Neely discusses plans for Bruins' upcoming centennial season in Q&A

In NHL.com's Q&A feature called "Sitting Down with …" we talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice. Today, we feature Boston Bruins president Cam Neely on the team's upcoming centennial season.

Boston Bruins president Cam Neely sees his retired number banner when he pauses during the national anthem in a TD Garden suite.

"The American flag is near my banner, so I'll see it during the playing of the anthem. I might take a peek," the Bruins legend said in recent conversation.

"The one interesting part of it that maybe not many know is this: my mother's maiden name was Cameron and my middle name is for my father, Michael. I've lost both my parents so seeing my banner (which reads Cameron M. Neely) brings back memories of them, seeing both of their names up there."

Neely's No. 8 banner, retired on Jan. 12, 2004, is one of 12 numbers in the rafters of TD Garden.

The Bruins icon and president of the team since 2010, was a beloved figure in black and gold, a power forward by its truest definition. Now, he is energetically at work with plans to celebrate the team's 100th anniversary throughout the 2023-24 season.

Boston's Bruins' centennial logo, to be used by the team throughout the 2023-24 season.

The Bruins will be 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 Chicago 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," Neely said. "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."

The Stanley Cup-champion Boston Bruins pose on Rogers Arena ice in Vancouver on June 15, 2011, after their Game 7 victory clinched the championship against the Vancouver Canucks. Brian Babineau, Getty Images

As a 6-foot-1, 218-pound right wing, Neely was a rugged presence from 1986-96 in Boston; he had 590 points (344 goals, 246 assists) in 525 games, arriving by trade after three seasons with the Vancouver Canucks.

The native of Comox, British Columbia, was the fifth player in Bruins history to record a 50-goal season when he set a right-wing club record with 55 in 1989-90. Neely was just the second Bruin to register consecutive 50-goal seasons when he scored 51 in 1990-91.

His 50 goals in 44 games in 1993-94 tied as the second-fastest such accomplishment in NHL history, a testament to his grit having missed most of the previous season with knee and thigh injuries.

Those injuries forced the 1993-94 Bill Masterton Trophy winner into retirement in September 1996, his Hockey Hall of Fame election to come in 2005.

Bruins goalie Frank Brimsek defends Boston's goal, Bobby Bauer (17) about to head up ice in an early 1940s game against the Rangers at New York's Madison Square Garden. Getty Images

Today, the centennial season at hand, Neely is considering the 1,055 players who have skated or played goal for Boston -- 944 forwards and defensemen, 111 goalies.

From that roster, a 30-member committee will select and rank its 100 most legendary Bruins, then meet on Sept. 7 in Boston to select from the "Historic 100" list the club's All-Centennial team -- two goalies, six defensemen and 12 forwards.

The 20-member team will be revealed at the Bruins' Centennial Gala on Oct. 12, a black-tie event at Boston's Fairmont Copley Plaza to benefit the team's foundation.

Neely and many in his organization are moving in many directions to celebrate a century of Boston hockey. The president looks at a very big picture with NHL.com.

NHL President Frank Calder (right) presents the 1939 Stanley Cup to coach Art Ross and his victorious Boston Bruins. Getty Images

When you look down a list of the more than 1,000 players who have skated or tended goal for the Bruins since the team's birth, what are your general thoughts about both the legends and the journeymen on whose backs the franchise has been built?

"There are names that you'd forget, not only in recent eras but going back to the 1970s, 1960s, 1950s. 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."

You have a committee working to select and rank the "Historic 100." It's awfully tough to rank players across decades and eras, but it will provide grist for the discussion and debating mill of fans. Do you wish you were part of the selection committee?

"(Laughs) Not really. I'm thrilled with the committee members we have, a lot of hockey experience under everybody's belt and they've probably watched a lot more games than I have. I'm certainly looking forward to how it all plays out, the opinions of everybody. It'll be great fodder for discussion and debate."

Goaltender Tiny Thompson, the Bruins' first great goaltender, seen in a 1930s photo. Thompson led the team to the 1929 Stanley Cup. Turofsky/Hockey Hall of Fame

The Bruins have won six Stanley Cup championships, three of them during your lifetime (1970, 1972), one under your presidency (2011). How much of a historian have you been of the Bruins and would you consider yourself to be now? Have you found yourself studying more about the team since becoming president?

"No question. When I came to Boston from Vancouver in 1986, Johnny Bucyk was working with the team, Derek Sanderson was with the broadcast group, Bobby Orr would pop in and out, Pie (Johnny) McKenzie was around… that's when I started thinking, 'Oh my God, the history of this organization, the players I watched growing up, on Hockey Night in Canada. This is pretty special.' When I became president, I started digging into the history of the franchise a bit more. You start looking at third jerseys, Winter Classic and Stadium Series jerseys. You start going back in time and seeing that the colors were brown and gold originally, then went to black, the different styles. You start understanding more of the history when you dig into it with the jerseys, to begin with. Then, who wore the jerseys, what eras they played. It was pretty cool to do that organically."

There can be a lot of very detailed planning on a celebration like your centennial, and then some things just come up, such as the July 25 retirement of your captain, Patrice Bergeron. Might there be consideration to honor Patrice during the 2023-24 season?

"We'll certainly sit down and put something together for him, which he richly deserves. I haven't had time to digest it. We knew before the (July 25) press conference what Patrice's intentions were, but I haven't really thought yet about the specifics of honoring him."

Lionel Hitchman, the second captain in Bruins franchise history, in a 1931 portrait, and Zdeno Chara, the 19th, at TD Garden in October 2017. Acme Newspictures/Maddie Meyer, Getty Images

Apart from your own banner, have you got a favorite in the Garden rafters?

"Probably Espo's (No. 7 of Phil Esposito) because of the ceremony that went with it, what Ray did. (Legendary defenseman Ray Bourque pulled off his No. 7 on Dec. 3, 1987 to reveal his new No. 77, "surrendering" No. 7 to Esposito. Bourque's 77 was retired on Oct. 4, 2001.) That was something special. I was suited up for that game. When I look at Espo's banner, it brings back the memories of being on the ice when Ray shocked the heck out of everybody."

If you absolutely need a Bruins goal, who do you send out onto the ice?

"It would have to be Espo. He was a goal-scoring machine. … The teams Phil played for in the 1970s, New England still talks about those teams and those players. Phil was devastated when he was traded to New York (Nov. 7, 1975 with defenseman Carol Vadnais for center Jean Ratelle and defensemen Brad Park and Joe Zanussi), but I think the trade worked out for both clubs. I've got a really good relationship with Phil, I met him years and years ago, did some charity with Phil and (actor and huge Bruins fan) Denis Leary… every time we played in Tampa, we made sure we'd get together. He's a wonderful human with great stories."

The Bruins will have "Era Nights" this season against teams of the NHL's so-called "Original Six," the five other clubs that made up the League for 25 years between 1942-67. You'll have legends from those five opponents as part of the themed celebration. What's the over/under on the number of them that Terry O'Reilly might fight?

"(Laughs) He could fight 'em all! Another iconic Bruin for what he meant to the team. Any challenge that Terry might get, he'd accept."

Boston Bruins legends Cam Neely (left) and Terry O'Reilly share a laugh during their team's "Last Hurrah" ceremony celebrating the closing of Boston Garden on Sept. 28, 1995. Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images

Terry had 35 career regular-season major penalties against those five opponents, eight each against Chicago and Toronto -- he battled the Maple Leafs' Tiger Williams four times -- and seven against Montreal. For a bonus point, who did Terry most scrap with on the Canadiens?

"(Pauses) First name that pops into my head is Chris Nilan, but was he there long enough?"

He fought Nilan once. Would you believe it's Frank Mahovlich, twice?

"Frank Mahovlich?!"

Top photo: Boston Bruins president Cam Neely at the 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Bruins at Fenway Park on Jan. 2, 2023. Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images