BOSTON — Gregory Campbell became the latest former Bruin to return to his old stomping grounds Saturday night, hitting the TD Garden ice for the first time as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Campbell, whose five-year Bruins tenure ended when he signed with the Blue Jackets this past offseason, was treated to a video tribute during a first-period timeout.
“There’s mixed emotions, for sure,” Campbell said before the game, via BlueJackets.com. “I had a lot of great years here in Boston. How could you forget winning a Stanley Cup? When you’re a part of a team like that, there’s always going to be sentimental feelings coming back here.
“I built a lot of friendships, not only with guys on the team, but within the city and the community, and was proud to be a part of the organization and also grateful to experience a great city. Boston is — their slogan, Boston Strong, really holds true when you live here.”
Campbell’s friends in Boston include the owners of a restaurant in the city’s North End, which he and his new teammates visited Friday night.
“I recommended a meal, and I was glad that it worked out,” he told reporters. “Because if not, I was definitely on the hot seat. Everybody’s full, and it forced us to have a pregame skate (Saturday) because we had a couple extra pounds of pasta in our stomachs. But that’s what you get here.”
Though he never put up eye-popping stats during his half-decade in Boston, Campbell was a key part of a Bruins team that reached two Stanley Cup Finals in three years and hoisted the franchise’s first Cup in 39 years in 2011. He also rarely was out of the lineup, playing in 358 of a possible 376 games in his five seasons in black and gold.
That trend has carried over to Campbell’s new home: He is one of just three Blue Jackets players to appear in all 49 of the team’s games this season.
The Garden will host at least two more homecomings over the coming months, as Milan Lucic and the Los Angeles Kings visit Feb. 9 and Dougie Hamilton’s Calgary Flames come to town March 1.
Thumbnail photo via Aaron Doster/USA TODAY Sports Images
