It’s not controversial to call Bobby Orr the greatest Bruin of them all.
But who goes next when picking an all-time Bruins roster? And who gets taken after that? The answers are not so clear.
There were debates and barbs aplenty when the Globe brought together its hockey savants for a four-team, all-time Bruins draft. Joining me were NHL writer Kevin Paul Dupont, assistant sports editor Jim Hoban, and columnist Tara Sullivan.
Eligible players had to have spent at least two seasons in Boston and were selected based on what they did in a Bruins sweater (so Brian Leetch and Paul Coffey went undrafted). Players also were judged according to the era in which they played, so fear not in taking a goalie who had never seen a mask.
Each person drafted three forward lines, three pairs of defensemen, one goalie, and a coach, with an eye on potential chemistry and playing style. We held a “snake” draft, meaning the person with the last pick of the first round had the first pick of the second round, and so on.
» All-time Celtics draft: See how our staff crafted their teams
The final word on our teams went to Bruins president Cam Neely, who evaluated our rosters (including one that had him on the top line). The identities of the “general managers” were not revealed to him until the end, when he was asked to pick a winner.
Rene Rancourt just sang the anthem and threw down four fist pumps, so here are the teams, and each GM’s rationale. I won the lottery and was awarded the first pick. It was the easiest call I made.
Lines
Johnny Bucyk-Bill Cowley-David Pastrnak
Wayne Cashman-Jean Ratelle-Ken Hodge
Peter McNab-Ken Linseman-Shawn Thornton
Dallas Smith-Bobby Orr
Leo Boivin-Brad Park
Bill Quackenbush-Glen Wesley
Tim Thomas
Coach: Bruce Cassidy
Peak Bobby Orr will do so much for this squad. Can you imagine pairing him with Hall of Famer Brad Park, who was still elite when he arrived here in 1975? Frightening. Our power play, with those two at the point, slick Jean Ratelle dishing to David Pastrnak, and Johnny Bucyk boxing out for rebounds, might be unstoppable.
Though I missed out on some of the more well-known centers, I’m plenty happy having Hall of Famer Bill Cowley — two-time MVP, two Stanley Cups, retired in 1947 as the NHL’s all-time leading scorer — centering my No. 1 line. Ratelle, another Hall of Famer, was an outstanding value pick in the 10th round, and should work beautifully with Cashman and Ken Hodge. No one will want to play against my third line. Thornton has the pulse of the room, and a few punches for any opponent who deserves them.
Orr and Park have defensive-minded, hard-hitting partners, and Wesley should pile up points on this roster. In my fantasy world, his backhanders will always land south of the crossbar.
My coach, Bruce Cassidy, will have them playing an up-tempo style. When things break down, I have Thomas, the two-time Vezina winner, to make a bail-out save every so often.
Neely’s take: “Some great offensive guys there. Maybe not quite as strong defensively, but Ratty is a great two-way forward, same with Cash. Shawn is going to add some toughness. Kenny Linseman, solid offensive centerman who’s going to help win draws in the defensive zone. Back end, you’ve got Bobby Orr and Brad Park? I mean, come on. Great offense on the back end. Great specialty teams. Then some guys like Wesley who can do both offensively and defensively, and Boivin and Smith are more shutdown D. Obviously a very good goaltender and a solid coach.”
Lines
Milan Lucic-Adam Oates-Mark Recchi
Al Secord-Marc Savard-Tommy Williams
Joe Thornton-Milt Schmidt-Eddie Westfall
Ray Bourque-Don Sweeney
Ted Green-Allan Stanley
Johnny Boychuk-Garry Galley
Gerry Cheevers
Coach: Harry Sinden
What’s not to like about any of these teams?
My Black-and-Gold squad emphasizes strength down the middle with three guys — Adam Oates, Marc Savard, and Milt Schmidt — who can drive lines as superb playmakers. And a fourth, Joe Thornton, will line up on Schmidt’s left side. Jumbo will use his shot more than ever. If he is reluctant, Schmidt is the guy who will make him use that shot more than ever.
Milan Lucic and Al Secord, both cut from the same bolt of steel, were fierce and productive scorers at their peak. Secord, a.k.a. Rocky, logged his best years with the Blackhawks (three seasons of 40 goals or more) and rolled up 2,093 PIMS (a mere minor short of Terry O’Reilly’s 2,095). He’ll have Savvy dishing to him just like Denis Savard did in Chicago in the other Savvy’s spin-o-rama days.
Looch gets first crack at riding with Adam Oates (1,079 career assists). If it doesn’t work, he can flip spots with Thornton.
The right side has Mark Recchi, Tommy Williams, and Steady Eddie Westfall, the trusted defensive specialist who was on the ice for Bobby Orr’s famed Flying Bobby goal that clinched the Cup in ’70. Recchi (577 career goals) is the scorer in the bunch. Williams, one of the few US players in his era, never put up big numbers, but he was reliable and a magnificent skater.
Ray Bourque is the most productive defenseman in NHL history (1,579 points) and gets to pair again with Don Sweeney. The No. 2 pairing is headed by the rock-solid Ted Green, who’ll be out there with Hall of Famer Allan Stanley, who played two years here in the late ’50s and then enjoyed a great 10-year run in Toronto, where he put his name on the Cup four times.
Meanwhile, that’s one engaging No. 3 pairing in Johnny Boychuk and Garry Galley, versatile with some punch.
Gerry Cheevers, who just turned 81, was among the game’s top money goaltenders — the guy you want in the biggest games. He backboned the Cup wins in ’70 and ’72.
Finally, Harry Sinden’s time behind the bench was relatively short (four seasons), and sure, he was blessed with the arrival of Orr, but he was a superb motivator and deft tactician. Often forgotten here because he moved on briefly after the win in ’70: He coached the ’72 Team Canada squad to its legendary win over Russia in the famed Summit Series.
Neely’s take: “You’ve got a couple of guys who will intimidate people on the left side there, some good centermen. You’ve got Thornton on the wing, primarily a centerman, but you get all kinds of offense out of him. Same with Recchi. Then Eddie and Milt, who are 200-feet guys. I can’t speak to Williams all that well. And then a solid back end there, and a really good goaltender. And everything I heard about Harry, he was a very good coach.”
Lines
Rick Middleton-Phil Esposito-Barry Pederson
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Bobby Bauer
Don Marcotte-Steve Kasper-Johnny McKenzie
Eddie Shore-Dit Clapper
Gord Kluzak-Charlie McAvoy
Don Awrey-Michael Thelven
Frank Brimsek
Coach: Art Ross
I have six Hall of Famers (including Art Ross, my coach), one Art Ross scoring champ (Phil Esposito, who won it five times), and four of my Bruins have their numbers hanging in the Garden rafters.
I constructed a team of scoring and checking lines. When I sat down to put the lines together, I realized I had two of the great 1-2 combinations in Bruins history: Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, and Rick Middleton and Barry Pederson. So I adjusted my lines accordingly.
I had a simple philosophy in building the team: pick the goalie and coach last. With only four of each getting selected, I figured I’d get a good one even with my final picks, so I built the top lines first.
“Jesus saves, but Espo scores on the rebound.” Those were the Big Bad Bruins, the teams of my youth. Putting Esposito with “Nifty” and Pederson is intriguing. Espo was one of the great goal-scoring centers in history, and Pederson, a natural center, would have to switch to wing alongside Middleton. In the early 1980s, Nifty and Pederson were the Bruins’ offense.
The second line was obvious: Patrice Bergeron centering Brad Marchand, and Bobby Bauer of the famed Kraut Line on the other wing. The opposition might not be able to get out of its end against this formidable trio.
The checking line was easy: Steve Kasper shadowed the best centers of his day, and that included Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. Don Marcotte was one of the best penalty killers of his era, and Pie McKenzie would make sure the Bruins were shorthanded quite a bit.
On defense, Eddie Shore and Dit Clapper are Hall of Famers. Give me the best of pre-injured Gord Kluzak and I have a mountain of a defenseman. Charlie McAvoy is a reach on my end; I drafted on potential rather than production.
In the final pairing, I have the underrated Michael Thelven, a fine puck mover, on the right side, and left shot Don Awrey on the other side. I can still hear former Bruins play-by-play man Don Earle saying, “Blocked by Awrey.”
I had some nice choices by the time I got around to picking the goaltender, and I went with Mr. Zero, Frank Brimsek, over Tiny Thompson.
My coach is Art Ross, who won two Stanley Cups with the Bruins, their first two (1929 and 1939).
Had we drafted a fourth line, Stan Jonathan surely would have been on mine.
Neely’s take: “All kinds of offense, probably a really good power play, two great penalty killers — maybe two or three or four or five on the forward group. I think it’s got some depth as far as scoring, some depth as far as defensive, special teams, penalty killing. On the back end, you’re going to have some guys who can move the puck, some guys who are good at shutting things down. And a solid goaltender, and a great coach.”
Lines
Cam Neely-Tyler Seguin-Glen Murray
Keith Crowder-Derek Sanderson-Fred Stanfield
Woody Dumart-David Krejci-Terry O’Reilly
Zdeno Chara-Torey Krug
Lionel Hitchman-Tom Johnson
Dennis Seidenberg-Gary Doak
Tuukka Rask
Coach: Claude Julien
A quick review of my all-time Bruins team reveals a few things about my thought process: I own up to some recency bias, I don’t mind a player who mixes it up a bit, and I built my team from back to front.
Well, except for Cam Neely, of course. With the fourth pick of a four-team draft, Neely was the obvious choice after fellow all-timers named Orr, Bourque, and Esposito, and with 344 goals and 590 points in 10 seasons in Boston, I’ll start with that Hall of Fame foundation.
But it was with my next two picks that the recent Bruins’ success won out, with Zdeno Chara my choice to anchor the defense and Tuukka Rask in goal, a choice I felt particularly strong about after my colleague Kevin Dupont took Gerry Cheevers two picks earlier. Rask may be polarizing, but he’s a great goalie. And throw in Torey Krug, who delivered one of the best open-ice hits I’ve ever seen during the 2019 playoff run.
For me, Chara has it all — tough enough to play with a broken jaw, strong enough to kill off penalties, and feisty enough to spend some time in the box too. Just don’t expect him to be on the ice at the same time as my fourth pick Terry O’Reilly, the B’s all-time leader in penalty minutes (Chara is sixth).
Neely’s take: “That top line … three righties, and Muzz and I are going to be fighting over who’s going to shoot the puck. A lot of offense there with that top line. You’ve got some toughness there, with Crowder and certainly O’Reilly. Sanderson and Krejci, 200-foot players who can create offensively and can kill penalties. From a specialty teams standpoint, adding Torey and Zdeno and that back end, Seidenberg and Hitchman and TJ and Gary Doak, and of course a great goaltender and a very good coach.”
So what’s the verdict here? Who wins a seven-game series?
Neely originally went with Team Sullivan — “just because I’m on it,” he said — but ultimately pleaded the fifth.
“It’s tough to say. There are so many good players, good forwards, defenders, goalies, coaches. That’s the beauty of having 90-plus years as a franchise.”
So, let’s leave it up to the Gallery Gods.
Everyone in their Black-and-Gold primes, who wins a seven-game series?
Matt Porter can be reached at matthew.porter@globe.com. Follow him on BlueSky at mattyports.bsky.social.