The Bruins have been building in the right direction to become one of the premier franchises in the National Hockey League for the past four seasons under president Cam Neely, general manager Peter Chiarelli and head coach Claude Julien. There have been tremendous moments of greatness in that time period for fans to jump on board.
Remember the spring of 2008?
The Bruins qualified for the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2003-04 season. They faced their traditional archrivals, the Montreal Canadiens, and after being down 3–1 in the series and facing elimination, the Black and Gold climbed back to 3–3. The series moved to Game 7 in Montreal, however the Bruins lost the game and were eliminated.
It was the season that changed a lot of attitudes here in the Hub of Hockey.
But if the average fan didn't jump on board then, please allow me to introduce you to the 2009 postseason. The Boston Bruins entered the playoffs after finishing the regular season with the best record in the Eastern Conference, with 116 points. For a then NHL-record 32nd time, they faced the hated Habs, and swept them right out of town. The conference semifinals ended that postseason in a dramatic Game 7 overtime win for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Boston fans, as disappointed as they were, left for the summer months confident in the direction the team was headed.
Last year has been hidden in a dark archive chest never to be uncovered again, and a No. 2 overall draft pick by the name of Tyler Seguin kept fans interested, and searching for more.
Well, this season, the team delivered, and now for the first time in 19 seasons, they are about to embark on an Eastern Conference finals series with a comparably matched Tampa Bay Lightning team.
It would take a lifetime to write all the memorable highlights from the past four seasons into one online entry. There has been thrill, disappointment and contagious enthusiasm. There's been a Winter Classic, four straight postseason appearances and hardware in the form of a Vezina Trophy, Norris Trophy and Jack Adams award.
But there's one bigger piece of metal waiting to resume its position in the Sports Museum at the TD Garden. It hasn't been there since 1972 and it's dying to return to its Original Six spot in the greatest sports city in the nation.
If you haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet, shame on you! But hurry up and get on because you may just miss one hell of a ride.
