Boston Bruins

About the Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins were founded in 1924 and are the oldest United States-based franchise in the NHL. Boston was the league's first American expansion team and played its inaugural NHL season in 1924-25.

The Bruins later became one of the teams associated with the NHL's “Original Six” era. From 1942-43 through 1966-67, the NHL consisted of Boston, the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs.

More than a century after their founding, the Bruins remain one of the NHL's most historic franchises, with generations of notable players and six Stanley Cup championships.

Division History

The Bruins are members of the Eastern Conference and currently compete in the Atlantic Division.

Boston has played in several divisions during its long history as the NHL has expanded and reorganized. The Bruins were part of the Adams Division from 1974 until 1993 before joining the Northeast Division following league realignment.

Another NHL realignment in 2013 placed Boston in the Atlantic Division, alongside several of its traditional rivals. The Atlantic is one of two divisions in the Eastern Conference.

Championship History

Boston won its first Stanley Cup in 1929, just five years after joining the NHL. The Bruins added championships in 1939 and 1941 before another highly successful period produced Stanley Cups in 1970 and 1972.

It would then take 39 years for Boston to lift the Cup again. The Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks in seven games in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, winning Game 7 in Vancouver to secure the sixth championship in franchise history.

The Bruins have also come close on several occasions since that victory. Boston returned to the Stanley Cup Final in 2013, losing to the Chicago Blackhawks, and again in 2019, when the St. Louis Blues defeated the Bruins in seven games.

Boston produced one of the greatest regular seasons in NHL history in 2022-23. The Bruins finished 65-12-5 with 135 points, setting league records at the time for both wins and points in a single season. Despite that historic regular season, Boston was eliminated by the Florida Panthers in the opening round of the playoffs.

The Bruins' Home

The Bruins play their home games at TD Garden in Boston.

The arena opened in 1995 as the replacement for the original Boston Garden, which had served as the Bruins' home since 1928. The new building was originally known as the FleetCenter before later becoming TD Garden.

TD Garden has a hockey capacity of 18,258 and is also home to the NBA's Boston Celtics. The arena sits on Causeway Street, close to the site of the old Boston Garden.

Before moving into Boston Garden in 1928, the Bruins played their first four NHL seasons at Boston Arena, which is now known as Matthews Arena.

Notable Bruins

Few players have had a greater impact on the Bruins or the NHL than Bobby Orr.

Orr transformed the role of the defenseman with his skating and offensive ability. He remains the only defenseman in NHL history to win the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer, accomplishing the feat twice. During the 1969-70 season, Orr won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman, the Hart Trophy as league MVP, the Art Ross Trophy and the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. He also scored the famous overtime goal that clinched Boston's 1970 Stanley Cup.

Orr won a record eight consecutive Norris Trophies and helped the Bruins win Stanley Cups in both 1970 and 1972.

Phil Esposito was another central figure during Boston's dominant years in the late 1960s and 1970s. He became the first player in NHL history to score 100 points in a season and won five Art Ross Trophies during his time with the Bruins. Esposito recorded 1,012 points for Boston and remains one of the leading scorers in franchise history.

Ray Bourque holds the Bruins' career records for games played, assists and points. The Hall of Fame defenseman recorded 1,506 points in 1,518 regular-season games for Boston and won the Norris Trophy five times. Bourque also served as Bruins captain for 15 seasons before being traded to the Colorado Avalanche in 2000.

Johnny Bucyk is another of the franchise's greatest players. He spent 21 seasons with Boston and remains the Bruins' all-time leader in goals with 545. Bucyk was part of the Stanley Cup-winning teams in 1970 and 1972.

Other prominent Bruins across different eras include Eddie Shore, Milt Schmidt, Gerry Cheevers, Cam Neely, Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak.