Bruins announce 'Historic 100', most legendary players in their history

The Boston Bruins officially lifted the curtain on their 2023-24 centennial season Tuesday, announcing their “Historic 100.”

One hundred players, from their maiden 1923-24 season through today, were voted to be the “most legendary” Bruins by a 30-member committee of journalists, media representatives, historians and members of the hockey community.

Alphabetically from Jason Allison through Ed Westfall, the list is a cross-section of iconic Bruins through the team’s century.

The committee met in Boston and remotely Sept. 7 to consider the Historic 100 and selected the Bruins’ All-Centennial Team, to be announced at the team’s Centennial Gala in downtown Boston on Oct. 12, the night after the team’s season opener against the Chicago Blackhawks at TD Garden.

The All-Centennial Team, presented by Rapid7, features two goalies, six defensemen and 12 forwards.

The full list of the Historic 100 can be viewed here.

Fans have the opportunity to select their own individual All-Centennial Teams by visiting this link.

From left: Phil Esposito, Gerry Cheevers, Bobby Orr and Derek Sanderson, from the 2020 NHL Network Originals documentary “The 1970 Boston Bruins: Big Bad & Bobby.” All were voted onto the Historic 100 of the Boston Bruins for their 2023-24 centennial season.

All-time roster cards can be created, downloaded and shared for debate and discussion across social media, leading to the Oct. 12 announcement of the official team.

The Bruins are the third NHL team to mark their centennial, with the Montreal Canadiens having turned 100 in 2009-10 and the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016-17. The New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings and Blackhawks will follow the Bruins to 100 years in 2026.

“We started having loose discussions probably three or four years ago about this being a big deal coming up, and being the first American team to turn 100,” Bruins president and team legend Cam Neely told NHL.com in August. “We began talking about how it's going to look.

“Watching what Montreal and Toronto did certainly gave us some insight as well. Our group talked to both Montreal and Toronto to get their pros and cons about what they did. Would they have done anything differently? What did they like that they did?

“And getting our alumni involved is a really big part of it. You're talking about 100 years' worth of hockey players. That's the lifeblood of a team, its current and former players.”

More than 1,000 men have played for the Bruins throughout their history, a fact that’s not lost on Neely.

“There are names that you'd forget, not only in recent eras but going back to the 1970s, 1960s, 1950s,” he said. “Everybody remembers the championship teams (of 1970 and 1972) and the players who were on those teams, but there have been so many great players who have put on that jersey over the years.

“Start looking at names and you think, ‘Oh yeah, I forgot about him.’ That's something that's going to happen with everybody, you're not going to remember every name. It's pretty amazing to see the talent that's gone through this organization.”

Neely, who was voted among the Historic 100, will be deeply involved in the Bruins’ celebration throughout the season.