The Bruins’ commitment to a win-now mentality may not be wavering in 2021-22, but some of the foundations that have propped up this Original Six franchise over a decade-long string of success have started to erode.
For years, Bruins fans could relish in the fact that the architects that helped etch Boston’s name into the Stanley Cup in 2011 were not fading vestiges of a golden era of B’s hockey — but were still tangible pieces of a competitive roster still looking for another chance to hoist the greatest trophy in sports.
Close to a decade after lifting the Cup higher than it ever had before, Zdeno Chara was still holding court as Boston’s captain — his spot on the B's top D pair unchallenged. Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci represented a luxury for Boston that 31 other teams coveted in terms of regularly penciling two top-flight pivots into the lineup year in and year out.
Brad Marchand went from fourth-line pest to top-line star over the course of a few years — staking his claim as arguably the best left wing in the game today (much to the chagrin of others across the league). And even though he was relegated to a backup role during that 2011 Cup run, Tuukka Rask served as the rock between the pipes for Boston for years after that title.
But the Chara/Bergeron epoch and all of the success that has come with it offered a sought-after reality in which fans could relish in a Cup title — and still celebrate the stars that orchestrated that run for years after said deed was done.
Well, at least until the 2021-22 season — because the cold reality brought upon by the slow decay of time finally seems to have arrived for the Bruins: The reality in which this chapter of memorable, glorious chapter of B’s hockey might be reaching its end.
Gone are Chara and Krejci — the latter now playing overseas back in his native Czech Republic. The ink hasn’t fully dried on Rask’s ledger in a B’s sweater, but it’s far from a guarantee that he returns later this winter if both Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman are holding their own in net.
And even though Bergeron is still unquestioned as one of the top two-way forwards in the game today, his future beyond this year is about as murky as the water sifting past the Lechmere Viaduct.
And yet, hope still flickers for this franchise — at least within the vacuum of this season. Even with the number of departures over the last two offseasons, Boston should still roll out a competitive squad this year — with both Bergeron and Marchand leading the way as part of a potent top-line triumvirate alongside David Pastrnak.
Boston’s pickups this summer fell more or less in line with the desire to contend in 2021-22 with a veteran crew in place — headlined by names such as Nick Foligno, Erik Haula and Derek Forbort.
And while most of the optimism centered on this 2021-22 roster revolves more around the potential of a “last hurrah” with guys like Bergeron leading the charge, the B’s captain offered another silver lining that comes with the hard truths coming to a head as the last bastions of the 2010s Bruins begin to write their final chapters on the ice.
As one era ends, another one can begin — and with it the opportunity for the next wave of B’s franchise cornerstones to begin writing their own chapters.
"I guess it's part of life,” Bergeron said of Boston’s transforming roster. “Everything kind of matures and kind of changes, and you try to go along and try to ride that wave. And I think we have some players that have been around for a while that are getting older. Also some younger players that are taking a bigger role and whether it's on the ice or off the ice, in the locker room — I think you want to have those guys and make them understand that it's gonna become your team at some point soon, and they have to take some more responsibilities and whatnot.
“I've always said that I believe in leadership by committee, and I think it can't just be about one or two guys. It has to be a lot of guys that learn and grow and I think there's gonna be a lot of that again this year.”
For as much as Boston has routinely been anchored by the old guard from that 2011 Cup team, the 2021-22 Bruins represents the most striking example of a team in transition — with Boston entering camp with the 14th youngest roster in the league, boasting an average age of 27.71.
Boston only has four players over the age of 30 on the roster (Bergeron, Foligno, Marchand and Craig Smith) — and at least six regular rotation places in place aged 25 or under in Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, Jeremy Swayman, Jake DeBrusk and Trent Frederic.
The gap between the final remnants of the 2011 roster and this new generation has been bridged by an influx of players in that 26-30 year old bracket — headlined by the likes of Charlie Coyle, Matt Grzelcyk, Mike Reilly and a re-energized Taylor Hall.
“I think every year you come in, you want to prove it. It's not just on the ice, it's in the locker room, leadership wise,” Coyle said. “Being more vocal if you aren't already, and bringing some sort of leadership in whatever way, and when you lose a guy like (Krejci), it's not just one person can come in and take responsibility. It's everyone. It's a full-team effort and every guy needs that and that's how that trickle-down effect from the older guys who bring that leadership already — it can't just be them every year.
" It's gotta be new guys stepping up and learning and those guys paved the way for us pretty well. And it's pretty easy to see. And they lay it up for us, how it should be. And that's what we're going to do. So it's not just one guy, I want to be a big part of that, obviously. But it's going to be everyone kind of involved and everyone to take part in that."
And while leadership doesn't always directly correlate with production (David Backes was a key cog in Boston's dressing room, but his decline eventually forced Boston to part ways with a first-round pick just to move his contract), Boston is going to have to rely on a lot more than just the guaranteed production from guys like Bergeron and Marchand if they have any chance of putting together a memorable run in the coming months.
I mean, just go down the list.
If the 2021-22 Bruins have another memorable postseason push on the horizon, they're going to need Charlie McAvoy to continue to anchor Boston's defense — and elevate his game once as a perennial Norris Trophy candidate.
They're going to need Charlie Coyle to step into the vacancy left by Krejci's departure and drive that second line.
They're going to need Jeremy Swayman to prove that last year's ridiculous run (7-3-1, .945 save percentage) wasn't just an aberration.
Brandon Carlo needs to remain healthy — especially with his new six-year, $24.6 million contract kicking in. Jake DeBrusk needs a major rebound as Boston's go-to finisher on the third line.
Trent Frederic needs to carve out a fourth-line role — and impact the game in more ways than just landing haymakers and serving as a thorn in the side of the competition.
The need for everyone to pull in the same direction and for new contributors to emerge with each new season certainly isn't a novel concept — it's to be expected for any team that's realistically looking to put together a strong season.
But for a Bruins franchise finally set to embrace major change and step into an uncertain future, the pressure will be on for the next wave of B's players to take the reins. The results that follow in the coming months will have reverberations that will determine just how long until another golden era arrives for the black and gold.
"We try to bring it out in everyone and come together as a team. Lots of new faces," Bergeron said. "Also, a lot of the same faces as well are coming back. So everyone's taking on that lead and taking on the next step and creating something special together."
Former Bruin Peter McNab named to US Hockey Hall of Fame
One of the stalwarts of the ‘70s-era Lunch Pail Bruins is due to finally receive some well-deserved accolades — as former B’s pivot Peter McNab was named to the US Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021.
The 69-year-old McNab was named to the Hall of Fame alongside former Flyer Paul Holmgren and longtime broadcaster and writer Stan Fischler.
McNab was an offensive conduit for the B’s after Harry Sinden pulled the trigger on a deal to pry him out of Buffalo — with the high-scoring center recording 587 points over 595 games in a black-and-gold sweater. In total, McNab ranks 13th overall in scoring among B’s players — trailing Cam Neely and 12 points ahead of Milt Schmidt.
While McNab and those Lunch Pail Bruins were unable to lift the Cup despite punching their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final in 1977 and 1978 (losing to Montreal both times — along with the infamous “too-many-men-on-the-ice” incident in ‘79), McNabb still has fond memories of his time in Boston.
“It was the greatest time of my life,” McNabb said in a conference call on Thursday. “There’s just no getting around it. It was just one of those things that I’ll never be able to actually describe, the impact it had on me. I got there and I filled a role, but everybody did the same. It was a team. I remember Gerry Cheevers, the first day I’m there, he said to me, ‘How much do you make?’ I told him and he said, ‘Well, here’s where you should live. You don’t want to live here and you don’t want to live here.’ It was a team, and we cared.
"We went three years in a row with probably the most frustrating losses you’d ever have, but as a group, it was so spectacular to be part of it. And over the course of time. I have met more people who lived in New England who loved that team because they had character. They had a personality. They were a special group. And to say that I was a part of it is such an honor. It was so much fun. We maybe had too much fun at times, but I roomed with the same guy the whole time, Rick Middleton, and you couldn’t have a better roommate.”
David Backes calls it a career
A stick tap for David Backes, who called it a career on Thursday after signing a one-day contract and retiring with the St. Louis Blues — the team he played for over 10 seasons.
While his tenure in Boston certainly didn’t work out for all involved, Backes was regularly lauded for serving as a key voice in a B’s dressing room that — while still anchored by franchise stalwarts like Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara and others — welcomed his veteran presence, especially during a time in which youngsters like McAvoy, Pastrnak, DeBrusk and many others were all carving out roles up in the NHL ranks.
We've signed David Backes to a one-day contract.
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) September 9, 2021
Now that @dbackes42 is a Blue again, he has some news to share. #stlblues 👇 https://t.co/9ptjo8uAsj
During his written announcement, Backes reflected on his four-year tenure as a Bruin — which included a run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019.
“My stretch in Boston is something I am so grateful for,” Backes said. “It was an amazing group of men that I was able to play with and grow alongside of. Arriving there and being a complementary piece to the great core that had been there since they won the Stanley Cup in 2011 was an incredible learning experience for me. I learned about leading from the rear and was able to pour into teammates in ways I had never been able to do before. Our remarkable march to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019 was filled with some of the highest highs and lowest lows I have experienced in the game, but I am appreciative of all of them.
“I never thought I would so intimately live the words I said when leaving St Louis: "If the team I was playing on wasn't going to win the Stanley Cup, I hoped it would be the Blues." I found in the latter parts of my time in Boston that you can take something you would never ask for - like being a healthy scratch - and turn it into something good. It was a humbling lesson learned through sport that will permeate through life.”
Local B’s reflect on Jimmy Hayes
The upcoming 2021-22 season might have been the primary topic of discussion during the Bruins’ media availability at Pinehills Golf Club earlier this week, but the first face-to-face interviews between players and the press corps in over a year also offered an opportunity for a few more B’s skaters to offer their thoughts on the passing of former B’s forward and Dorchester native Jimmy Hayes.
The Hayes family has been woven into the fabric of the hockey community in Boston for years, with Charlie Coyle growing up with Jimmy’s younger brother — Flyers pivot Kevin Hayes. Par for the course, wherever Jimmy was, Kevin was close behind.
“Jimmy was awesome,” Coyle said. “Gw up with pretty much with Kevin Hayes. And since we were little, playing against each other, playing with each other, Jimmy was always around, because they were always together. I was at Jimmy's draft (in 2008). We went up there. Me and Kevin, we were playing in a tournament somewhere close. So we went up to the draft, saw him get drafted and go play. … I mean, it's all been said about him — because it's all true, just how positive he was.
“And I worked out with him every day for the last however many years in the summertime. And whenever he came in, the room just brightens. And that's just the kind of guy he was and that's how he'll be remembered. Just a solid, down to earth guy — can talk to anyone and really interested in what you have to say. And just their family as a whole. That's why it's such a shame as a family like that — who are just such good people and to see one of their own go that soon. But he's left his mark on a lot of people and that's why he'll be remembered."
For Charlestown’s Matt Grzelcyk, Hayes stood as one of the first to welcome the young B’s blueliner into Boston’s dressing room when he finally earned his shot up in the NHL ranks.
“It's been a tough few weeks for not only his family, but I think the hockey community as well. I got to know the Hayes family pretty well,” Grzelcyk said. “Me and Jimmy had the same billet family in Ann Arbor. He was a few years ahead of me of course, but I've known them most of my whole life.
“A lot of the family grew up in Charlestown and I think the biggest memory when I reflect on him is actually just my first game. It's pretty special — obviously very nervous to step in the locker room, kind of not really knowing most of the guys but he went out of his way to make me feel really welcome and joke around with me in the hallway — kinda broke the ice a little bit for me and it meant a lot to me. ... He never had a bad day at the rink, no matter what.”
No. 46 overseas
The 2021-22 NHL season doesn’t get underway for at least another month, but a number of leagues over in Europe have already commenced, including the Czech Extraliga.
DAVID KREJCI'S FIRST GOAL FOR OLOMOUC IN EXTRALIGA pic.twitter.com/wqMXIjmcLC
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) September 10, 2021
Methinks David Krejci is going to put up quite the statline with HC Olomouc this season.