The Boston Bruins have spoiled the city and their fans in recent years with high quality hockey and success. Over the past seven seasons, the Bruins have qualified for the playoffs each year, have won two Presidents’ Trophies (2020, 2023), made a Stanley Cup Final appearance (2019), and had a record-breaking 2022-2023 season. The B’s have had trouble capturing the Stanley Cup since 2011, but it’s calming to know that sports’ greatest prize is within reach.
Now let’s take a step back into the past, to the seasons from 1960-1967, when things weren’t so great. Playoffs at the end of the regular season were not a reality, placing anywhere above last in the standings was nearly impossible, and the only records being broken were negative. A period full of uncertainty, losing, and change, that would eventually bring a great new era to the franchise. (Note: all quotes in this article were from the Boston Globe archives).
1960-61 season
Record: 15-42-13 (43 points)
The Bruins didn’t come into the 1960s without their stars. Don McKenney, Jerry Toppazzini, and the Uke Line (Bronco Horvath, Johnny Bucyk, and Vic Stasiuk) led the way in scoring. Doug Mohns played both forward and defense, while defenseman Leo Boivin and team captain Fern Flaman secured the back end of the ice. Coaching this squad was “The Ultimate Bruin’, Milt Schmidt.
The 1960-61 season started off rough, with the Bruins not getting their first win until the ninth game of the season. They beat the New York Rangers in Boston, 6-4. By January 22, the team had only mustered up 10 total wins, something had to change.
A day later it was announced that forwards Leo Labine and Stasiuk had been traded to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for center Murray Oliver, and left-wingers Gary Aldcorn, and Tommy McCarthy. Bruins General Manager, Lynn Patrick, deemed this trade as the beginning of a new ‘youth movement’ in Boston.
“We’re rebuilding for the future,” Patrick said. “We needed a good young center and I feel we got one in Oliver.”
Another move that was being rumored for months before the season ended, was the removal of Schmidt as head coach. Schmidt still had two years left on a three-year contract and had coached the B’s to two consecutive Cup Finals just a couple of seasons prior.
The rumors were true, the day after the final game of the season, Schmidt was fired as head coach, and moved to the assistant GM position.