By: Amy Tolman | Follow Me On Twitter @AMY7594
Although there are a TON of players that should be on this list, if we covered them all, we’d be here for the next ten years talking about them! I’ve tried to narrow down who I believe are the players that will forever be a Boston Bruins in our hearts. In this article, we’ll start with the player in the number 20 spot all the way to the player in the 11th spot, and 10-1 will be in the next article. So let’s get the puck moving! Please note, this list is not a ranking list, just a mention list.
Adam McQuaid (Darth McQuaider)
Adam McQuaid was once a Boston Bruins enforcer. Opponents knew when they made a mistake because McQuaid would be in their face. From 2009 – 2018 Bruins fans had the pleasure of watching old-school hockey with McQuaid on the ice. Here is a clip from YouTube! One clip that I saw while searching YouTube had Jack Edwards saying: “Of all the things you must say about the Boston Bruins, it starts with this, they have their teammate’s backs!” And that was McQuaid.
Nathan Horton
Copyright: 2013 Getty Images )
“Horton hears a WOOO!” Nathan Horton was only with the Bruins for three years, but I think his most memorable moment was when in 2011, he took water from TD Garden ice rink and took it to Vancouver to dump on their ice rink to give his team good luck for the game. Horton, who made the trip to Vancouver, couldn’t play due to injury but was there for his team’s support.
Kevan Miller
Kevan Miller has had his share of injuries but is a very good Defensive player when he is on the ice. His knee cap injury kept him on the bench for the 19-20 season. If you click on the link below, it will take you to an interview with Kevan about his status and how he’s ready to play!
https://www.nhl.com/bruins/video/press-room-miller/t-277437088/c-6801305
Milan Lucic
Another heavy hitter, Bruins’ fans, started the LOOOCH chant when he was on the ice. Paired with David Krejci on the second line, they had a connection much like our current first line. However, he was also known as a fighter during his reign with Boston. (Side note: I literally cried the day he got traded.) From 2007-2017, he got into several fights and found himself in the penalty box a lot as a Bruins.
Selected by the Boston Bruins in the second round (No. 50) in the 2006 NHL Draft, Lucic not only made that NHL club as a 19-year-old in 2007, he seemed to have been delivered straight from central casting. He was a hulking, fearless, physical left wing with good hands who reminded Boston fans of Cam Neely, Terry O’Reilly, or Wayne Cashman, depending on which generation they were part of.
Lucic was plenty rugged and scored in the clutch for the Bruins, with whom he had three seasons of at least 24 goals. He helped Boston win the Stanley Cup in 2011, when he had five goals and 12 points in 25 playoff games, with the deciding Game 7 being played in his hometown of Vancouver.
This YouTube clip shows a memory that Bruins fans won’t forget in 2010 against Vancouver.
Tim Thomas
Another 2011 Stanley Cup Champion, Tim Thomas, was outstanding during that season. He was with the Bruins from 2002 – 2012. He finished the 2011-2012 season with a save percentage of .920 and was the Vezina Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy winner that year. I think the greatest thing I ever saw from Thomas was when he joined the fight on February 9, 2011, against Carey Price.
Ray Bourque
Ray Bourque was with the Bruins for 19 years and had one heck of a career. Interestingly, he only had one hat trick his entire career on March 8, 1983, against QBE. QBE stands for Quebec Nordiques that later became the Colorado Avalanche in May of 1995. Bourque has a ton of awards, including 13 seasons of being in the top 10 in the league in shots!
Joe Thorton
The Bruins Captain before Zdeno Chara was with the B’s from 1997-2006 and from there moved on to the San Jose Sharks from 2005-2020, and by the looks of this year’s stats for 2020-2021 season, he will be with the Toronto Maple Leafs. That in itself should be an interesting match up when the Bruins meet up with him and his new team in the playoffs.
The two pictures of him above are remarkable how not much of his features have changed except the beard. He is now known for his beard during the whole season, not just the playoffs.
Johnny Boychuk
A remarkable player, he played with the B’s from 2008-2014. Unfortunately, the latest news on Boychuk was he had to retire due to an eye injury. In 2009, he won the Eddie Shore Award (AHL) for Outstanding defenseman.
Marc Savard / Mark Recchi
These two I put together because both were outstanding players. To me, Mark Recchi was who Patrice Bergeron is today. He was the veteran with Brad Marchand and Bergeron, and I think that Bergy has carried on some of what he learned from Mark. Although I have no documentation to back that, it’s my own observation. When the Bruins won the cup in 2011, Recchi was the oldest player at 43 to ever score in the cup final. Recchi also became the 8th player (since 1943-44) to win the Stanley Cup with three different teams.
As for Marc Savard, the tragedy done by Matt Cooke that led to the end of his career will forever be in my mind. He has since been a Power Play Coach for the St. Louis Blues. Marc can also be followed on social media, and from what I’ve seen still loves the Bruins.
Torey Krug
It is tough to believe that I would be writing about a defenceman like Torey Krug as a previous Bruins. As a free agent, he recently signed with the St. Louis Blues. Joe Haggerty wrote an article on the site https://bostonhockeynow.com/ about the connection between Liam Fitzgerald, “The Fist Bump Kid.” The article is heartbreaking and but will give you warm fuzzy feelings afterward. Here is the link to his article https://bostonhockeynow.com/2020/11/23/krug-tugs-at-boston-bruins-heartstrings-with-a-sweet-goodbye/
What doesn’t hit us now about Torey being gone will hit us when the season starts. But I wish him well and good luck! He will be missed in Boston.
That concludes part one of the top 20 all-stars of the Boston Bruins 2000-2020. Stay tune for part two!
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