After doing plenty of obscure former Boston Bruins from recent years, we're turning the clock back a little more. Almost two decades back to be exact. Having most recently covered the Ritchie brothers, Brett and Nick, we're diving into the career of Shawn McEachern today. McEachern had two stints with the Bruins during a successful NHL career.
Shawn McEachern is one of many lesser known former Bruins players
Shawn McEachern was a sixth-round draft pick in the 1987 NHL Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins, chosen during his college hockey career at Boston University. McEachern made his NHL debut in 1991-1992 and had four points, all assists, in 15 games. He boomed the next season, racking up 28 goals and 33 assists for 61 points in 84 games for the Penguins. No, that is not a typo. 84 games. They played 84 a season from 1992 to 1994 with two neutral site games included in every team's schedule.
McEachern spent the next two seasons split between the Penguins and Los Angeles Kings before suiting up for the Bruins in 1995-1996, amassing 24 goals and 29 assists in 82 games, playing with Ray Bourque and Cam Neely on the team. McEachern's 53 points in the regular season were good for fourth-best on the team, seven points better than Neely.
After that season, McEachern played six years for the Ottawa Senators, amassing 142 goals and 162 assists for 304 points in 454 games. After year six in Ottawa, he was traded along with a 2004 sixth-round pick to the Atlanta Thrashers for Brian Pothier. McEachern had 26 points in 46 games in 2002-2003 with the Thrashers and was named the captain of the team for the 2003-2004 season.
That year, McEachern produced 17 goals and 38 assists for 55 points, playing in all 82 games as he captained the Thrashers to a second-place finish in the Southeast Division. His 55 points were second most on the team, behind only Ilya Kovalchuk's 87-point season. He also played with future Bruin and Stanley Cup champion Marc Savard on that team.
After captaining the Thrashers, he was signed for two years by the Bruins for his second stint in Boston ahead of the 2005-2006 season, right after the 2004-2005 lockout canceled that season. He was only able to manage two goals and six assists in 28 games. The Bruins then bought out the last year of his deal that offseason, and he retired in August of 2006.
Currently, Shawn McEachern is the head coach of the men's hockey program at Suffolk University in Boston, with the 2023-2024 campaign being his second as head coach of the Rams. He led the team to a 6-17-2 overall record in 2022-2023 and a very similar 5-18-2 mark this past year.