The Athletic - Boston Bruins team of the decade: Few franchises could match this consistency

Fenway

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Bruins team of the decade: Few franchises could match this...
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First line Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak

Second line Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton

Third line Loui Eriksson-Chris Kelly-Tyler Seguin

Fourth line Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Defense: First pairing Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg

Defense: Second pairing Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk

Defense: Third pairing Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid

Goaltenders Tim Thomas - Tuukka Rask

Three toughest cuts Mark Recchi - Charlie McAvoy - Jarome Iginla

Coach Claude Julien


 
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JCRO

At least I'm safe inside my mind
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Mar 8, 2011
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I'll agree with everything besides McQuaid over Charlie?

That's a head scratcher. No disrespect to McQuaid and everything he did for this organization.. But Charlie has been playing top 4/2 pairing minutes since he entered the league.
 

Aeroforce

Registered User
Apr 28, 2012
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You can see the glass as half full, half empty, or for what it is - half a glass of water.

As a fan, sure it's been a fun decade.

Maybe when the core players are all retired my attitude will be different. But right now it feels like a bit of a disappointment. Of course one Cup is better than none, and lots of other fan bases would agree.

But it's like a owning a stock that may have made you some money, but should've earned a lot more.
 

LouJersey

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Jun 29, 2002
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You can see the glass as half full, half empty, or for what it is - half a glass of water.

As a fan, sure it's been a fun decade.

Maybe when the core players are all retired my attitude will be different. But right now it feels like a bit of a disappointment. Of course one Cup is better than none, and lots of other fan bases would agree.

But it's like a owning a stock that may have made you some money, but should've earned a lot more.

I fully expected a loss to Chicago for whatever reason, but losing this one was killer. Overall though it's been a great ride and not over yet
 

BigBadBruins7708

Registered User
Dec 11, 2017
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You can see the glass as half full, half empty, or for what it is - half a glass of water.

As a fan, sure it's been a fun decade.

Maybe when the core players are all retired my attitude will be different. But right now it feels like a bit of a disappointment. Of course one Cup is better than none, and lots of other fan bases would agree.

But it's like a owning a stock that may have made you some money, but should've earned a lot more.

Damn Iginla being a diva in 2013 cost them that Cup

If he doesn't pull the deadline stunt and comes here there's no doubt the Bruins win it.

1st you're swapping out Iginla for Jagr

2nd Horton is healthy as he doesnt get his shoulder injured by Iginla in a fight
 

TD Charlie

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Sep 10, 2007
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The Bruins should have at least one more Stanley Cup victory to show for all that success.

And Chris Kelly as the third-line center on the "team of the decade"?!

Honestly, yes. Chris Kelly in the 2011 run put up 13 points. By comparison, Coyle just tallied 16 with 1 less game. Factor in the pk, the leadership, the trust factor, and him being an animal with the cage on

Yes. I absolutely take Chris Kelly as the third line center.

Ignore everything after June 2011. It got ugly quick.
 
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Aeroforce

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I fully expected a loss to Chicago for whatever reason, but losing this one was killer. Overall though it's been a great ride and not over yet
I think it was you that made the comparison to the '86 Mets in another thread. That is a very good comparison.

The B's defense was solid against Carolina without Chara. But I wasn't that impressed with the Canes.

Chara's inevitable retirement will be a loss.

And I don't know how effective Bergeron will be deeper into his thirties.

I'm not totally convinced the B's best days are behind them. But I won't be surprised if that proves to be the case.
 
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DarrenBanks56

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May 16, 2005
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shouldve also won in 09, 13 and 14, and of course this past year being the most obvious.
2013 wouldve been a nice upset Championship win. Once again we had a team down 2-1 in a Cup finals and blew it away.
 
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LouJersey

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I think it was you that made the comparison to the '86 Mets in another thread. That is a very good comparison.

The B's defense was solid against Carolina without Chara. But I wasn't that impressed with the Canes.

Chara's inevitable retirement will be a loss.

And I don't know how effective Bergeron will be deeper into his thirties.

I'm not totally convinced the B's best days are behind them. But I won't be surprised if that proves to be the case.

Yes, they remind me of that....Some great times, but sadly fell short of what I think they were capable of. Funny thing is, if baseball had the wildcard back then I think someone figured it out they would have been in the play-offs like ten straight years or whatever... from 84-90 they averaged 96 wins and only made the play-offs twice.
 

DarrenBanks56

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May 16, 2005
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I also just noticed 3 series that we blew, that we coudlve won (Carolina 09 Chi 13 and Stl 19)
all previous rounds we swept. So these long layoffs and playoff sweeps should be avoided I guess. lol.
 

Clint Eastwood

Eff the Habs
Nov 11, 2018
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I'm grateful for what this team has done although I'm a rather newer fan so I never saw the cup run in person (which makes the finals loss worse), but the big picture is that very few teams can match the success we've had. Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Los Angeles are probably the big 3 that come to my mind.
 

LouJersey

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Not sure of the ages of most people here but I have been a fan since '77 ish.

I'll start w the 80's

80's- lost 2 cups--first round 5 times, lost in rd 2 once, lost in the ECF...- 9 series won
90's- lost 2 ECF, first round 4 times, lost in rd 2 once, DNQ twice---- 5 series won
00's- DNQ 3 times, first round 4 times, lost in round 2 twice ---- 2 series won
10's- 1 SC win.. 2 SC losses.. 2 DNQ..first round 2 times...lost in round 2 twice--- 12 series won.

So for me, they won 16 series in 30 years......then 12 this past decade...and still have a year...so enjoy it
 

Aeroforce

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Yes, they remind me of that....Some great times, but sadly fell short of what I think they were capable of. Funny thing is, if baseball had the wildcard back then I think someone figured it out they would have been in the play-offs like ten straight years or whatever... from 84-90 they averaged 96 wins and only made the play-offs twice.
Then they could be like the Atlanta Braves.;)

I actually forgot about those Braves teams, but only one World Series for that core has to be considered a disappointment.
 

Fenway

HF Bookie and Bruins Historian
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Then they could be like the Atlanta Braves.;)

I actually forgot about those Braves teams, but only one World Series for that core has to be considered a disappointment.

The American League has been a stronger league the past 25 years
 

Dennis Bonvie

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Dec 29, 2007
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Bruins team of the decade: Few franchises could match this...
[
View attachment 248505


First line Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak

Second line Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton

Third line Loui Eriksson-Chris Kelly-Tyler Seguin

Fourth line Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Defense: First pairing Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg

Defense: Second pairing Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk

Defense: Third pairing Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid

Goaltenders Tim Thomas - Tuukka Rask

Three toughest cuts Mark Recchi - Charlie McAvoy - Jarome Iginla

Coach Claude Julien



They were consistently good through the 70's and 80's (and early 90's) also.
 

McGarnagle

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Aug 5, 2017
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That team was so loaded it wasn't funny. Yet they only won that one Series. Head scratcher for sure.

The Braves always had a hole in the lineup from the middle infield (especially Mark Lemke), but honestly that team either had horrible luck or a propensity to choke. In 1991, 1992, and 1996 all their losses were incredibly close, including some blown saves or just flukish out of nowhere homeruns allowed (Sprague in 92, Leyritz in 96) that if they went the other way change the entire series.
 
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rfournier103

Black & Gold ‘till I’m Dead & Cold.
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Not sure of the ages of most people here but I have been a fan since '77 ish.

I'll start w the 80's

80's- lost 2 cups--first round 5 times, lost in rd 2 once, lost in the ECF...- 9 series won
90's- lost 2 ECF, first round 4 times, lost in rd 2 once, DNQ twice---- 5 series won
00's- DNQ 3 times, first round 4 times, lost in round 2 twice ---- 2 series won
10's- 1 SC win.. 2 SC losses.. 2 DNQ..first round 2 times...lost in round 2 twice--- 12 series won.

So for me, they won 16 series in 30 years......then 12 this past decade...and still have a year...so enjoy it

Been a fan since ‘87.

I love the legwork you did here, Lou.

Yes, this decade is far and away the best that I’ve ever seen, and the second best decade in Bruins history. Despite the disappointments, they’ve had great players, and been in the thick of it pretty much the whole time.

I’m too young to remember the 1970s Bruins, so this present decade and the Stanley Cup win in 2011 is the golden age of Bruins hockey to me - as it is to pretty much anyone under 55.

What I want is for the next decade to be even better. With the resources at the disposal of the Jacobs family (no salary cap on coaches; scouts; or development) improvement IS attainable.

Looking forward to a strong season.
 

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