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5 Scariest Players in Boston Bruins History

By jc

1920S: Eddie Shore of the Boston Bruins shakes the hand of Ace Bailey circa 1920's. Shore played with the Bruins from 1926-40. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images)
1920S: Eddie Shore of the Boston Bruins shakes the hand of Ace Bailey circa 1920's. Shore played with the Bruins from 1926-40. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images) /
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terry o'reilly bruins
MONTREAL 1990’s: Terry O’Reilly #24 of the Boston Bruins skates against Kent Carlson #2 of the Montreal Canadiens in the 1980’s at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Denis Brodeur/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Terry O’Reilly

Terry O’Reilly spent 14 years in Boston, where he got the nickname the Tazmanian Devil. Watch any of his highlights to see why this nickname was so appropriate.

O’Reilly had a tough time staying out of the penalty box. He has the club record for most career penalty minutes with 2095. He accomplished this in only 891 games.

In the 1979-1980 season alone, O’Reilly had 265 penalty minutes. This was right in the middle of a stretch in which he had at least 200 penalty minutes in five straight seasons.

O’Reilly spent so much time in the box because of fighting. According to Hockey Fights, O’Reilly had 150 fights in his career. That’s an average of over 10 per year!

And these weren’t just any fights. O’Reilly’s fights tended to be exceptionally violent, as he threw punches without any regard for himself or his opponent. These definitely were different times for the NHL, and O’Reilly fit right in.

That said, O’Reilly used his hands for more than fighting. He scored at least 20 goals in four different seasons, and he finished with 606 points in 891 career games for the Bruins.

However, it was O’Reilly’s short-fuse that made him one of Boston’s scariest players.

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