4. Gerry Cheevers & Gilles Gilbert
For the first few months of the 1975-76 season, Dave Reece was Gilles Gilbert’s backup in net. Then on January 26, 1976, it was announced that former Bruins goalie, Gerry Cheevers, would be retiring from the WHA due to a dispute with Cleveland Crusaders’ general manager, Jack Vivian. Bruins general manager Harry Sinden commented on the situation and showed interest in bringing him back to Boston, saying the Bruins had been continually scouting him since he left for the WHA. On February 3, Cheevers signed with the Bruins and just five days later he was back in net for a 7-0 shutout victory over the Detroit Red Wings in his big return.
Gilbert finished the season 33-8-10 with a .888 SV% and a 2.90 GAA with three shutouts, while Cheevers went 8-2-5 with a .900 SV% and a 2.74 GAA with one shutout. The Bruins finished first in the Adams Division and beat the Los Angeles Kings in the quarter-finals of the playoffs in seven games. The Bruins went out in the semi-finals though, when they lost to the Flyers in five. Gilbert went 3-3 in the postseason, with a .868 SV% and a 3.17 GAA with two shutouts, while Cheevers went 2-4 with a .917 SV% and a 2.14 GAA with one shutout.
The Bruins then made it to the Stanley Cup Final two straight seasons (1977,1978) but lost to the Canadiens in both trips. Cheevers posted a 30-win season (30-10-5) in the ’76-77 season, while goaltender Ron Grahame did most of the heavy lifting during the ’77-78 regular season (26-6-7 record) as Cheevers was dealing with a knee injury and Gilbert had sprained his ankle. Cheevers had a combined 16-9 record with a .875 SV% and a 2.98 GAA with two shutouts in the ’76-77 and ’77-78 postseasons.
The tandem would not make it to the Stanley Cup Final again in their last two seasons together, but still had great regular seasons. From 1978-1980, the duo had a combined record of 79-37-22 with a combined SV% and GAA of .876% and 3.06 GA with 6 shutouts.
At the end after the 1979-80 season, Cheevers transitioned from player to Bruins Head Coach, and Gilbert was traded to the Red Wings for Rogie Vachon.