‘There’s nothing better than the Stanley Cup playoffs.”
Those words are echoed over and over again at this time each year, but the Boston Bruins are in the late stages of a run that has made the conclusion of this National Hockey League season even a bit more exciting.
It has been a special time for New England hockey fans to watch for more reasons than one.
Not only are the Bruins looking to continue an impressive year for Boston sports teams and follow up championship runs from both the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots, but also this Bruins team has become the best left standing with a slew of New England natives making key contributions.
The run to a Stanley Cup Final showdown with the St. Louis Blues has given Boston College products and former Bruins forwards Marty McInnis (Hingham, Mass.) and Bob Sweeney (Boxboro, Mass.) the chance to take a step back and reminisce about their days wearing Boston black and gold on the grandest stage in hockey.
“It brings back memories of when you were there, though our teams never quite got over that last hump,” said Sweeney, who played parts of six seasons with the Bruins from 1986-92. He has served as executive director of the Boston Bruins Foundation since 2007. “The 2011 team was special to watch and 2013 was a great run as well, but to see this core group of guys still together and bringing along a new group of guys is exciting to watch as a former player, and I think the fans have really grown to love this team as well.”
While the likes of Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci have been an integral part of Boston’s success dating back to the 2011 postseason run and even further, that group of veterans has allowed a newer crop of talent to come in and make its mark.
Boston University’s Matt Grzelcyk (Charlestown, Mass.) and Charlie McAvoy both have developed into consistent members of the defense corps, Chris Wagner (Walpole, Mass.) and Noel Acciari (Johnston, R.I.) serve as important depth pieces up front, and Charlie Coyle (Weymouth, Mass.) joined the team in February and has fit in perfectly with the forward group and provided clutch postseason scoring.
This team has just been fun to watch for the former B’s and New England hockey fans alike, but the local presence adds a cherry on top.
“I love the style of hockey that they play, their consistency and their work ethic. With all of that, they seem like a very likable team,” said McInnis, the current BC assistant coach who spent the final two years of his NHL career (1991-2003) in Boston. “They have superstars, obviously, but it’s four really good lines that play hard. As a former player, it’s great to see and that makes them easy to root for as a team.”
McInnis and Sweeney have something in common with many players throughout Boston’s storied hockey history, though, as only one New Englander — Melrose, Mass., native and U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer Myles Lane (1929) — has been a member of any of the franchise’s six Stanley Cup championship teams.
Both Eagles-turned-Bruins have playoff memories from their respective careers, but runs to a Cup came up short. Four more wins in late May and early June for this year’s Bruins would change that statistic in a big way.
Despite early setbacks during both of McInnis’ years with the Bruins (2001-02 and 2002-03), there were lessons to be learned from the experience and plenty of excitement in donning the Spoked-B as a Massachusetts native.
“That made it super difficult because I thought we could make good runs,” McInnis said of first-round losses to Montreal and New Jersey, respectively. The first of those series came after he was traded from Anaheim to Boston late in the season. “We had Joe Thornton and Glen Murray, (Byron) Dafoe was the goalie, and we just had a really good team. … It was a missed opportunity for us, of course, but still a great experience to get to play at home on that stage.” Sweeney has some of the most unique perspective on the current happenings inside TD Garden. He played on Boston teams that advanced to the Stanley Cup Final before losing to Edmonton in 1988 and 1990, while he has remained active in the front office during the last three consecutive Cup appearances.
Through it all, though, Sweeney feels it’s important to take a step back and appreciate the accomplishment. Even in this age of seemingly-endless championships for Boston’s professional franchises, reaching this pinnacle is difficult, especially in hockey.
“It can sometimes take teams 50 years to get back to the Stanley Cup, so you really have to treasure these moments,” said Sweeney, whose Bruins career included 87 playoff games. “I think these guys have really come together as a team, so it’s a really great time to be playing hockey in Boston right now.”
Aided significantly by the aforementioned New England power, this year’s Bruins have drawn comparisons to the last Cup-winning club from 2011, especially for the overwhelming depth and the hot goaltending that Tuukka Rask — like Tim Thomas back then — has provided.
From an offensive perspective, a whopping 21 different players had contributed postseason goals entering the Stanley Cup Final.
There were some mixed emotions with the Bruins parting ways with Ryan Donato (Scituate, Mass.) in the trade to Minnesota, but the acquisition of Coyle and his six postseason goals has turned out to be a key factor in that depth and the overall team’s success.
But the contributions of Coyle and his fellow New England natives on the roster have made the current run exciting for a former player like Sweeney who wore the same shoes during his own career.
“It’s a thrill to be able to play for your hometown team, but then to go on this kind of run is really special,” Sweeney said. “It’s so great to see (Grzelcyk) develop into a great defenseman and Charlie (Coyle) come on board later in the season and become such an important part. It’s great to see, and I’m sure it’s special for all the communities where they were brought up in as well.”
McInnis now spends his days coaching at a rink just a few miles from the Garden, but there is plenty for young players to take away from what these Bruins — from Bergeron’s 200-foot play to the confidence and steadiness of 21-year-old McAvoy — have accomplished throughout the long and winding season.
At this point, though, there is only one point in the year McInnis wishes he were still lacing up skates and playing himself.
“The only time I really miss (playing) hockey is when I’m watching playoff hockey,” McInnis said. “It’s so exciting, especially when the Bruins are playing and Boston gets excited about it. Other than that, it’s so hard, and I don’t know how they do it through all these playoff rounds. Being older now, it’s tough to imagine.”
It’s tough to imagine near century-long history being broken within the storied Bruins franchise, but it has been that long since one of its own New England native players saw his name etched onto the Stanley Cup. However, that statistic doesn’t change what wearing a Bruins uniform means to someone who grew up within our six-state region and performing on the playoff stage.
The statistics fade over time, but Sweeney’s lasting memory of playing hockey at this time of the year is a rather simple one. And it certainly makes Bruins fans happy.
“I just remember how much fun it was to come to the rink every day and continuing to play when it’s May and June,” said Sweeney. “You know you’re doing something pretty special if you’re still going to the rink during that time frame. You can see the finish line coming, which is the end of a lot of hard work that you’ve put in over the last eight months, but you’re ultimately hoping for that ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup.”
