Bruins History: One-Hit Wonders

[BruinDust]

Iafrate was on one knee by then but if memory serves
me had a huge impact in the Montreal series. Think he scored two goals in Montreal when Boston was facing elimination.

Iafrate like Krug grew up in Livonia, Mi. Another
famous Boston athlete named Bernie Carbo grew
up there.

Michigan guys have been good to Boston as Tim Thomas
grew up in Michigan. Ex Red Sox pitcher Derek Lowe
did also.

I remember getting the Hockey News yearbook that summer (1994) and they had the Boston D-corps tied for the highest rating with two other teams (I forget who they were, might of been Rangers and Devils). Bourque, Sweeney, Wesley and Iafrate would of been a heck of a top 4 D.

What I didn't get was Iafrate's injuries were so bad (back and knee) that he missed two full seasons. Did the Bruins know about this when they made the deal to move Juneau? I don't recall him getting hurt in the playoffs, so I can only assume he had issues when he was acquired. It just seemed bizzare? Did Sinden really want to get rid of Juneau that badly that he would take the chance on an Iafrate coming in with injury concerns.

 

[ODAAT]

I had high hopes for Joe, and they weren’t met. But that’s me.

He was, of course, treated shabbily by Sinden.

If he’s a good person, good luck to him.

Me too, was a player who I think could have done more with all the tools he had but I also think Joe was meant for more meaningful things, not so sure he was "all in" on NHL lifestyle, wasn`t his thing

 

[ed bruin]

I vaguely remember him playing for the Bs but my father was a big of his after we traded for him. Rick Tocchet, according to my father, just an animal for the Bruins and I sorta remember him playing for us. It just stinks because his second season was just a disastrous year for the Bs, we were really bad and that lead to him being traded

 

[BruinDust]

Jarome Iginla.

Cuz cap space

Listening to Iggy the other day when he got word of his HOF induction, I wondered if regretted not sticking around Boston on 1-year deals rather than taking the guaranteed 3-year deal in Colorado. He didn't see much in the way of individual or team success there, whereas I think he would of been a nice fit in Boston in 2015 and 2016 given the leadership, style and structure of the organization/team.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

Listening to Iggy the other day when he got word of his HOF induction, I wondered if regretted not sticking around Boston on 1-year deals rather than taking the guaranteed 3-year deal in Colorado. He didn't see much in the way of individual or team success there, whereas I think he would of been a nice fit in Boston in 2015 and 2016 given the leadership, style and structure of the organization/team.

Iginla himself was burned out. I truly wasn’t very impressed with his time in Boston and he obviously didn’t do much of anything prior.

If you look at it solely from his perspective- would Boston have been better for him? Good chance. Was that a good top line or even top 6 solution for Boston? Not in my opinion.

 

[BruinDust]

Iginla himself was burned out. I truly wasn’t very impressed with his time in Boston and he obviously didn’t do much of anything prior.

If you look at it solely from his perspective- would Boston have been better for him? Good chance. Was that a good top line or even top 6 solution for Boston? Not in my opinion.

He scored 30 goals as a Bruin, popped 29 with Colorado the next year. Most NHL teams like 30 goal scorers. Top line? Was he playing with Marchand-Bergeron? No, he was a good complimentary piece of a good 2nd line with Lucic-Krejci.

Give that 2015 Bruins team Iggy's 29 he scored in Colorado, or that 2016 Bruins team the 22 he scored the following year, and both of those Bruins teams make the playoffs given that both missed out by a very small margin and were here looking at 13 consecutive playoff appearances.

 

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

One moment wonder. Matt Fraser.

Don't think I've really ever heard his name uttered anywhere around the league since.

 

[BlackFrancis]

He scored 30 goals as a Bruin, popped 29 with Colorado the next year. Most NHL teams like 30 goal scorers. Top line? Was he playing with Marchand-Bergeron? No, he was a good complimentary piece of a good 2nd line with Lucic-Krejci.

Give that 2015 Bruins team Iggy's 29 he scored in Colorado, or that 2016 Bruins team the 22 he scored the following year, and both of those Bruins teams make the playoffs given that both missed out by a very small margin and were here looking at 13 consecutive playoff appearances.

Iginla was about 60% for us, compared with what he was in the past, but that was still better than Nathan Horton.

I'd have welcomed him back, but those cap overages would have kept haunting the club every summer. Even worse, it might have bought Chia an extra season or two.

 

[aguineapig]

Long Beach native Ralph Barahona rode in on a wave and made his B's debut February 3rd, 1991. Scored twice in the third period in a 6-3 win over the Pens. Donning the Number 37, they would be the only goals he would score in the NHL. In goal that night for Boston was former Michigan State goalie Norm Foster. He appeared in three games that season with a 2-1 record before taking the Express to Edmonton the next season.

 

[LSCII]

I'll throw in a local boy for consideration: John Carter. Thoughts?

 

[Dicky113]

I distinctly remember a 10-20 game span where fans had hope that Petr Tenkrat was going to be a consistent NHL player for the Bruins.

If by “fans” you mean Dave Lewis and by “10-20 games” you mean two seasons, then yes I remember this.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

If by “fans” you mean Dave Lewis and by “10-20 games” you mean two seasons, then yes I remember this.

Fans were more hopeful for Tenkrat than Lewis’s main binky Mark Mowers.

Also, Tenkrat did not play in Boston for two seasons.

 

[McGarnagle]

Listening to Iggy the other day when he got word of his HOF induction, I wondered if regretted not sticking around Boston on 1-year deals rather than taking the guaranteed 3-year deal in Colorado. He didn't see much in the way of individual or team success there, whereas I think he would of been a nice fit in Boston in 2015 and 2016 given the leadership, style and structure of the organization/team.

Iginla was very good here and meshed with Krejci and Lucic very well. He was actually one of the few Bruins forwards who had a good playoff run in 2014. The only problem with him being here was that Chiarelli was playing a shell game with the cap and destroying our future to sign him on a bonus-laden contract. Put us in cap jail, made us have to trade Boychuk, then it all went to hell.

In retrospect, he probably would've found more team and individual success by staying in Boston, but in 2014 the Avs had just had a surprise first place finish under a new coach who brought an exciting form of hockey back to Colorado, the team had a core of young superstars in Duchene, Landeskog, O'Reilly, and MacKinnon. In the summer of 2014, that franchise probably looked like the future of hockey, the next Blackhawks. I don't know exactly how it all fell apart, whether the league caught up to whatever Patrick Roy was doing, or he just lost the room or internal locker room issues tore them apart, but how the same team plus a thirty-goal scorer and veteran leader went from division champs to dead last, I don't know.

If he stayed in Boston, they would've had to clear even more money or kicked the can down the road another year with the bonus cushion. I think the major reason the 2015 team faltered was how they didn't replace Iggy and then Krejci missed half the year with a hip injury, leaving Lucic as the only actual 2nd liner they had - and he was not motivated to play with Seth Griffith, Soderberg, Kelly, and the other rotating door of centers and wingers he got. Then his age started showing. If Iginla was there on the right wing, maybe he at least would've kept Looch accountable and they would've had a productive 2nd line despite Krejci's absence. They at least make the playoffs, and Chia doesn't have to panic trade for Brett Connolly in a vain attempt to save his job, maybe we pick up a defenseman at the deadline to replace Boychuk. Who knows...

 

[Ludwig Fell Down]

I'll throw in a local boy for consideration: John Carter. Thoughts?

I remember bumping into Carter at Daisy Buchanan's right before camp opened in 1991. He wasn't exactly in game shape, and we were having a good laugh about it. He played in a couple of Bruins Alumni games in the past few years for my son's program. He is still a super guy and fun to have a beer with. I also believe when he was first called up from RPI, he wore #8, just before Neely came to town.