Aug. 20: Hall of Fame defenseman Shore has contract purchased by Bruins

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Aug. 20
1926:The Boston Bruins purchase the contract of 24-year-old defenseman
Eddie Shore
from the Edmonton Eskimos of the Western Hockey League.

After the Bruins miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of their first two NHL seasons, owner Charles Adams pays $50,000 for Shore and six other players from the WHL, which is ceasing operations. In an era when defensemen rarely venture past center ice, Shore scores 12 goals in 41 games during his first NHL season despite accruing 130 penalty minutes. The Bruins reach the Stanley Cup Final, though they lose to the Ottawa Senators.
Shore becomes the cornerstone of the Bruins, helping them win the Cup in 1929 and 1939. He's the first player to win the Hart Trophy as the League's most valuable player four times and is named an NHL First-Team All-Star seven times. Shore plays all but the final 10 games of his NHL career with the Bruins before retiring after the 1939-40 season, is elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1947 and is named to the
100 Greatest NHL Players
in 2017.

MORE MOMENTS
1982: The New Jersey Devils, preparing for their NHL debut after moving from Colorado, name forward
Don Lever
as their first captain. Lever scores the first goal in Devils history on
Oct. 5, 1982
, finishes second in goals (23) and points (53) in 1982-83 and plays three seasons with New Jersey before being traded to the Buffalo Sabres on Sept. 9, 1985.
2001:Nine years after the New York Rangers think they've acquired
Eric Lindros
, they finally get him -- in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers. Philadelphia acquires his rights in a trade with the Quebec Nordiques in June 1992 that follows an arbitrator's ruling in their favor after the Flyers and Rangers each think they have a deal. After missing all of the 2000-01 season following a concussion and a contract dispute with the Flyers, Lindros finishes with 73 points (37 goals, 36 assists) in his first season in New York. He spends three seasons with the Rangers and one each with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars before retiring after the 2006-07 season. Lindros is
inducted into the Hall of Fame
in 2016.