Boston showcases a special day in the city for hockey's past and future

This was a unique day – not only in Boston – but also in the sports world on Wednesday.

It was a day that celebrated the past, present and future. It ended with the Bruins defeating the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 at TD Garden, but it was the course of events leading up to the final buzzer that matter most.



The most significant aspect of the day was the 60th-anniversary celebration of Willie O’Ree breaking the NHL’s color barrier. The Bruins, the City of Boston and the NHL honored his first game on Jan. 18, 1958, a 3-0 win by the Bruins over the Canadiens at the Montreal Forum. More importantly, O’Ree was recognized for his contributions as the league’s ambassador for diversity.

The 82-year-old has been in Boston and around the Bruins this week and said he was honored with this recent celebration of his life and career.

“It’s certainly a pleasure for me to be here in Boston,” he said. “When I came here in 1957 for my first training camp, I fell in love with the city, fell in love with the players and just had a great time. Now, going into my 20^th year working with the diversity program... After I retired I wanted to give back, not only to the sport, but give back to the community for what hockey had given me over the years.”

O’Ree was given the original score sheet from his first game and later dropped the ceremonial puck. He also received a standing ovation from the 17,565 in attendance and from players on both benches.

“I love Willie,” said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy after the victory. “He’s very sharp for his age, very personable and a great guy to chat with. I don’t know if the other guys appreciate retired players as much, having them around, but I do. I’m a huge fan of the game, so I can sit here and talk hockey with you all night about ex-players. For me, it’s great personally, and I’m sure the guys enjoy it too, but I wish more of the former players would come around as well.”

Prior to the game, the Bruins also announced that longtime national anthem singer Rene Rancourt is retiring at season’s end. He said the reason for his exit is because “Mother Nature is calling. I’ve been trying to act very young, (and) I’m fooling a few people, but Mother Nature can’t be fooled. I’m 78 and maybe I started to think about retiring at 68, so I’m a little bit late.”

He’s been the anthem singer at the Garden since the 1975-76 season.

Wednesday was also an opportunity to welcome back former Bruins coach Claude Julien back to the Garden for the first time since he was fired on Feb. 7, 2017. He’s Boston’s all-time coaching wins leader with a 419-246-94 record, along with a .614 winning percentage in 759 games. He also guided the Bruins to the 2011 Stanley Cup title to end a 39-year drought.

During the second television timeout of Wednesday game, the Bruins recognized the former coach with a minute-long tribute on the video board. Even Cassidy thought it was a nice tribute to his former boss.

“I thought it was a very classy move by the Bruins and hopefully everyone else thought the same thing,” Cassidy said. “It was well deserved and a good move by the organization.”

After the game, Julien said it was an emotional night.

“This is a great sports town that supports its teams and fans are great,” Julien said. “There’s nothing to dislike about this city. Right now it’s about coming in here, unfortunately, and hopefully making (fans) not like you so much by the end of this one.”

Hockey fans left the building happy with the Bruins’ win, which extends the team’s point streak to 14 consecutive games with a 10-0-4 record. While the past and present were on display here Wednesday, the future is looking pretty damn bright.

“It’s a special place to play,” Bruins defenseman Torey Krug told BostonSportsJournal.com “One of the reasons I came to Boston is the history and the rivalry with other teams, and you combine all that in one day, it’s a lot of fun. It’s hard to put into words what Mr. O’Ree means for the game and our organization, and it was obviously a big win, so everything was fun today, for sure."