Coaching five decades apart, Harry Sinden and Bruce Cassidy...
Cassidy, for his part, has been eager to lean on Sinden for advice.
“We talk hockey and I respect his opinion,” Cassidy said. “He never oversteps his bounds and always answers the phone when I call. It’s been good. Because he’s coached I like talking to him. You talk about coaching a coach, there’s a guy in a roundabout way who has helped me since I’ve been here.”
Cassidy knows how indebted he is to Sinden, who helped create the Bruins culture five decades ago that persists to this day. The team is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1969-70 Sinden-led Stanley Cup team this week with a series of virtual events since the NHL is on hiatus due to COVID-19.
Sinden helmed that rough-and-tumble Stanley Cup squad and was later general manager of the other big, bad Bruins teams of the 1970s. The attitudes pioneered on those groups remained a part of the team culture even after the initial players had moved on, through the presence of players such as Terry O’Reilly, on to Cam Neely, and eventually down to today thanks to the efforts of Zdeno Chara & Co. Sinden sees it as one long continuum, the story of a strong organization that understands and continues to live its history.
“Every year I can remember of the 50 years we’re talking about was an absolute thrill to me,” Sinden said. “If you don’t win 50 Stanley Cups, and only win 49, you’re disappointed, so we didn’t win enough Cups, but we were a tremendous contending team with the players we had through the years.”
Sinden was the coach of the Bruins from 1966 to 1970, and again for two brief stints in 1979-80 and 1984-85, but he may be most remembered for his 28 years as general manager and his 18 as team president. He understands the intense scrutiny that comes with working in Boston. In order to function in that environment, a team needs a strong work ethic and a badass attitude.
That’s Sinden’s philosophy for a winning team.
Cassidy, for his part, has been eager to lean on Sinden for advice.
“We talk hockey and I respect his opinion,” Cassidy said. “He never oversteps his bounds and always answers the phone when I call. It’s been good. Because he’s coached I like talking to him. You talk about coaching a coach, there’s a guy in a roundabout way who has helped me since I’ve been here.”
Cassidy knows how indebted he is to Sinden, who helped create the Bruins culture five decades ago that persists to this day. The team is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1969-70 Sinden-led Stanley Cup team this week with a series of virtual events since the NHL is on hiatus due to COVID-19.
Sinden helmed that rough-and-tumble Stanley Cup squad and was later general manager of the other big, bad Bruins teams of the 1970s. The attitudes pioneered on those groups remained a part of the team culture even after the initial players had moved on, through the presence of players such as Terry O’Reilly, on to Cam Neely, and eventually down to today thanks to the efforts of Zdeno Chara & Co. Sinden sees it as one long continuum, the story of a strong organization that understands and continues to live its history.
“Every year I can remember of the 50 years we’re talking about was an absolute thrill to me,” Sinden said. “If you don’t win 50 Stanley Cups, and only win 49, you’re disappointed, so we didn’t win enough Cups, but we were a tremendous contending team with the players we had through the years.”
Sinden was the coach of the Bruins from 1966 to 1970, and again for two brief stints in 1979-80 and 1984-85, but he may be most remembered for his 28 years as general manager and his 18 as team president. He understands the intense scrutiny that comes with working in Boston. In order to function in that environment, a team needs a strong work ethic and a badass attitude.
That’s Sinden’s philosophy for a winning team.
