The Philosophy of the Boston Bruins: You’re All In, or You’re Out
The Boston Bruins’ philosophy is simple: Play hard, responsibly and tenaciously, or you’re out. Possessing one of the most defined organizational ideologies in the National Hockey League ensures that the Bruins have a clear plan to build on, making player personnel decisions fairly simple. Is he a Bruin or not? For the past eight years, the Bruins have not been shy about identifying star players for their lack of Bruin qualities and quickly sending them out of town for the best possible package.
Bruins Training and Conditioning Coach John Whitesides professes the organization’s philosophy very clearly to the hopefuls at Bruins Development Camp, seen in the franchise miniseries ‘Behind The B.’ Whitesides tells Bruins prospects: “Who wants to work,” Whitesides says, “who wants to put their balls in play, who wants to be coached, who wants to listen to instructions and who wants to compete. Any questions?”
Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli spent his entire tenure in Boston building the Big Bad Bruin design, and in 2011, his club won its first Stanley Cup in thirty-nine years, earning the mastermind a spot. in hockey history.
In his time as Assistant General Manager of the Ottawa Senators before joining the Bruins in May 2006, Chiarelli established a relationship with Sens giant defender Zdeno Chara. The familiarity between Peter and Big Z likely played a role in Chara finally deciding to accept the Bruins’ terms when he became an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2006. Chara’s addition was a big one, no pun intended. Zdeno Chara was the leader and fearless competitor the Bruins needed to ensure his design came to fruition on the ice.
Team president Cam Neely is no longer a 50-goal power forward, but his impact on the Bruins remains significant. Neely is a great contributor to the Big Bad Bruin way of building teams. His contributions to management are in line with the organization’s overall philosophy of producing a tough Stanley Cup contender to play, year after year.
Regarding Neely’s relationship with Peter Chiarelli and Claude Julien, on May 21, 2013, the Bruins president told 98.5 The Bruins Hub, “At this point, I’m not going to go into detail, but I feel like we have a good group that is pulling in the same direction and ultimately we all want the same thing: to keep winning championships,” added Neely. “We have a staff that has worked very well together and is very committed to doing just that and continuing to try to bring championships to Boston.” -NESN
Read more at: http://nesn.com/2013/05/cam-neely-sheds-light-on-bruins-management-coaching-relationship-backs-claude-julien/
The Bruins say goodbye to the Big Three
No other NHL franchise has intentionally parted ways with elite talent like Joe Thornton, Phil Kessel and Tyler Seguin in the last eight years. The top three draft picks and projected lifetime Bruin superstars were traded before the start of their glory days. In fact, Thornton was right on the cusp when he was moved out of town for a package of veteran players.
Jumbo Joe, you have to go
In 2005-06, Thornton joined the San Jose Sharks after the Bruins’ management’s shocking decision to trade their franchise player and renew as New Look B’s, without Joe as their leader. Thornton exploded for the Sharks that season, scoring an incredible 92 points in 58 games, for a total of 125 points, securing him the NHL’s Art Ross Trophy as the leading scorer in the regular season.
The Bruins play defensive hockey. It’s how they choose to win games. Playing tight defense is a proven method used to win Cups, and in Thornton, there was a lack of competition that always hampered his reputation and his ability to fulfill his potential as a Bruin. The Bruins didn’t want an Art Ross winner so much as a dominating physical presence, in Joe Thornton. And while he’s big enough to crush anyone in the NHL, that’s not the way the Sharks’ Captain plays.
Goodbye Phil Kessel
Even more obviously than Joe Thornton, who physically looked like one of the Bruins’ best, Phil Kessel was always out of place in Boston. Any other franchise in the league would have embraced the speedy scoring machine that Phil showed signs of immediately becoming the Black and Gold Bruins. In his third and final season with the club, Kessel scored 36 times, establishing himself as a regular goalscoring threat on the Bruins’ right side. The breakout season really boosted Kessel’s trade value, which was evident the following offseason when the Bruins traded Phil to the Toronto Maple Leafs for two first-round picks and a second.
The Tyler Seguin Saga
Much has been published about the Bruins’ reasoning for trading their future twenty-one-year-old sharpshooter, Tyler Seguin. Rumors of his partying and irresponsible behavior surfaced in the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, and became an even bigger story when the offseason began. However, Bruins president Cam Neely makes it abundantly clear in the new Bruins series ‘Behind The B’ that trading Seguin was a hockey decision first and foremost.
In the season premiere, Neely talks about Seguin. The president of B reveals much about the organization’s opinion of Tyler when he says, “On the ice, he has all kinds of skills. Off the ice, I don’t care how old you are, but after three years you should have something.” he improves in the areas the coaching staff has told him about. It’s a little slower development than it should be and that’s because those are the areas that are hard to get into for this game. To me, if we get the right deal for him, then that’s something we have to do.” -NESN
Read more at: http://nesn.com/2013/09/behind-the-b-premiere-offered-compelling-look-into-bruins-brutal-honesty-regarding-tyler-seguin/
The Bruins’ philosophy is conducive to winning
The Bruins’ philosophy is simple and it works. The organization won a Stanley Cup in 2011 and came within two wins of another in 2013. Entering this season, they’re considered one of the heavy favorites to compete for the Cup again, and they’ve added some very Bruin-like pieces this offseason. to infuse new energy and hunger into a battle-hardened lineup of existing pros.
The additions of prototypical Bruin Jarome Iginla and highly intelligent two-way player Loui Eriksson create the potential for the Bruins to be even more specialized as a hard-working, physical, hard-to-play team this season than they were last year.
As for Seguin, he’s likely to thrive in Dallas, allowed to roam free offensively and play a #1 central role, getting the best offensive minutes. The loss of Seguin will certainly look bad on paper if one is going to count the stats at the end of the season. But for the Bruins, regular-season scoring titles aren’t a major concern for the organization, nor for their core of hard-working regulars Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara and Milan Lucic.
Joe Thornton’s Sharks have repeatedly failed to win a Stanley Cup, Phil Kessel’s Leafs are just beginning to show signs of life and the Dallas Stars aren’t quite in the conversation right now. Under the Bruins’ current management, the B’s have one Cup win, validating the notion that their philosophy is bigger than a high-scoring player who doesn’t fit in.