The Boston Bruins kicked off the post-Olympic break on Thursday night with a 4-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The game marked the first time Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy and goaltender Jeremy Swayman appeared in front of home fans after bringing home the first gold medal for the United States since the 1980 men's national team.
While teams such as the New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers literally rolled out the red carpet to celebrate the members of their teams, and the opposing teams that won Gold, all the Bruins could muster was a compilation of all the Bruins who played at the Olympics.
I don't mean to in any way diminish the accomplishments of David Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha, Hampus Lindholm, Elias Lindholm, Dans Locmelis, Joonas Korpisalo, and Henri Jokiharju (the last two of whom picked up the bronze), but the Bruins are a team in the United States.
It would be different if we had won Gold at a different Olympics recently, but not a single member of this Bruins roster was alive the last time the US came home with Olympic Gold. Don Sweeney and Cam Neely are probably the only big-name members of the organization, outside of ownership, that can even remember the "Miracle on Ice".
Bruins completely whiff on Olympic celebration
I wasn't expecting some extravagant presentation by the Bruins. No fancy paintings, no silver sticks, and no Rolexes. What I was expecting was a larger acknowledgement of the massive accomplishment of the three members of the Gold medal squad (defenseman Zach Werenski was in town with the Blue Jackets) who were in attendance. Bring out Mike Eruzione (he is just down the street after all), have ownership make a plaque or something, and let McAvoy and Swayman address the fans with a short speech.
Give them their moment to shine in front of the home fans in a packed house. Credit where credit is due, the posters for Thursday's game were absolutely fantastic, with images of every Bruin in the Olympics and Swayman and McAvoy larger than the rest. They also made sure to get the camera on Swayman, who did not dress for the game, and McAvoy as they hugged, and Werenski on the Columbus bench (who received an extra loud cheer from the Boston crowd).
I, for one, am extremely proud of the accomplishment of our guys. Nothing gets me feeling more proud to be an American than watching our athletes pick up Gold at the Olympics in any sport, but hockey in particular really gets me going. Getting to see both the men's and women's teams crush Canada's dreams in overtime is something I will never forget as long as I live.
I just wish the Bruins organization celebrated this achievement at a level that recognized just how proud we all are of Swayman, McAvoy, Werenski, and all the other Americans who brought home the Gold Medal.