Young and old, an unbreakable bond
Johnny Bucyk made a slow, deliberate red carpet entrance to the Fairmont Copley Plaza Thursday evening, his 88-yearold legs taking all the time they needed to get to a party 100 years in the making.
Not much later, Matthew Poitras made the same walk through the lobby of Boston’s swanky hotel, his 19-yearold legs all but bouncing their way to the registration table.
Separated by 69 years in age; bonded by 100 years of black and gold. Links in the same chain, one established 100 years ago when the Bruins, led by grocery store magnate Charles Adams, became the third of the National Hockey League’s Original Six teams.
From the past to the present, from the old to the young, many of those once and former Bruins gathered to celebrate a historic milestone for the franchise, their black-tie Centennial Gala turning the corner of St. James Avenue into a night of unforgettable glamor and history.
“I’m proud to be a Bruin, I’ve always been a Bruin, and I’ll be a Bruin for a long time to come, I hope,” Bucyk said.
What a beautiful sentiment. And what a wonderful cause to celebrate. A hundred years? That’s a lot to be proud of, not simply for staying in business, but for staying in one place, for connecting with a community that bleeds black and gold, for rewarding the most loyal of loyal fan bases with six Stanley Cups and dozens of Hall of Fame players. From the immortalized form of No. 4 Bobby Orr soaring through the Stanley Cup night to the towering frame of Zdeno Chara gritting through a wired-shut jaw, the Bruins built a brand on toughness and grit, the blue collar ethos of their local followers never far from their hearts.
They matter.
In all the best ways sports matter, the Bruins have always honored the grip they have on those fans, aware of its power and meaning, protective of keeping it solid. Across generations connected by season tickets and gameday rituals, a partnership was born, unshaken even as the sports world around it changes. There is nothing so constant in life as change, and sports is not immune. So much of it can feel transitory — the onset of free agency moved players around, the expansion of leagues changed longstanding rivalries, the relocation of some franchises left fans behind, the dissolution of others left fans bereft. From conference realignments to changing playoff brackets, it’s as if some teams all but begged us to change allegiances.
But not the Bruins. That Spoked B means something special.
“It’s a huge honor,” Chara said. “There is nothing like being part of an Original Six franchise. As soon as you join the organization you are connected with hundreds and hundreds of ones that were there before you. And they paved the road for many of us to be part of it.
“It’s an unbelievable honor and I’m privileged to be walking in the same hallways or locker rooms and put in the same crest on the jersey that they wore for many, many years. It’s hard to really put it into words but it’s something that whatever age you are, you’re going to look back and remember being part of.
“Personally, the interactions, that’s what is priceless. You don’t get to sit next to Bobby Orr or Johnny Bucyk, whoever, Phil Esposito, every day. So when we do see each other it’s very unique and you have to soak it in.
Those are legends and they did so much for the organization, for the sport, for the game, for the city that it keeps you very aware how special it is to be part of that.”
And so the generations mixed and mingled Thursday, dates and family members sharing hugs, handshakes, and smiles, the glitz and glitter of their high-fashion outfits making it feel like a night at the Oscars. Like the pregame ceremony before the team’s openingnight win over Chicago on Wednesday to the weeklong welcoming of past players and greats (including the 20 named to the franchise’s All-Centennial team Thursday), the specialness of the moment was lost on no one.
“You’re meeting guys you haven’t seen in years, from different eras, I mean Eddie Shore’s son is here. It’s just really a great time,” Gerry Cheevers marveled. “A hundred years of memories, right?”
Charlie Coyle, pride of Weymouth, was on the ice Wednesday next to Trent Frederic, the two of them keeping their jaws from dropping to the ice as they applauded the introductions of grandchildren of former Bruins who were older than they are.
“It is a hundred percent important for that reason — this has remained for 100 years,” Coyle said. “How many teams have done that? That’s pretty special for an organization to be able to do that. So much great history. It gives you chills really. So many great moments. To be a part of that, celebrate that, be a part of the team this year, you feel very lucky.”
This year’s team would like nothing more than to honor those 100 years with another Stanley Cup. But one thing you can be sure of — they wouldn’t want to go back in time and play that old brand of hockey.
“I probably would have played one game and got just demolished and I’d be done,” laughed Brad Marchand. “Those guys were a whole different type of tough. They played the game a whole different way. I can’t imagine. You see them walking around bad hips and knees and it’s just because they demolished their bodies. But it was fun hockey to watch.”
Mutual appreciation, mutual love, like links in a chain, bonded forever.
As Coyle put it: “Here’s to the next 100 years.”