1965-66 season
Record: 21-43-6 (48 points)
On April 5, 1965, Lynn Patrick stepped down as GM and moved to the position of Administrative Vice President of the franchise. Patrick served as GM for 11 years and made 2 Stanley Cup Finals appearances (1957, 1958).
The same day, Hap Emms, owner-coach of the Bruins major-junior affiliate Niagra Falls Flyers, was named the new GM of the team via handshake agreement.
“Coming to Boston has to be a great source of pleasure and pride to me,” Emms told the Boston Globe. “I know full well the extent of the challenge, but I am prepared to meet it and will give my best to get the Bruins back into a contending position.”
The duo of Emms and Schmidt got right to work. On June 10 at the intra-league draft, the Bruins claimed goaltender Gerry Cheevers from the Maple Leafs. They chose to protect veterans Johnny Bower and Terry Sawchuk over the young AHL All-Star goalie, a move that would be paying off for the B’s in a major way in the near future.
Emms brought along another future Hall of Fame goaltender from his Niagra Falls team, Bernie Parent, to play alongside Johnston and Cheevers.
The Bruins’ 1965-66 season kicked off with another historically bad start. From November 28 to December 19, they went on a 12-game winless streak, the third longest in Bruins history. They broke the streak on Christmas day, beating the Rangers 4-2, but immediately returned to their losing ways starting the following day, going on a six-game losing streak.
On February 17, 1966, the Bruins traded captain Leo Boivin and Dean Prentice to the Red Wings for defensemen Gary Doak, Bill Lesuk, and forward Ron Murphy. It was another youth movement trade in the case of receiving Doak and Lesuk.
Boivin finished his Bruins career with 47 goals and 164 assists in 717 games, and leaving as one of the greatest defensemen to don the Black and Gold.
Miraculously, the Bruins last place streak was broken at the end of the season. The B’s finished one point ahead of the Rangers in the standings to not finish last in the league for the first time since the 1959-60 season.
The Bruins closed the season with the same record as the previous season, and the same amount of points for the third consecutive year.