The Boston Bruins with President Obama

I had a co-worker a couple of years back who was one of the nicest guys you’d ever meet. Friendly, genial, helpful. And every once in a while he’d go off on a diatribe about liberals that would make anyone near him  raise an eyebrow, if not two.

I have a notion that’s how it is with the Boston Bruins and their teammate Tim Thomas.

If my co-workers and I were invited to the White House, I have no doubt whatsoever that my aforementioned co-worker would decline the invitation, and none of us would be surprised. According to media reports, Bruins’ management was aware that Thomas would not attend the White House reception for the Stanley Cup champs on Jan. 23, but the players were not. But it’s almost impossible to believe that they didn’t see it coming.

Here’s the statement from Thomas:

“I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People.

This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government.

Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.

This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT”

and the statement from the Bruins:

“As an organization we were honored by President Obama’s invitation to the White House. It was a great day and a perfect way to cap our team’s achievement from last season. It was a day that none of us will soon forget. We are disappointed that Tim chose not to join us, and his views certainly do not reflect those of the Jacobs family or the Bruins organization. This will be the last public comment from the Bruins organization on this subject.”

Full disclosure: I am a dyed-in-the-wool liberal. And I adhere to Voltaire’s dictum: “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

That said, it was not the time nor the place for Thomas to make a political statement. An invitation to the White House is an honor that should be accepted no matter who’s in charge. We’re not talking about canoodling with Robert Mugabe or Momar Ghadafi here. This is the president of the United States – OUR United States (Tim Thomas is an American); I was no fan of George W. Bush, but I know he’s an inherently decent human being who was doing the best job he could, and if he invited me and my co-workers to visit, I’d put politics aside and visit.

(And for those who wish to point out that Theo Epstein didn’t visit when Bush was in office and the Red Sox were invited, he was wrong too.)

What really bothers me about this whole stramash, however, is not Thomas’s politics (though really, if you want to live in a country with boundless freedom and no taxation, I hear Somalia is the perfect place), it’s the fact that he called attention to himself on a day that was meant to honor and celebrate his team. That’s a selfish, self-centered act, and is absolutely contrary to what the Bruins stand for.

And for that, I’m disappointed in Tim Thomas.

(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

A couple of weeks ago, the Boston Bruins won their first Stanley Cup in 39 years. More than a million fans packed

Imagine if everyone bought a DVD set.

the streets of Boston to celebrate, and many more longtime fans from all over New England, the Canadian Maritimes, North America and around the world, reveled in the victory. Reports are that Stanley Cup champion gear flew off the shelves, with stores barely able to keep up with demand.

But this fan wants more. And this fan believes that many of her fellow Bruins fans want the same thing: A boxed DVD set.

I don’t want a highlights DVD. The one you’re selling appears nice, and I’ll undoubtedly purchase it. But what I want is a boxed set, like the ones sold by MLB for their World Series winners. As a Red Sox fan, I own the 2004 and 2007 sets, which include not just the World Series games, but the ALCS wins as well (alas, not the ALDS. Tsk.)

This is where the NHL can do MLB one better. Give Bruins fans a DVD set with all 16 victories. And make them complete games, start to finish. None of this editing the games down to two hours, as you’re doing on the NHL Network. I want every moment, start to finish. I want every glorious second of the victories over hated rival Montreal. Every glorious second of the revenge match (sweep! sweep!) against Philadelphia. Every glorious second of their grind-it-out wins against Tampa Bay, up to and including Tim Thomas embracing a tearful Marty St. Louis.

I don’t want just the final against Vancouver. That’d be like receiving nothing but steak in a four-star restaurant. I want the fine wine, the garlic-mashed potatoes, the fresh asparagus.

And for the homemade chocolate cake, I want a bonus DVD of the celebrations, from Zdeno Chara hoisting the Cup to the parade.

You’re on the right track with the Blackhawks DVD set from last season. But five games isn’t enough. Not remotely enough.  

I want 16 games. I don’t care whose feed you use, though if you’re asking, the enthusiasm of Doc Emerick or Jack Edwards would be preferable to Bob Cole’s “meh, the Bruins win in OT,” though his calls do offer comedic value. The production effort is minimal – just chop out the ads (and the between-period analysis if you wish); no other editing required. Charge $150 for the set, and have it on the shelves before Christmas. It’ll sell itself.

Please, NHL, I’m asking you nicely. If that’s not good enough, I’ll beg. I want this with the burning heat of a thousand suns, and if you consider the number of Bruins fans out there, you’ll be making a profit on this faster than you can say “fat free-agent contract.”

Sincerely yours,

Savvy

Photo from boston.com

Nathan Horton displays the "fencing response," a sign of neurological damage.

On Tuesday morning, the Bruins announced that Horton would miss the rest of the playoffs with a severe concussion.

Tuesday afternoon, NHL disciplinarian Michael Murphy announced that Rome would be suspended for four games.

So we are supposed to feel sorry for… Aaron Rome?

According to Manny Malhotra, we are:

“It’s devastating,” said center Manny Malhotra. “To be so close, to be playing in your dream, to now have it taken away, it obviously hurts a lot. That being said, he’s still a huge part of our team in that room. Just his attitude, his mentality, his focus, he’s going to help our guys a lot. I think as a group we don’t agree with the suspension.”

Here’s an idea: You don’t want to miss the Stanley Cup playoffs, don’t leap off your skates and drill a guy in the head more than a second after he’s released the puck.

Canucks coach Alain Vigneault says Rome “isn’t a dirty player, never has been, never will be.” Whether he is or not is irrelevant. It was a dirty play.

Here’s Andrew Ference in February, after teammate Daniel Paille (not a dirty player; never disciplined before) was suspended four games for a head shot on Raymond Sawada (who was unhurt):

“It’s a bad hit, right?” said Ference. “You hear it from every player after they do it, they feel bad, and same thing, I talked to Danny [Paille] and he feels bad.

“You can’t be a hypocrite about it, though. I’ve thought about this a lot and had plenty of time to put things in perspective over the last year. Sidney Crosby has been very vocal about the head shots and blindside hits since he suffered one in the Winter Classic, but what did Crosby say after Cooke hit Savvy last year? Nothing.

“I thought a lot about that. You want to be a good teammate, but you shouldn’t be a hypocrite about it.” 

So here’s the question: If that was Henrik Sedin being strapped to a backboard and carted off on a stretcher, would Alan Vigneault be protesting that it wasn’t a dirty hit?

Photo: Nathan Horton from Getty Images

The Bruins celebrate around (but don't touch!) the Prince of Wales trophy.

The answer: Because neither one is for sissies.

It’s been a couple of days since the Boston Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. I think I’m starting to recover. I can actually watch the DVR now (for the fifth time – or is it sixth?) without twitching and flinching at every Tampa shot.

But Friday night almost did me in.

I was at work. I’m a newspaper editor (yes, we still exist!), and at times I work in news, at times in sports. In the sports department, we watch games on TV. In the news department, those of us who are fans watch surrepticiously. Unfortunately, I can only see the TV in the news department if I turn and crane my neck. Once, when I did so earlier in the playoffs, my co-worker across the desk got up and turned the TV off. I managed not to kill her (she is a nice person, really; she just has a blind spot when it comes to sports).

This time around, I didn’t chance it, just followed the game on NHL.com’s Icetracker, and via the Bruins’ Twitter updates (turning the notification sound so low that only I could hear it). I stayed busy, keeping the nerves at bay by throwing myself into my work.

Unfortunately, work petered out just after 10 p.m., as the scoreless game moved well into the third period. I picked up my phone, announced I was going outside for a break, and headed for the parking lot.

9:00 to go. Timeout Bruins.

I sat on a bench, hunched over, staring at the phone, as the seconds crawled by.

Shot toward Thomas. Deflected wide, but not far off.

Oh, thanks. Very reassuring. I leaned over, muttering, c’mon guys, c’mon, c’mon…

Bruins score! Horton!

I leaped off the bench, cheered, danced.

1-0 BOS. Horton (Ference, Krejci)

“When?” I asked the phone. Usually Bish (John Bishop, the Bruins’ PR man) gives the time of the goal. Not this time. I imagined the Garden, the noise, the crowd going wild, Krejci and Horton celebrating… I got up to pace. Surely there must not be much time left. Surely. Back and forth I went, back and forth…

6:00 to go.

SIX MINUTES!?!!?

Huge save by Roloson on Ryder.

Rydes!! Gah!!

Tampa Bay continues to be relentless.

OK, I didn’t need that.

Just under 2:00 to go.

I paced maniacally, watching the digital numbers change in the upper right corner of my phone, trying to prove to myself that time had not stopped.

Stoppage with 44 seconds left in regulation.

My heart was ready to burst out of my chest.

B’s control…. win!

I screamed up at the cloudy sky. I danced a quick jig, then ran inside, to the TV in the sports department, and watched the Bruins celebrate. I cried a little.

Then I went back to my seat. The editor across from me looked up. “Are you OK?” she asked.

“I had to go outside. I was too nervous to watch the game,” I said.

She shook her head and laughed. “It’s just a hockey game.”

No, no it isn’t. Trust me on this one. It isn’t.

Photo: Boston Bruins courtesy of slidingsideways at bestlaidplans.org

David Krejci enjoys a heapin' helpin' after scoring in Game 3

For a full calendar year, the Boston Bruins and their fans heard it: Chokers.

The Bruins couldn’t finish off the Philadelphia Flyers after taking a three games to none lead in the 2010 Eastern Conference semifinals. They were the worst chokers in the history of sports! They were the first NHL team EVER to lose after taking a 3-0 advantage! (Actually they were the third, but to some ::cough::Puck Daddy::cough hyperbole is much more fun than reality.) This would hang over their heads FOREVER!

Well, not quite. More like 360 days, to be exact.

Lessons learned by the Bruins, changes made. By the front office, which over the summer brought in a big, sniping wing in Nathan Horton and a solid, grinding center in Greg Campbell. Which added even more forward depth at the trade deadline in Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly. Not this year would the Bruins be left to depend on a European reject (Miro Satan), a fourth-line PK specialist (Dan Paille) and a player who never should have seen the ice (Marc Savard) as a “first” line.

And lessons learned by the players (those who remained;  almost half the roster turned over this season). Never, EVER take your foot off the gas, and never take anything for granted.

But probably the biggest factor in this series was the simplist: The good health of David Krejci, aka Flyer Killer (since last year’s playoffs, Boston is 10-0-1 vs. Philadelphia with Krejci in the lineup). Four goals (three game-winners), five assists, plus-6 in four games. The Flyers targeted Krejci (and let him know about it), but with Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton on his wings, this time things were different. As Scott Hartnell discovered in Game 4, when he tried to put Krejci over the boards into the Bruins bench, only to have his head almost removed from his shoulders by Lucic.

Other than goalie Tim Thomas, who stole Game 2 (Boston’s only real difficult game, which they won 3-2 in overtime), the other beast of the series was defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, who led all skaters in ice time (29:02, 36:26, 28:16, 25:43), recorded three assists, and finished at a staggering plus-10. One Boston TV sports announcer reminded us, in tones tinged with surprise, that, oh yeah, Seidenberg missed the playoffs last year (severed wrist tendons). No shit, Sherlock.

Some (not the majority, to their credit) Flyers fans and media have protested that the Flyers couldn’t overcome their myriad injuries. The biggest factor in the series, some say, was the loss of Chris Pronger. Sure, I’d accept that, if you weren’t all shouting “CHOKERS!” at the Bruins last season. Live by the sword, die by the sword. Nobody who thumbed his or her nose last year can use injuries as a excuse. Sorry. The Flyers lost because the Bruins outhit, outhustled and just flat out outplayed them, at every position.

Pass the sugar.

(Photo courtesy of slidingsideways at bestlaidplans.org)

Dennis Seidenberg, Milan Lucic and David Krejci say climb on.

Ryan dutifully chronicled Thursday night’s game here, noting that the last time the Bruins had had such a successful road trip was in the 1971-72 season, when they last won the Stanley Cup. Then he dropped this little bombshell:

… the question right now is whether or not this team is worth a serious emotional investment on the part of any Bruins fan.

Um, what?

A “serious emotional investment”? Isn’t that, y’know, what being a fan is all about? Isn’t that the whole point? What kind of “fan” studies the standings, sees a seven-game win streak, and says to him/herself, “hmmm, well, they’re winning, looks like they have a shot at the Stanley Cup, I guess I’ll be a fan now. Say, who’s this Krejci fellow? And how do you pronouce that?”

No. Those aren’t fans. They’re bandwagon-jumpers. Or what hard-core Red Sox fans cynically dubbed “pink hats,” the people who climbed aboard when the Red Sox won their first World Series in 2004 and suddenly became Fashionable.

Of course, this doesn’t just happen in Boston. When the Blackhawks won the Cup last spring, out of the hundreds of thousands (millions?) clogging the streets of Chicago for the parade, how many of those folks, do you think, had stuck with that team through thick and thin, suffered through the bad times, watched the drafts in which they selected Kane and Toews, dared to hope and cheer and dream?

Most importantly, how much did that parade mean to those fans, who never lost faith?

Nobody’s going to turn away bandwagon fans. They fill the arena, they create a buzz, they encourage the players (everyone likes to be loved and talked about). I for one am happy to welcome anyone who wants to be a Bruins fan.

But, y’know, there’s something to be said for swimming through bitter waters until you reach the sweet. You simply can’t appreciate having without going through the wanting, the dreaming, the hoping. When, someday (hopefully soon), the Bruins win the Stanley Cup, my tears — and those of my fellow black-and-gold faithful — will be all the more blessed, because we didn’t “decide to make a serious emotional investment,” we were there already. Fans — real fans – keep the faith.   

 Photo from boston.com

Brad Marchand, right, celebrates with teammates.

No, it’s not Tyler Seguin, the Bruins’ #1 choice (#2 overall) in the 2010 draft. And it’s not Jordan Caron, their #1 choice in 2009 (#25 overall). Nor is it Joe Colborne, #1 in 2008 (#16 overall). Caron and Colborne are playing in Providence with the AHL Bruins, and Seguin is doing fairly well in Boston but not exactly setting the world on fire.

No, the Bruins’ top rookie, a guy who in the past month has played himself into the Rookie of the Year conversation, is none other than Brad Marchand.

Who?

A native of Nova Scotia, Brad Marchand is a 5-foot, 9-inch, 190-pound (10 pounds of which appears to be
nose and eyebrows) ball of fire who was the third pick of the Bruins in the 2006 draft (#71 overall), behind Phil Kessel and Milan Lucic. He played the 2008-09 season in Providence, putting up 18 goals and 41 assists in 79 games, and adding seven goals and eight assists in 16 playoff games. But his biggest claim to fame in the P-Bruins’ final playoff series vs. the Portland Pirates is that he somehow managed to goad a Portland player into coming off the bench and attacking him during a game.

You could say that Brad Marchand made his name as an agitator.

He scored 32 points in 34 games in his second year in Providence and earned himself some time in Boston, but only recorded one assist in 20 games. Determined to make the big club this fall out of training camp, he outperformed veteral Daniel Paille and earned a spot on the fourth line alongside center Greg Campbell and Shawn Thornton.

Dubbing themselves the “Merlot Line” after the maroon color of their practice jerseys, the Marchand/Campbell/Thornton combination was the Bruins’ fourth line in name only. They were the go-to guys when coach Claude Julien wanted to get the Bruins rolling with their relentless forchecking and tenacious play. Thornton, who had never scored more than six goals in his NHL career, has seven already this season.

It took Marchand some time to find the net – he finally potted his first NHL goal on Nov. 3, appropriately enough, on a shorthanded breakway, showcasing his PK ability, his shot, and his speed:

But it really wasn’t the job of the Merlot Line to score, rather to agitate the opposition.

And did they ever. Though known as something of a punk in the AHL, Marchand (at the request of Julien) has toned it down a bit in the NHL, though he’s still a threat to draw penalties with his hard-charging style of play, and he doesn’t hesitate to throw a verbal jab when he can or stick up for his teammates, despite his small stature.

But as solid and impressive as he was on the Merlot Line, Marchand really started to take off due to an injury to Milan Lucic in early January, which caused some line shuffling. Paille took Marchand’s spot alongside Campbell and Thornton, and Marchand was moved onto a line with Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi. And the result was magic.

Since joining the wiley veteran Recchi and Bergeron, one of the most complete players in the NHL, Marchand has scored seven goals and added four assists in 13 games. His plus/minus in those games is +12, and overall he is tied for fourth in the NHL in plus/minus at +21 (with Bergeron, among a few others), tops among rookies. He also leads the NHL in shorthanded goals with four, is sixth in rookie goal-scoring with 13 and second in shooting percentage at 15.5.

He’s come out of nowhere, surprised just about everyone (except maybe himself), and, just as he forced himself into the Boston lineup, he’s forcing himself into the NHL’s collective consciousness. He probably won’t win the Calder Trophy, but he certainly deserves the NHL’s attention.

Photo courtesy of bestlaidplans.org

And then an offensive lineman punches the linebacker in the face.

Ridiculous, you say? Well, something akin to that has been going on with increasing regularity in the NHL in the past few years, as it seems more and more often players are responding to a solid check on a teammate by dropping the gloves and pummeling (or being pummeled by) the “offending” player.

This has got to stop. Since when did a clean check become a fighting offense? Why does Mark Stuart have to protect himself when Anze Kopitar gets caught with his head down? Watch…

The worst part of this whole episode is that Stuart broke his finger in that unecessary fight, had to have surgery, developed an infection and missed months of action. He returned for the playoffs but obviously wasn’t himself. All because of some stupid, misguided “code of honor” or some damned thing.

It’s one thing if it’s a dirty hit. If a stick goes high, or it’s knee-to-knee, or a head shot. And I realize that to players on the ice, the action is lightning-fast and at times a clean hit can appear dirty. But the majority of these “sticking up for my teammate” retaliatory attacks are unwarranted. Players don’t need their teammates running around like assassins trying to “protect” them from one of the basic parts of the game – rough, physical play. If a guy’s that delicate, he shouldn’t be playing professional sports in the first place.

Fans need to realize this too. It’s amazing the amount of comments you see on Internet chat sites about this. Oddly enough, it’s most often the posters who advocate for “old-time hockey” who insist that guys should throw down if an opposing player so much as breathes hard on one of theirs.

Just as an example, there were Bruins fans howling for T.J. Oshie’s head when he hit David Krejci a few weeks ago along the boards. Let’s take a look…

I love Krejci, but I saw nothing wrong with that hit. Krejci suffered his concussion because he banged his head on the dasher, not because of the hit itself. Oshie did nothing wrong.

I have nothing against fighting in hockey. There’s a time and a place for it, and sticking up for a teammate is certainly one of those times. But picking a fight because someone gets hurt playing a dangerous game is ridiculous. And fans have to stop insisting on that response, or else start following gentler sports, like tennis.

Colin Campbell

Last March, NHL senior vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell declined to suspend Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke for a deliberately dirty hit that knocked out Boston’s Marc Savard. In his ruling, he mourned the fact that he could do nothing about the hit (which is a fallacy, as I blogged about here). And then he pointed out that he had coached Marc Savard, he liked Marc Savard, and oh, he felt just terrible about it.

In 2007, Colin Campbell wrote the following emails (discovered by intrepid hockey blogger Tyler Dellow to be regarding Marc Savard) to former director of officiating Stephen Walkom:

“Your answer re: his high stick calls and the score of the game were horse [bleep]. The 3rd call on [player] was while they were down 5 on 4 and on a def zone face off vs that little fake artist [player] I had him in [city] biggest faker going.”

“I know Murph and Kinger like [player] as a player but my view of him is this exactly… he puts his whining ahead of the game.”

Of course the main point of the email revelations is that this is the head of discipline for the NHL, writing to the head of officiating, complaining about calls made on his son. That’s bad enough in its own right. But these comments about Marc Savard — and you know this is only the tip of the iceberg; how many other players, coaches or officials does Campbell hold a grudge against? — absolutely reek of pettiness, vindictiveness and, combined with his post-Cooke hit comments, flat-out hypocrisy.

And this man is the sole arbiter of justice for the National Hockey League.

This is something that might be brushed off, as Campbell himself (who called it “much ado about nothing”) and NHL vice president Bill Daly (“Any suggestion that Colin Campbell performs his job with any less than 100% integrity at all times and in every decision he makes is way off base and just factually wrong”) have attempted to do, if Campbell had been the model of consistency and reliability when it comes to meting out discipline. To say he hasn’t is something of an understatement.

Whether you want to label it the “Wheel of Justice” as Yahoo’s Puck Daddy does, or the “Secret flow chart,” as described by DownGoesBrown, NHL justice under Colin Campbell has been a punch line. Only it’s really no joke when players have no idea what constitutes suspendable offenses. Jack Edwards is probably most accurate when he calls it “dart board justice.”

To put it bluntly, a trained chimpanzee could do as good a job. Better, because a chimpanzee doesn’t have any secret grudges or hidden agendas. That Daly actually uses the word “integrity” in describing Campbell is something of a sick joke.

That Campbell is being defended so vehemently by the powers-that-be in charge of the NHL just goes to show you what a good ol boys’ club the league is. That such a beautiful sport, played by (a majority of) decent young men, is in the hands of these incompetents is pathetic.

And perhaps just as reprehensible is the response (or lack thereof) of so many in the “mainstream” hockey media. For every Kevin Paul Dupont, who writes in the Boston Globe that Campbell should go, there is a Bob McKenzie, who astoundingly tries to spin in a video at www.tsn.ca that Campbell’s March ruling on Cooke actually proves that he’s not biased. I never thought Bob McKenzie was George Orwell.

So what can we, as hockey fans, do? All is can suggest is to keep the conversation going. Push for a change — suggested and endorsed by many — to a three-person panel to rule on discipline. For the sake of justice, for the sake of player safety, for the sake of integrity, this needs to happen.

Photo: Colin Campbell from nhl.com

Milt Schmidt vs. the Maple Leafs

Seventy-five years ago, a wide-eyed 18-year-old boy pulled on a black-and-gold sweater for the first time and skated his first few strides into hockey history. His name was Milton Conrad “Milt” Schmidt.

Last week, before their game with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Boston Bruins honored 92-year-old Milt Schmidt, player, captain, coach, general manager and living symbol of one of the most storied franchises in professional sports.

Milt, along with his boyhood friends Bobby Bauer and Woody Dumart, was part of the fabled “Kraut Line” of the 1930s and 1940s that led the Bruins to two Stanley Cups (in ’39 and ’41). All three are in the Hockey Hall of Fame. God knows how many Cups they would have won if they, like so many other athletes of their generation, had not had their careers derailed by World War II (they served in Europe in the Royal Canadian Air Force). They all survived and returned to play, but never hit the heights again.

After winning the Hart Trophy in 1951 and retiring as a player in 1955, Milt went on to coach the Bruins for 11 years in the 1950s and 1960s, but it was in the front office where he repeated his success on the ice as he was the architect of the “Big Bad Bruins” Stanley Cup-winning teams of 1970 and 1972.

After a brief stint with the Washington Capitals as coach and GM in the mid-1970s, Milt returned to Boston and has been here ever since. He is still active with the Bruins’ alumni team, and can frequently be seen taking in games at the TD Garden.

I have never met him, but I have heard more praise for Milt Schmidt the man than Milt Schmidt the hockey player, which for someone with his resume is difficult to believe. But as I watched the ceremony honoring him on the evening of October 28, I could understand.

Patrice Bergeron, Bobby Orr and Milt Schmidt

Still sharp as a tack, he walked to the podium unassisted and thanked the Bruins and the fans for their love and support. “The spoked B is practically my family crest,” he said. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

He was presented with two miniature copies of the Stanley Cup, specially commissioned by the Bruins in conjunction with the Hall of Fame, and hauled his retired Number 15 to the rafters, which he had not had the privilege of doing before (it wasn’t standard practice when his number was retired). Assisting him were not only members of his family (son and daughter, grandchildren and great-grandchildren), but former Bruins Bobby Orr, Johnny Bucyk, Terry O’Reilly, Ray Bourque and Cam Neely.

We cheered and whistled and shook the rafters, and more than a few tears were shed. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one thinking of Milt’s former teammates, of Bobby Bauer, who died in 1964, and Woody Dumart, who died in 2001. One of the most difficult parts of living such a long life must be leaving behind so many friends and members of your family.

But then I thought of his words about the Bruins, and as I watched the ceremony end, and the past and present Bruins crowd around him for handshakes and hugs, I thought: He still has them. Bobby Orr and Johnny Bucyk are his sons. Cam Neely and Ray Bourque are his grandsons. And Patrice Bergeron and Jordan Caron and Tyler Seguin are his great-grandsons. They — and we, as Bruins fans, and as hockey fans — are his family.

Oh, and the Bruins won the game, of course, 2-0. For Milt.

Photos: Milt Schmidt from bostonbruins.com

Zach Hamill dons an "A" this year.

There’s something of a given when you grow up a hockey fan in New England — you’re going to be a Boston Bruins fan. The Bruins are not just Boston’s team, or Massachusetts’ team. They belong to the entire six-state region — from the northern reaches of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, west to the New York border, south to the outskirts of The Big Apple. And even beyond, into the Canadian Maritimes (I was pleasantly reminded of the Bruins’ Canadian fan base during a visit to Nova Scotia not long ago)

There are also several American Hockey League teams in New England, which leaves the dyed-in-the-wool Bruins fan with an interesting dilemma: Who do you root for when the Providence (R.I.) Bruins play against your team?

For the record, New England-based AHL teams include the Portland Pirates (Sabres) in Maine, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (Islanders) and Hartford Wolf Pack (Rangers) in Connecticut, the Manchester Monarchs (Kings) in New Hampshire, and the Worcester Sharks (Sharks) and Springfield Falcons (Blue Jackets) in Massachusetts.

So, do you root for the parent Bruins and hate on the Baby B’s? (As I saw one Worcester Sharks fan post on a Bruins forum?) Do you follow the Baby B’s, going to see them when they play your “hometown” team, and root for (or ignore) the local AHL squad at other times? Or do you believe, in the words of a man sitting behind me at a recent Springfield-Providence game, that when your hometown team plays the affliliate of your NHL team, it’s a “win-win” situation?

I have to admit I’m torn.

I actually used to be a fan of my hometown team, the Springfield Falcons, way back in the days when they were the Indians and fighting for (and winning) the Calder Cup. But that was when I was working days, had friends who were fellow fans, and could manage to make a lot of their games.

Now I work nights and weekends (and AHL teams play most of their games on weekends), and I won’t deny the fact that the recent years’ revolving door of parent clubs for Springfield (Tampa, Edmonton, now Columbus) has made for a less than enticing on-ice product. Also, for a variety of reasons (mostly job-releated), since the lockout I’ve been able to focus more attention on Boston and can now actually afford to attend a few games every season. Consequently, I’ve concentrated more on my Bruins fandom and let my Indians/Falcons interest fall by the wayside.

So last week, the Providence Bruins were in town for the Falcons’ home opener, and I requested the night off so I could go see my guys (the Baby Bruins, of course).

I had requested seats behind the visitors’ bench, but the ticket-seller got confused, I think, because I ended up behind the Springfield bench. Prime seats to witness the frustration as the Bruins leaped out to a 4-1 first-period lead, and there was plenty of door-slamming and glass-punching going on in front of me. And I actually started feeling a little sorry for the poor guys. (C’mon, number 21 — whatever your name is, hang in there… HEY, Max Sauve just scored again WOOOO!)

So it was funny. I’ve been watching the Baby Bruins, attending development camps, going to a rookie game this fall, checking their progress on line, but I could not stop myself from wanting the Falcons to do well. (For the record, Providence won 6-5. It was a very exciting game.)

I guess it all comes down to the fact that it’s hockey. And though I’m a passionate Bruins fan, I love hockey. The MassMutual Center was almost full, the place was rollicking, and people were excited. It was FUN. The Baby Blue Jackets made it fun. And I found myself wishing I didn’t work nights so I could go see them as much as possible. And maybe expand my fandom?

I think so. There’s always room in your heart for more love, right?

Photo: From providencebruins.com

More than 25,000 people attended two Bruins/Islanders rookie games this week at TD Garden in Boston. On Wednesday night, I was one of them. Some impressions from a seat five rows behind the Bruins bench:

I’ve been missing hockey, but it hit home with even more force when I saw the first kid wearing the Spoked-B jersey pop onto the ice for pre-game warmups to the appropriate tune of U2′s “Vertigo.” Why does that sight, after so many years, both up and down, still bring a lump to my throat? I don’t know, but from the looks on the kids’ faces (most trying to appear businesslike, but many unable to keep from shooting wide-eyed peeks at the crowd filling the lower bowl of seats), a lot of them shared that feeling.

Tyler Seguin elicited a significant number of screams from teen-age girls. I’m sure his teammates let him hear about it.*

* Actual converstion overheard in bathroom post-game, between apparently clueless teen-age girl, and teen-age girl wearing Lucic T-shirt with “19″ inscribed on both cheeks:

“Who’s 19?”

In disbelieving voice: “Tyler Seguin?”

“Oh, is he cute?”

“Um… yeah.”

“Where’s he from?”

Appalled silence.

The game itself was what you’d expect from a couple of rookie squads — exciting plays, busted plays, end-to-end action, missed shots, awkwardness, brilliance, and, as the game went on, increased belligerence, including several fights, assorted scrums and a large amount of yapping.

All three of the Bruins’ latest first-round picks played well — Seguin (’10), Jordan Caron (’09) and Joe Colborne (’08) — but it was Caron who stole the show by completing a hat trick with 37 seconds left to secure a 5-2 win. (His first goal came off a lovely redirect in front of the net, the second on a Savard-like feed from Seguin on a PP). Hats flew, a perfect capper (haha!) to the night.

The lone sour note came about halfway through the third period when Colborne took a stick in the mouth from teammate Lane MacDermid, who lost control of it when he was elbowed by New York’s Justin Dibenedetto. Bleeding and staggering, Colborne was helped from the ice, but thankfully was fine the next day, albeit with more than 25 stitches in his upper lip. He reportedly wanted to play in the rematch Thursday night but sat out as a precaution.

I didn’t attend the second game but caught some glimpses of the live stream at the Bruins’ web site. Boston won again, 2-1, on two goals by Ryan Spooner (second round, ’10 draft), the last on a breakaway with 30 seconds left in overtime. Cue an even wilder celebration.

Yeah, it’s just a couple of rookie games. Yeah, that’s the closest to the NHL a majority of these kids will ever get. But as a Bruins fan (and as a hockey fan), I couldn’t help but get excited. Because a lot of these kids are the real deal, to say the least.

Russian defenseman Yury Alexandrov was solid, with good positioning and obvious stick skills. Wings Max Sauve and Jamie Arniel displayed amazing wheels. Goalies Adam Courchaine (first game) and Michael Hutchinson (second game) are going to make decisions about their landing spots this fall difficult.

And bottom line, after watching this game, I believe one of the Bruins’ most pressing (yet often overlooked) needs has been addressed: Depth.

Last year, with members of the big club dropping like flies, right through the playoffs, the lack of suitable replacements hobbled the Bruins. Of course, it’s a rare team that has such depth in its system — most can’t afford to stash studs in the minors. But this year, it appears the Bruins just might have the perfect storm of good young players in the AHL, just a one-hour drive south of Boston. Caron, Colborne, Sauve, MacDermid, Alexandrov, Steve Kampfer, Matt Bartkowski, are just a few of the players who’ll be eligible  for the American Hockey League.

The future not only looks amazingly bright, it’ll be here faster than a lot of people think.

Marc Savard: NOT on the block.

The Boston Bruins are shopping Marc Savard!

Trying to pin down the source of rumors is something like trying to find the source of the Nile. It’s a trip through the jungle, with a thousand wrong turns and dead ends. It appears the trickle begain with TSN’s Darren

Dreger, who Tweeted about the Toronto Maple Leafs expressing “some interest” in Savard. But what really turned that trickle into a stream was TSN’s Bob McKenzie, the Grand Poobah of hockey reporting, who said “IF Marc Savard goes to TOR, and there is a chance it may happen, Kaberle won’t be part of it. It would be a ‘softer’ trade.”

Now the stream turned into a veritable flood. The Boston Bruins want to dump Marc Savard because they need to get under the cap!

And then, of course, came all the attendant flotsam and jetsam washing through the airwaves and the Internet. Questions about Savard’s character, about his teammates’ feelings toward him. Rumors that he had requested a trade (later proven untrue), that he’d been asked to waive his no-trade clause (also untrue). Rampant speculation about who he’d be traded FOR.

And under it all, from the more thoughtful hockey fans, a sense that the entire proposal made no sense whatsoever. Why would the Bruins, a team whose offense struggled mightily last year, but a team with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations, trade their top point-scorer, who had just a few months before signed a cap-friendly deal ($4 million annual hit) with an eye to spending the rest of his career in Boston? In a soft trade, no less, to get under the cap? It just didn’t add up.

Meanwhile, the flood of rumors churned merrily on. Savard is going to Los Angeles. Savard is going to Calgary (for Robyn Regehr). From James Murphy (ESPN.com/Boston): “Interesting tid-bit from one of my most trusted sources: ‘Don’t rule out Chicago and Ottawa trading for Marc Savard.’ Sharp? Spezza?” (Never mind that Spezza’s cap hit is 7 million dollars!!)

Finally, just as Murphy and his merry band of media cohorts were crossing the line from ridiculous to ludicrous, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun tracked down Savard himself:

“They hurt me a little bit just because I went to Boston and I helped to build that team back up,” Savard said in his first public comments since trade rumors started running rampant. “I’ve really tried to work hard with the young guys and being a core player. I was really focused on staying there for the rest of my career. To hear all this stuff this summer bothered me inside more than anything else. Right now I’m a Bruin and that’s the way it is, but it’s been tough.”

Now the tide began to turn, helped along by Bruins broadcaster Jack Edwards, who wrote an It Would Be Stupid For The Bruins To Trade Marc Savard, And They’re Not Stupid manifesto for NESN.com, which caused

James Murphy: Do you trust this guy?

 James Murphy go into a rage on Twitter, with a rapid-fire series ranging from the likes of “I don’t want them to trade Savard, I was just reporting it!” and “My integrity is being questioned!” to “I got the Nathan Horton deal right!”

But the final word came from Chiarelli, via the Boston Globe, on Sept. 3:

“Chiarelli talked to Savard after reading his comments and told him he would not be traded. Savard had 10 goals and 23 assists in 41 games last season, as he was sidelined by foot, knee, and head injuries. ‘I made it clear that I was not moving him,’ Chiarelli said. ‘I wanted to make sure Marc knew he was part of the organization.’’’

Lessons learned (or remembered):

1. Don’t believe everything you hear/read.
2. If it doesn’t make sense, odds are it won’t happen.
3. Some media are more interested in being first than being right.

Photos: Marc Savard from swerve at bestlaidplans.org; James Murphy from bostonsportsmedia.com

- You buy a copy of THN’s 2010 draft preview issue and watch the NHL draft (both days) while following along with their predictions.

- You get up at 7 a.m. and drive an hour and a half to watch a bunch of 20-year-olds run through skating drills.

Summer hockey! Woohoo!

- You DVR your team’s playoff run on the NHL Network and watch the games they won over and over.

- You keep checking ESPN’s NHL Rumor Central even though you swore you wouldn’t because it’s nothing but speculative bullcrap.

- You read Watership Down and see the rabbits as your favorite players (Bigwig = Zdeno Chara; Dandelion = Marc Savard).

- You vacation in Newport and get giddy on the Cliff Walk because you heard David Krejci visited two weeks prior, and he must have walked there!

David Krejci was here! I think.

- You scour Twitter to find hockey players/media to follow (Mine: Joff Lupul, Scottie Upshall, Mike McKenzie, Bob McKenzie, the Bruins).

Bill Guerin: Do not need. Do not want.

Bob McKenzie has the right idea. A few days after the opening of the free agent market, he took himself off on vacation and, other than a couple of Kovalchuk comments, has mostly Tweeted about his hammock and golf game.

Other NHL media folk would be wise to follow suit. Or at the very least, as my mother used to say, think before they speak (or type, or Tweet).

Unfortunately, too many hockey media, with too much time on their hands, too eager to listen to any whispered rumors (whispered by whom? Agents, perhaps? Perish the thought!), are too ready to pass along any ridiculous crap they hear and call it “news.”

Case in point: The Boston Bruins are interested in Bill Guerin.

The story “broke” from St. Louis (St. Louis?) on July 27, in the midst of Blake Wheeler’s salary arbitration hearings. The New England Sports Network’s web site picked it up:

The Bruins could be welcoming back a familiar face to the Hub as the team is speaking with Bill Guerin about a potential return to Boston, according to Radio host and St. Louis Blues writer Andy Strickland.

“The Bruins are talking to veteran Billy Guerin,” Strickland Tweeted Tuesday. “They need to make a roster move before they can sign him…”

OK, obviously nobody stopped to ask one simple question. No, not WTF? (though I’ll admit that’s the first thing that crossed my mind.) The question would be “Why?”

The Bruins already have their Designated Old Guy. They’re in cap hell, and are going to have to move a player or two even without signing any free agents. Though they haven’t hung out signs saying “We’re going with a youth movment,” it’s fairly obvious to anyone paying attention that they’re aiming to get younger and more dynamic, with Tyler Seguin only the tip of their young prospect iceberg; they’ve got some real talent knocking on the door.

In a nutshell, signing Bill Guerin would make no sense whatsoever.

Meanwhile, that bastion of sports journalism The Bleacher Report picked up the story, with an added twist:

Reports from NESN have stated that the Boston Bruins have significant interest in veteran winger Bill Guerin.

Oooh, so now it’s “significant” interest!

The story grew, making it onto both of Boston’s sports radio stations, as well as ESPN’s web site. For 24 hours, Bruins fans hotly debated the pros and cons of the Return of Bill Guerin.

Until Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com came along:

…A Bruins source told CSNNE.com Wednesday [July 28] there was no interest on their part in the 39-year-old free agent winger.

A Bruins source. Imagine that. A member of the media picked up the phone and, y’know, actually asked someone in the Bruins F.O. about it. Responsible journalism – who would have thunk it?

We've got our Designated Old Guy (Mark Recchi), thanks.

(And when you’re praising Joe Haggerty as a bastion of responsible journalism, you’re in trouble. But that’s a commentary for another day.)

However, like Monty Python’s iconic Black Knight, it’s not dead yet! Seriously. From yet another Bleacher Report blog (written on July 31):

I am hearing that Bill Guerin is generating interest from the Bruins, Penguins and Islanders.

And lest you think it’s just fannish blogs, think again…

Former Penguins forward Bill Guerin was linked to the Boston Bruins but given their limited cap space in the wake of their acceptance of Blake Wheeler’s arbitration award, they can’t afford him.

No, he wasn’t! It was a rumor, probably started by his agent, aiming to drum up interest… oh, never mind. Just go on vacation. Please.

Photos:  Bill Guerin from The Associated Press.  Mark Recchi from Getty Images.