His 1.124 points per game in a Bruins sweater ranks fourth.
Second Defensive Pairing
Anytime you can put two Norris Trophy winners on your second pairing, you’ve got a pretty darn good team. The Boston Bruins can boast this, as Raymond Bourque and Zdeno Chara form a deadly duo.
Bourque would benefit from his giant linemate. Chara’s outstanding defense would allow him to focus on offense, where he was arguably better than everybody not named Bobby Orr. Bourque won five Norris Trophies during his career. His 1,579 points (over 1,500 came with the Bruins) is the most of any defenseman ever. Only Orr, Paul Coffey, and Denis Potvin averaged more points per game than Bourque.
If it wasn’t for Orr, he would probably be remembered as the greatest Bruins defenseman of all-time. Unfortunately, Bourque never won a Stanley Cup with Boston. Luckily, the Colorado Avalanche traded for him and he was able to get that title he long deserved.
Chara has remarkably only won one Norris Trophy, as the NHL has shifted to valuing defenseman who are more offensively inclined. But Zdeno remains one of the best shutdown defensemen of all-time.
He’ll be positively remembered for being the captain of the team that ended the nearly 40-year-long Stanley Cup drought. Chara will also be remembered for his outstanding hockey IQ, which has allowed him to sustain a high level of play even with the league’s shift to a speed-oriented game.
Third Forward Line
The Boston Bruins’ all-time third forward line is centered by someone people might forget played for the team – Adam Oates. His legacy is a bit complicated because he made his career as sort of a mercenary. Oates went to whichever team was willing to pay him the most (or whoever he was traded to) and never stuck around anywhere for that long. But he put up impressive numbers with the Bruins (1.356 points per game in 368 games). Oates is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Bill Cowley was a forward in the 1930’s and 1940’s. He spent all but 41 of his 549 career games with the Bruins. Cowley was named to five postseason All-Star teams and won two Hart Trophies (1941 and 1943). He led the NHL in assists in both of those years as well. In 1968, Cowley was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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Roy Conacher is probably more famous for being the lesser brother of Toronto Maple Leafs’ legend Charlie Conacher. But Roy was a great forward in his own right. Conacher led the NHL with 26 goals in his rookie season (1938-39), finishing second in the Calder Trophy voting. He put up at least 20 goals in all but one season during which he played at least 30 games. Conacher only played 168 games with the Boston Bruins but gets an exception because injuries and World War II took away a good portion of his best years.
Third Defensive Pairing
Brad Park is a very fascinating “what if” story. Had it not been for his prime overlapping with Bobby Orr’s, he might well be far more positively remembered. Park finished second place in the Norris Trophy voting four times in five years, finishing third in the other. Guess who won the Norris each of those seasons? Orr.
Ironically, the only reason Park was traded to the Boston Bruins was because of Bobby’s injuries. He served as a very respectable replacement for Orr, even if he didn’t spend his best years with the Bruins. Park averaged nearly a point per game with Boston, putting up 417 points in 501 games. Bruins fans never got to see Park and Orr together, but at least the possibility exists hypothetically!
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Fern Flaman and Lionel Hitchman are both deserving for the last two roles. You could make an argument for both. Flaman was more offensively oriented while Hitchman was more defensively gifted. The latter was Shore’s defensive partner for most of his career. Meanwhile, the former made it to three postseason All-Star teams. However, Hitchman isn’t in the Hall of Fame while Flaman is. He can, however, lay claim to being the second NHL player ever to get his number retired.
Fourth Forward Line
Rick Middleton was a solid member of the late 1970’s and 1980’s Boston Bruins. He’s not a Hockey Hall of Fame member, but he still had a pretty nice career. In 881 games with the Bruins, he put up 898 points, which is impressive. Middleton also won a Lady Byng with Boston. Unfortunately, he joined the Bruins at the wrong time – right after the early 1970’s. So Middleton never won a Stanley Cup.
Bobby Bauer is a guy a lot of Bruins fans might not know because he played in the 1930’s and 1940’s. But his career should be celebrated, even if he didn’t make it to the Hockey Hall of Fame until over 30 years after his death. Bauer won three Lady Byng Trophies, tying him with Bucyk for the most in Bruins history. He played a large role in two Stanley Cups for Boston (1938-39 and 1940-41).
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Cooney Weiland spent most of his career playing with Bauer, though Weiland started a bit earlier in 1928-29. In his second NHL season, he led the league in goals (43) and points (73). Throughout his career, Weiland proved to be very durable, rarely missing games. He was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1971.
As controversial and polarizing as Brad Marchand is, his latest three-season stretch of dominance has rarely been seen from a Bruins forward. So he gets the nod over several deserving candidates, including Woody Dumart.
Goaltenders
The Boston Bruins have a long legacy of having great goaltenders. Tim Thomas is the most recent one. His name is forever etched in Bruins history for his outstanding performance in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Thomas won the Conn Smythe for his efforts, to go along with the Vezina Trophy during the regular season. He also won the Vezina during the 2008-09 season.
His career is remarkable because Thomas wasn’t even a starter until the age of 32. That’s when most goalies start to decline. Thomas has a decent case of the Hockey Hall of Fame, but likely didn’t have a long enough prime to make it. But don’t worry, he’ll never have to buy a drink again in Boston.
Tiny Thompson won five Vezina Trophies from 1929 to 1938. In 468 career games with the Bruins, he allowed less than two goals per game. Thompson also led Boston to a Stanley Cup in 1928-29. With him in net, the Bruins were consistent contenders. His 468 career games with Boston is a franchise record, though Tuukka Rask (427 as of Jan. 29) is dangerously close to topping it.
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Frank Brimsek won two Vezina Trophies. Only Thompson played more games in a Bruins sweater than him. Brimsek has eight postseason All-Star nominations on his resume, as well as two Stanley Cups and a Calder Trophy. Both Thompson and Brimsek are members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.