ORLANDO, Fla. – OK, I admit it. Even though I live in sunny Florida, I bleed black and gold. No, not the black and gold that currently own Lord Stanley’s cup. The original black and gold: the Boston Bruins.
So, you can imagine my excitement when word started leaking out that the NHL’s 2010 “Winter Classic” outdoor game would be played at Fenway Park, where I spent numerous summer nights watching the boys of summer toil in futility (it wasn’t until I had left town that the Red Sox won two World Series titles and became a serious contender). Since the old Boston Garden was torn down and replaced by the TD Garden, the “lyric little bandbox in the Back Bay” has become one of the most cherished plots of land in New England (well, to sports fans anyway).
But who would the Bruins do battle with on January 1, 2010?
The very first outdoor NHL game in the U.S. – and I say that with a nod to Canada’s Heritage Classic that pitted Edmonton against Montreal – had much to live up to. The league wanted to give American broadcast partner NBC something to promote while at the same time showcasing the sport against a glut of college football bowl games. So off to Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, New York. The league chose the Pittsburgh Penguins and prodigy Sidney Crosby as the opponent for the Buffalo Sabres. NBC and the league got what it wanted when through the falling snowflakes, Crosby scored the game-winning goal in a shootout.
This past season, the NHL gave hard core hockey fans a perfect holiday gift. The 2009 Classic was an “Original Six” contest between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Two teams with histories that span almost the entire existence of the league. Two teams that have seen some of the games’ immortals wear their jerseys. Two teams that hate each other so much that leaving opponents with bruises means as much as scoring a goal. More than 40,000 people crowded into Wrigley while more than five million tuned in as the Red Wings won the game 6-4.
So, with the 2009 game in mind, I began thinking about who I would prefer to see as the opposition for the Bruins. My first choice would be the bleu, blanc et rouge of the Montreal Canadiens. For Bruins fans, rivals don’t get any bigger than the Habs. The B’s were supposed to follow their Stanley Cup win in 1970 with another in 1971. That was until the Canadiens called up some rookie goalie named Ken Dryden who looked more like the Great Wall of China than a net minder. Don’t even get me started about 1978 and the too many men on the ice call by Dave Newell at the Forum. Rivalry? This one makes the wars between Sparta and Troy look like kids games and dates back almost that far.
My next choice would be the New York Rangers. Another “Original Six” rival. The old Boston Garden was built by the same man who built the original Madison Square Garden. Wasn’t it sweet (well, for Bruins fans) when the B’s clinched the 1972 Stanley Cup at MSG as Wayne Cashman danced a jig on Boston’s third goal? How about the night that Peter McNabb and Terry O’Reilly went into the stands in New York to take on the fans? Then there was “The Trade” when Boston G.M. Harry Sinden sent Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais to New York and got Brad Park and Jean Ratelle in return (a trade I still haven’t forgiven Sinden for and neither had Espo when I met him in 2005). Bruins versus Rangers at Fenway is as natural as the Red Sox taking on the Yankees.
So what happens? NBC and the NHL start discussing options and come to the agreement that Montreal is off the table because NBC wants two U.S. teams despite the fact that the game is also shown in Canada. Then the Rangers are slid aside because they would look better in a game on the frozen tundra of Yankee Stadium. By this point, I’m ready to send heavy objects through my computer monitor.
Then I remember that this is the “new” NHL – where the greenbacks in the bank mean more than tradition. I read the rumors that Washington was being considered because of the attraction of Alexander Ovechkin and friends. Much like the first classic, one player overshadowing the event. I could just see the “all Ovie all the time” marketing campaign. Thankfully, the league and network passed on the Capitals – the first logical thing I had heard in weeks.
Finally, last week, the official announcement was made that Boston’s opposition will be the Philadelphia Flyers. A member of the 1967 expansion class, the Flyers don’t rate as high on my list of hated rivals. They do, however, hold a special place close to there because in 1975, Philly beat the Bruins in the Cup finals. Watching Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber, Bernie Parent and the rest of the “Broad Street Bullies” celebrate their conquest of my “Big Bad Bruins” hurt. It took me years before I could appreciate “God Bless America” and Kate Smith because it was the Flyers’ good luck charm (or so it seemed because they won every time it was played before a game). Neither team is loaded with Madison Avenue level stars so maybe, just maybe, this could work. A good, solid working man’s game to start the new year.
Of course, I realize that I’ll end up watching the game no matter who is playing. Hockey is my game and I will have had my fill of football by then. I just wish I didn’t feel like I was settling for something less than the main course I really wanted.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.