Please Share!
By Wayne Whittaker, Boston Bruins Correspondent
It really doesn’t feel like eight years have passed since the last time the league owners and players association sat on opposite ends of a table, both refusing to blink. But here we are, just as many feared, facing the prospect of yet another NHL lockout. If you’re a Bruins fan, however, you can take solace in the fact that when your team returns to the ice, it will be a product worth watching.
The same could not be said in 2004.
Victims Of Impending Lockout Celebrate Playoff Game in Boston (Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE)
In 2003-2004, Joe Thornton was the 20th captain in Bruins history. Andrew Raycroft, on his way to a Calder Trophy, was considered to be the “goaltender of the future” for the Boston franchise. The Bruins won the Northeast Division, and were awarded the 2nd seed heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
In Round One they faced a Montreal Canadiens team coached by Claude Julien, whom they defeated three times in their first four contests, only to drop the next three consecutive games (including a 2-0 shutout in Game 7 in Boston) bowing out of the tournament empty-handed for the 31st consecutive year.
In the following offseason and subsequent lockout, Boston looked to regroup while also attempting to build and adapt under the rules and style of the “new league”. However, they greatly misjudged the way the game would be played and managed. Instead of building off youth (including newly drafted David Krejci), they opted for experienced veterans such as Brian Leetch, Glen Murray, Hal Gill, and Alex Zhamnov.
Of the 37 players that played at least one game for Boston in 2003-2004, only 13 would return following the lockout. Even less would finish out 2006 with the team.
In ’06 Boston finished last in the Northeast Division, with 74 points. Coach Mike Sullivan was eventually fired. General manager Mike O’Connell suffered the same fate in March, replaced in the short term by Jeff Gorton. The position would be filled more permanently the following summer with the hiring of Peter Chiarelli.
Also in the summer of ’06, big ticket free agents Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard were brought on board, and re-building mode was well under way in Boston.
Fast forward to 2012. Current negotiations are in a dead-lock, and with just under three weeks remaining in the current CBA, many fans are bracing for the worst. With any luck, this year’s all-but-imminent lockout will end by January at the latest. But for Boston, little is left to remind them of what life was like last time around.
With Tim Thomas’s exit, Patrice Bergeron is now the lone Bruin remaining from the 2003-2004 team. What was once the FleetCenter is now known as the TD Garden. Speaking of the Garden, a sixth Stanley Cup banner has since been raised to the rafters. Perhaps most importantly, the Boston Bruins franchise is a perennial Stanley Cup contender again, and management is doing all they can to preserve the team’s core.
Unlike 2004, when Boston decided to gamble on free agents rather than invest in current roster players, Chiarelli has been hard at work locking up key assets to a team just one year removed from a championship. Rich Peverley, Chris Kelly, Greg Campbell, Shawn Thornton, Daniel Paille, Johnny Boychuk, Adam McQuaid, and Tuukka Rask could have all been heading to free agency this summer, but instead signed contract extensions to stay in Boston.
Impressively, the Bruins are not only a successful team, but a young one as well. Only 6 roster players are 30 or older. Patrice Bergeron, at 27, can be considered the grizzled veteran of a young core featuring players such as Tyler Seguin (20), Milan Lucic (24), Brad Marchand (24), Adam McQuaid (25), Tuukka Rask (25), and David Krejci (26).
In reality, things could not be more different for the Bruins this time around. They have their identity, they have their players, they have their management, and they have their goals set. Fans are filled with optimism, despite an ugly first round exit to Washington, and they know the future is bright.
At this point, the only thing left to do is drop the puck, and let’s hope that will happen sooner rather than later.
–
Follow Wayne on Twitter for hockey insight and other odd ramblings.
TweetPlease Share!
This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar