The 10 Greatest Players in Boston Bruins History

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The Boston Bruins have one of the most storied traditions in the NHL. They were founded in 1924 and are one of the Original Six teams. They were also the very first American-based team.

The Bruins have had plenty of great players come through the doors and wear the spoked B proudly, which made compiling this list so hard.

There were some guys left off this list who were definitely great players but this is exactly the kind of problem a team wants where they had to leave some guys off because other players were just so good.

So without wasting any more time, here are the 10 greatest players in Boston Bruins history.

10. Lionel Hitchman

Lionel Hitchman was the first Boston Bruins captain. He ended up playing 10 years for the Bruins and won a Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 1929.

He finished his career with just 27 goals and 33 assists but racked up 523 penalty minutes which was an NHL record at the time.

His No. 3 was retired by the Bruins and his number was the second in NHL history to be retired.

9. Terry O'Reilly

Terry played for the Bruins his entire NHL career from 1971-1984. O'Reilly was known for his rough style of play racking up over 200 penalty minutes in five straight seasons. He earned the nickname "Bloody O'Reilly."

O'Reilly could score almost just as much as he could fight, as he finished with 204 goals and 402 assists.

He was the Boston Bruins captain for two years. He also served as their coach for three years from 1986-1989.

8. Cam Neely

Cam Neely played for the Bruins from 1986-1995. He is considered the "ultimate power forward" because of his combined physical abilities along with his scoring skills.

His strong, accurate shot and quick release made him a great scorer for the Bruins and he gave out some of the most devastating checks in NHL history.

In 1993, he scored his 50 goals in just his 44th game, becoming the second fastest to hit 50 goals in a season behind only Wayne Gretzky.

Neely finished his career with 395 goals and 299 assists and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005.

His No. 8 was retired by the Bruins and he currently serves as the Bruins Vice President.

Check out Neely's thoughts on the upcoming 2010 Winter Classic here:

http://www.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?&id=45013

7.. Johnny Bucyk

Bucyk played for the Bruins from 1957-1977 and has been a part of the Bruins organization for 50 years now.

He was in the All Star Game for seven seasons and was known as the "Chief" for his Native American looks.

Bucyk had 16 seasons with 20 or more goals. He leads the Bruins in goals scored and most consecutive games played.

Johnny finished his career with 556 goals and 813 assists. Bucyk was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1981 and is considered one of the greatest hockey players to ever play the game.

6. Phil Esposito

Phil played for the Bruins form 1967-1975. Esposito was traded to the Bruins from the Chicago Blackhawks and had an immediate impact helping lead the Bruins to two Stanly Cups in 1970 and 1972.

Esposito won the Art Ross Trophy three times from 1971-1973 and played in the All Star Game 10 times. Phil leads the league in game winning goals with 118 and shots on goal in one season with 550 in 1970.

Look back at Esposito's 76-goal season here:

http://www.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?&id=20182

He finished with an unprecedented 717 goals and 873 assists. His number was retired by the Bruins in 1987 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984.

5. Raymond Bourque

Bourque played almost his entire career with the Bruins from 1979-1999. He was one of the greatest defenseman to ever play for the Bruins. Bourque wore the "C" for the Bruins the longest and won the Norris Trophy five times.

Bourque leads defenseman in goals scored with 410 and points with 1,579. He is also the Bruins leader in games played, points scored, and assists.

Bourque was named to the All Star Game 19 straight years for the longest in NHL history.

Watch Bourque talk NHL shop with his sons here:

http://www.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?&id=44435

4. Eddie Shore

Shore played for the Bruins from 1926-1939. He was one of the Bruins first great defenceman. Shore was a great scorer but also racked up his fair share of penalty minutes.

He won the Hart Trophy four times and was named to the All Star Game eight of the first nine seasons that the NHL began it.

He won the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 1929 and 1939 and was inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1947.

3. Aubrey Clapper

Aubrey Clapper played for the Bruins his entire career from 1927-1947. He was the first NHL player to ever play at least 20 years. Clapper was named to the All Star Game as both a defenseman and a right winger.

The Bruins retired his No. 5 and the Hockey Hall of Fame waived the normal three year waiting period and inducted him immediately right after his retirement.

Aubrey finished his career with 228 goals and 246 assists and will go down as one of the greatest Bruins of all time.

2. Milt Schmidt

Schmidt played for the Bruins during two different stints. His first stint was from 1936-1942 and his second from 1946-1955.

He helped lead the Bruins to two Stanley Cups in 1939 and 1941. Schmidt won the Hart Trophy in 1951 and led the NHL in scoring in 1940.

He was named to the All Star game in 1947, 1948, 1951, and 1952. When he retired he was third in NHL history in points and second in assists.

What made Schmidt so great was the fact that he missed three years do to serving in WWII and when he returned he played like he hadn't missed any time.

1. Bobby Orr

Robert Gordon "Bobby" Orr is arguably the greatest hockey player to ever lace up a pair of skates. Orr spent most of his career playing for Bruins during the years of the "Big Bad Bruins."

He helped lead the Bruins to two Stanley Cups in 1970 and 1972. He scored both game-winning goals in each Finals. Orr was said to have changed the way a defenseman played the game.

He won the Norris trophy for best defenseman eight straight years from 1968-1975. He won the Hart Memorial Trophy from 1970-1972.

Orr is considered the greatest defenseman of all time and one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century.

He will easily go down as the greatest Boston Bruins player of all time.