Top 10 Best Boston Bruins Players of All Time

The Boston Bruins are one of the most successful franchises in the NHL. As an Original Six team, the Bruins have many legendary memories of their six Stanley Cup championships to reflect on. Since the team was established in 1924, the Bruins have also had many all time great players don the jersey, so let’s take a look at the top 10 Bruins players of all time!

Who Are the Best Boston Bruins Hockey Players of All Time?

1. Bobby Orr
2. Ray Bourque
3. Phil Esposito
4. Patrice Bergeron
5. Johnny Bucyk
6. Cam Neely
7. Eddie Shore
8. Terry O’Reilly
9. Tuukka Rask
10. Milt Schmidt

1. Bobby Orr

• Two-time Stanley Cup Champion
• Eight-time James Norris Memorial Trophy winner
• Three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner

As a rising star with the Oshawa Generals of the OHL and Team Canada, Bobby Orr joined the Boston Bruins before the 1966 season. Orr capped off a tremendous rookie season with a Calder Memorial trophy, which is given to the league’s top rookie. His tremendous talent on the ice led him to numerous other awards, including two Conn Smythe Trophies as the team’s best player during its two Stanley Cup runs in 1970 and 1972. Orr’s legacy-defining moment came in Game 4 of the 1970 Cup Finals. Orr scored the game-winning goal in overtime of that contest to help lift the Bruins to their first championship since 1941. Orr was a seven-time NHL All-Star and led the Bruins to eight playoff appearances throughout his tenure in Boston. 

Not only is he considered the best Bruin of all time, but he is also considered one of the greatest defensemen in NHL history. Orr holds the record for the most points and assists recorded by a defenseman in a single NHL season. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979.

2. Ray Bourque

• Five-time James Norris Memorial Trophy winner
• 1979-80 Calder Memorial Trophy winner
• 19-time NHL All-Star

Ray Bourque is the next Canadian defenseman to make the list. Despite winning his only Stanley Cup Trophy as a member of the Avalanche in 2001, Bourque is synonymous with the Bruins franchise. Bourque played parts of 21 seasons with the Bruins and is their longest-tenured captain in franchise history. Bourque was drafted eighth overall by the Bruins prior to the 1979 season, which also ended in him claiming a Calder Memorial Trophy. Although Bourque did not rack up illustrious postseason accolades like Orr, he was still part of 19 different Bruins teams to reach the playoff. 

Bourque holds many franchise records, including the most games played, points, and assists by a Bruins player. In 2017, when the NHL came out with its 100 Greatest NHL Players of All-Time list, Bourque was one of 16 former Bruins to receive the honor. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004.

3. Phil Esposito

• Two-time Stanley Cup Champion
• Two-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner
• Five-time Art Ross Trophy winner

After a four-year stint with the Chicago Blackhawks in the mid-1960s, Phil Esposito was traded to the Bruins and helped return them to hockey glory. In his first season with the Bruins, Esposito was named to his first All-Star team. From there, his career blossomed and he turned into one of the most prolific scorers of his era, and of all time. In his second season with the team, he won his first Art Ross Trophy after becoming the first player in NHL history to eclipse the 100-point mark. That 126-point season in 1968-69 was far from his best, as he shattered that number five different times en route to four more seasons as the league’s top points-getter. In the 1970 playoffs, which saw Boston claim its first championship in almost 30 years, Esposito was the Bruins leader in goals and assists.

Esposito did not have the longevity of Bourque to proclaim himself in the Bruins’ all-time record books, but he does hold a number of single-season accolades. In 1970-71, Esposito scored 76 goals and recorded 152 points, both of which are franchise marks. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984.

4. Patrice Bergeron

• 2011 Stanley Cup Champion
• Five-time Frank J. Selke Trophy winner
• Most overtime playoff goals in Bruins history (4)

Patrice Bergeron has been a mainstay of the Boston Bruins in the 21st century and was a pivotal piece on the 2011 squad that won the Stanley Cup Championship. Drafted to the Bruins in 2003, Bergeron’s career got off to a slow start, as he only recorded 39 points in 71 games. However, he posted back-to-back seasons with 70 or more points before he was sidelined for most of the 2007-08 season with a concussion. Bergeron’s never been heralded for incredible puck skills or scoring prowess, but he’s scored when it counts. He netted the series-clinching goal in Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, then scored again later on in that same game.

Bergeron has been known as one of the toughest players in the NHL ever since he played through the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals with a punctured lung, separated shoulder, broken rib, and a broken nose.

5. Johnny Bucyk

• Two-time Stanley Cup Champion
• Two-time Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner
• Most goals scored in Bruins history (545)

Johnny Bucyk was just 22 years old when he was traded from the Detroit Red Wings to the Boston Bruins in 1958. The young winger joined the front line, with Bronco Horvath and Vic Stasiuk, and made an immediate impact. The trio, which was known as the “Uke Line” by the Boston faithful, led the Bruins to a Stanley Cup appearance in 1958, but would never return. Bucyk and the Bruins wouldn’t get back to the finals until 1970, a season that ended in a championship. But, his best playoff run was in 1972, when he scored a team-high nine goals and led the team to another Stanley Cup championship.

Bucyk is a Hall of a Famer and a Boston legend, with his name littered all over the Bruins record books. Throughout his career, he was never the most prolific scorer, but over the course of his 21-year Bruins career he worked his way up to the very top of the career scoring list for the Original Six franchise, amassing 545 goals. 

6. Cam Neely

• Four-time NHL All-Star
• 2005 Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee
• Number 8 retired by the Bruins

Cam Neely started his career with the Vancouver Canucks, but finished his career in Boston after he was traded there in 1986. Few have had as storied of a career with the franchise as Neely had in ten years there, and his impact on the 1990s Bruins is equally as notable. Neely was the Bruins’ goals leader in seven of his ten years in Beantown, including three 50-goal efforts in 1990, 1991, and 1994. In that 1994 season, Neely also added a Bill Masterton Trophy to his awards case, which is handed out to the player that best displays the qualities of sportsmanship and perseverance.

Many people referred to Neely as a “power forward,” a term that was first coined to describe his big, physical style of play. At 6’1”, 185 pounds, Neely was much stockier than some of his counterparts around the league.

7. Eddie Shore

• Two-time Stanley Cup Champion
• Four-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner
• NHL’s 100 Greatest NHL Players list

Eddie Shore was the Bruins’ top player during their glory days in the 1920s and 1930s. Shore starred as a defenseman in the Western Canada Hockey League until 1926 when the league folded and Shore was sold to the Bruins. Three years later, in 1929, Shore was part of the team that brought home the Bruins’ first Stanley Cup championship, with Boston topping the New York Rangers. He’s one of the league’s earliest superstars, and across his 14-year NHL journey, he racked up four Hart Memorial Trophies, the most by a defenseman ever. Shore also added eight NHL All-Star appearances to his resume, including six straight selections from 1931-36.

As a defenseman, Shore was every bit as tough as he was an offensive threat. In his first two NHL seasons, Shore led the league in penalty minutes. Shore played 545 games with the B’s, amassing 103 goals along the way.

8. Terry O’Reilly

• Number 24 retired by the Bruins
• Most penalty in minutes in Bruins history (2,095)
• 606 career points with the Bruins

Terry O’Reilly’s contributions to the Bruins can’t be quantified in raw stats, like goals or points. However, O’Reilly still added value as a player for the franchise from 1971-85 as a premier enforcer. O’Reilly recorded 2,095 penalty minutes in his career, a Bruins all-time record that still stands today. O’Reilly played 80 games in 1975-76 and 1978-79, tied for the most in the league. The Bruins also made twelve playoff appearances throughout his tenure, making it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1977 and 1978, but losing both times.

Despite his aggressive nature, which both fans and teammates adored, O’Reilly put together a couple of productive offensive seasons. In his most potent campaign, 1977-78, O’Reilly put up 90 points on 29 goals while spending 211 minutes in the penalty box. By the end of his career, O’Reilly had scored 204 goals and recorded 402 assists, which is the tenth most in Bruins history.

9. Tuukka Rask

• 2013-14 Vezina Trophy Winner
• Two-time NHL All-Star
• Most wins in Bruins history (308)

Tuuka Rask was not one of the players that began his career as an immediate starter. He was originally drafted in the first round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, but Rask never played a game for them before he was dealt to Boston. Rask played a backup role in the early years of his career, including the 2010-11 season that ended in a Stanley Cup Finals victory for the Bruins. In 2012-13, Rask took over as the starter, and then in his second season as the Bruins’ everyday goalie, Boston went back to the Stanley Cup Finals. Rask went 14-8-0 in those playoffs, with three shutouts and 715 saves.

When Rask, once again, led the Bruins back to the finals in 2019, he had another tremendous postseason run. This time, Rask went 15-9-0, with two shutouts and 693 saves. Rask is the franchise leader in wins, as well as games played by a goalie and saves.

10. Milt Schmidt

• Two-time Stanley Cup Champion
• 1950-51 Hart Memorial Trophy winner
• Four-time NHL All-Star

Milt Schmidt was the star of the famed Kraut Line of the 1930s and 1940s. Schmidt was first called up to the Bruins in 1937 and within just a few years, Kraut blossomed into a star. The first Stanley Cup came in 1939 and he claimed his lone Art Ross Trophy the season after that. On top of leading the NHL in points in 1939-40, Schmidt was also the league's assists leader. Schmidt played 16 seasons with the Bruins from 1937-42, and then from 1945-55 after serving in the Canadian military during World War II.

Although the Bruins never won another Stanley Cup after Schmidt returned from duty, he went on to have an excellent second half to his career. In his second full season back, he was the runner-up for the Hart Memorial Trophy, before capturing the elusive award in 1951. Schmidt finished his career, just a few years later, with 229 goals, 346 assists, and 776 games played.

Honorable Mentions

• Wayne Cashman
• Zdeno Chára
• Gerry Cheevers
• Lionel Hitchman
• Ken Hodge
• David Krejčí
• Brad Marchand
• Rick Middleton
• David Pastrnak
• Brad Park
• Tim Thomas

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