Which NHL players belong on the Mount Rushmore of Boston Bruins legends?

By Ryan Gagne

Modified Feb 28, 2024 22:07 GMT

The Boston Bruins are one of the most successful teams in NHL history. Whether it's their unprecedented 2022-23 season with 65 wins, their record 29-year playoff streak, 20 Stanley Cup Final appearances or six championships, many of the game's greatest skaters have pulled on a Spoked B sweater and called Boston home.

One of their long-time rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, recently retired the jersey of Jaromir Jagr, who spent time with the Bruins in 2013, the year they lost in the Stanley Cup Final.

During the festivities, the club snapped a picture of Jagr with Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, sharing on social media that Mount Rushmore is among the greatest of all time.

Since that memorable day, the debates have started about who would be carved into each NHL franchise's Mount Rushmores. The answers are simple for some teams, but picking just four names out of 1,000 options is challenging for others, like the Bruins.

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Which players belong on the Mount Rushmore of Boston Bruins legends?

#1. Bobby Orr

Although Bobby Orr is only the franchise leader in plus/minus, with the NHL's second-best career total of plus-524, he is the only Bruins player with a statue outside TD Garden, one that depicts his iconic goal to win the Stanley Cup in 1970.

Orr only played 10 seasons in Boston, scoring 888 points in 631 games while winning the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman from 1968 to 1975, a streak unlikely to be broken in our lifetime.

Moreover, he remains the only defenseman to win the Art Ross Trophy, achieving the feat in 1970 (120 points) and again in 1975 (135 points). Additionally, he was a three-time Hart Trophy winner and a two-time Conn Smythe winner and hoisted the Stanley Cup in 1970 and 1972.

Arguably the greatest defenseman of all time, many consider him the greatest player since he transcended the game and played it on a level unseen before or since. Unfortunately, knee injuries ended his career in 1979 at just 30 years old.

#2. Ray Bourque

Ray Bourque began his career in 1979-80, the same season Wayne Gretzky made his NHL debut. Surprisingly, the 19-year-old defender collected 65 points to win the Calder Trophy, robbing The Great One of his only chance to be rookie of the year.

By the end of his first decade, Bourque became team captain, serving from 1985 to 2000 while helping the club to the 1988 and 1990 Stanley Cup Finals. During this time, he won five Norris Trophies and climbed the Bruins' all-time scoring charts, where he remains the team's most accomplished scorer with 1,506 points.

After watching a historic 29-year-playoff run come to an end in 1997, Bourque, on the backside of his career, would be traded to the Colorado Avalanche in 2000, where he hoisted the Stanley Cup in his final game, retiring at 40.

Although he would reach the mountain top with another franchise and have his jersey number hanging from the rafters at Ball Arena in Denver, Bourque remains an integral part of the Boston community.

Whether skating in alumni games or hosting at his restaurant (Tresca), he's always attending ceremonies and special events, beloved by generations of fans who watched him play live or saw the highlights of his Hall of Fame career.

#3. Phil Esposito

Phil Esposito played four seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, netting 174 points over 235 games before one of the most lopsided trades in NHL history sent him to the Bruins in May 1967.

Within two years of the deal, Esposito became the first player ever to score more than 100 points in a season, finishing with 126, a mark he went on to beat five more times in the next six seasons.

Before Gretzky shattered his marks in the early 1980s, Espositio collected 152 points in 1971 to establish the top milestone in NHL history.

Thanks to a 1.61 points per game average, he became the franchise's second-highest scorer behind teammate Johnny Buyck, with 1,012 points in just 625 games.

Although he finished his career with the New York Rangers and eventually collected 700 goals, there's no denying that Esposito carved out his legacy while skating with the Bruins in the 1970s.

Over a decade after retiring, Boston lifted his number to the rafters, and Bourque switched from #7 to the iconic #77 we all know him for. In one of the grandest gestures, the switch occurred in front of the guest of honor.

#4. Patrice Bergeron

As mentioned, 10 to 15 players could deserve to be the fourth man on the Bruins Mount Rushmore, including Johnny Bucyk, who was instrumental in winning two Stanley Cups in the 1970s while owning most of the team's scoring records until Bourque surpassed him.

However, only one player in NHL history has won the Frank J. Selke Trophy a record six times, and that is recently retired Patrice Bergeron. As one of four players to score 1,000 points with the black and gold, he ranks in the top five in most scoring categories and has a Stanley Cup ring from 2011.

As one of the most gifted defensive forwards to ever play in the league, Bergeron was a top faceoff performer during his 19-year career. Additionally, he became the poster boy of the sacrifices it took to win in the playoffs, often playing through painful ailments (like broken ribs) that could keep ordinary skaters down.

Bergeron retired in the summer of 2023 after guiding the Bruins to the most remarkable regular season (65 wins and 135 points). He is one of the few top players to spend his entire career with the organization and remains one of their most respected and beloved skaters.