The Bruins historian emeritus takes a hard look at his beloved Bruins and writes like only he can.
Let’s lay out the issues the dysfunctional Bruins face
Let’s lay out the issues the dysfunctional Bruins face
An assessment of where the local pets, the ever-dogged Bruins, stand in the midst of this rumble is thereby obliged. But fair warning: It’s not pretty.
Another caveat! One admits a certain partiality to this team. I saw my first Bruins game in the company of Ace Booth in the memorably harsh winter of 1948-49. We had to trudge down from Arlington Heights, which seemed almost alpine to an undersized ten year old, to catch the trolley and then the subway out of Harvard Square. High adventure for the times. Forget what team they played but seem to recall a couple of kids, Paul Ronty and Johnny Pierson, catching my fancy. Ronty scored the winning goal and when they later dumped him on the Rangers, I was briefly unforgiving.
But it has never been possible to stay mad at the Bruins long. While far from the region’s loudest, richest, most dramatic, or compelling act, they have always seemed the most earnest and amiable.