From NEHJ: O'Connell reflects on Bruins glory
For as long as he lives and no matter how the rest of his tenure plays out, Peter Chiarelli will always be remembered as the architect of the Bruins’ first Stanley Cup-winning squad since 1972.
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Former Bruins general manager Mike O'Connell is now director of pro development for the Kings. (Getty) |
And while the GM deserves a hefty amount of praise for all of the work he’s done throughout his first five seasons in Boston, those that occupied the front office before Chiarelli and Co. took over played a major role in the Bruins finally ending their championship drought.
Prior to his dismissal as general manager in 2006, Mike
O’Connell — a native of Cohasset, Mass. — put a
number of pieces in place that would go on to carry the Bruins to
their Stanley Cup victory, including draftees Patrice Bergeron and
David Krejci.
“When you’re a general manager, you leave that to your
scouts,” said O’Connell, now the director of pro
development for the Los Angeles Kings. “You have a little bit
of say. So if you’re going to give me credit for those guys,
you’ve got to give me credit for Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand,
Phil Kessel and all those other guys, because I was part of the
same staff that selected Bergeron and Krejci.
“The three guys who picked those players were Daniel Dore,
Nick Bobrov and Jeff Gorton. The scout they retained, Scott
Bradley, was sick that year and did very little scouting. Those
three guys basically made those selections and many prior to that,
and were very important to the Bruins’ organization. Those
guys should not be forgotten because they are what helped bring the
Stanley Cup to Boston.”
O’Connell, who spent 424 NHL games on the Bruins’ blue
line from 1980 to 1986, saved one of his best moves for his last.
Tim Thomas returned to Finland during the lockout after two seasons
in Providence (and two brief call-ups to Boston), but
O’Connell invited the well-traveled netminder back for
another crack at nailing down a job in the NHL in 2005.
The Bruins GM surprised many when he later inked Thomas a
three-year extension that would pay the goaltender $1.1 million per
season. Looking back now, the deal was arguably the biggest bargain
in team history, as Thomas rose to prominence and captured his
first Vezina Trophy in the final season of the contract.
“When we first brought him over from Finland, I mean, he had
15 shutouts that one year in the Finnish Elite League,”
O’Connell said. “At the time, the league was starting
to produce some goaltenders, but now they’re producing more
than any other country in the world. We were probably a little bit
ahead of the curve with Tim Thomas playing there and having that
kind of success.
“We needed goaltending help and so we signed him. We put him
on waivers a few times and no one claimed him, thank goodness.
That’s just the way the system worked. Did I expect him to be
the best player every game of the Stanley Cup Finals? No, but you
don’t expect that from anyone.”
O’Connell was never given the chance to enjoy the fruits of
his labor, as he was ultimately undone by what will forever be
considered as the worst trade in the organization’s
history.
Just 23 games into the post-lockout era, O’Connell sent
captain Joe Thornton packing for San Jose, trading away a player
that was once believed to be the cornerstone of the franchise for a
streaky winger in Marco Sturm, a grinder in Wayne Primeau and an
eventual malcontent in defenseman Brad Stuart.
“Do you think the Bruins would have won a Stanley Cup with
Joe Thornton in the lineup?” O’Connell said when asked
if he’d still make the deal to this day. “I asked
myself if Joe Thornton could lead us to the Stanley Cup, and my
answer was no. The whole lockout thing didn’t work, and we
knew we had to rebuild.
“Do you want to rebuild around a player that has character
but not the championship character you’re looking for? We
knew we could build the team around the Bergeron types that have a
positive influence on all the players coming in. That’s
exactly what you see, so it worked.”
Changing the opinion of those that continue to berate him for the
trade might just be impossible, but O’Connell simply never
thought Jumbo Joe — who went on to win the Hart Trophy as
league MVP that same season — could lead the Bruins to
glory.
“Joe was a terrific offensive player, but we needed more
than that,” said O’Connell, an assistant GM when Boston
picked Thornton first overall in 1997. “Bergeron, we thought
it was him. You look at the influence he’s had on Marchand
and Krejci, and all the older players who watch him. He’s
really something to behold, the way he approaches the
game.”
So has Thornton’s playoff futility with the Sharks validated
the transaction O’Connell will forever be synonymous
with?
“I don’t know if that’s the case or not,”
he said. “They’ve had some very good teams there. Maybe
next year is their year, but it doesn’t matter. I think
it’s satisfying to see the Bruins win and the vision you had
for this team come true. Peter Chiarelli and Cam Neely have done a
terrific job in acquiring the pieces that put them over the
top.”
Though many still cling tightly to the grudge they hold with him,
O’Connell deserves his fair share of credit for putting the
foundation in place for both Chiarelli and Neely to build a Stanley
Cup champion.
THE STAT
Mike O’Connell scored 105 goals in 860 games in the NHL as a defenseman with the Blackhawks, Bruins and Red Wings.
Schneider shines in finals
Cory Schneider undoubtedly wishes his team met a different fate in
the Stanley Cup Finals, but the Canucks’ young netminder was
hardly to blame after turning in two solid performances in relief
of Roberto Luongo — against the team he grew up rooting for
to boot.
The Marblehead, Mass., native, who appeared in three games in the
first round against Chicago, sported a 1.81 goals-against average
in the finals. Schneider was called upon by coach Alain Vigneault
in Games 4 and 6 at TD Garden, as the Bruins lit up Luongo with
ease in each of the games in Boston.
“Never fun to be part of a loss, but I want to try to go out
there and give my teammates some momentum and try to change the
pace of the game a little bit,” Schneider said after the
Canucks’ 5-2 loss in Game 6, one in which Luongo was yanked
after allowing three goals in less than 10 minutes. “I just
try to do whatever I can and see what happens. You throw your best
out there and hope that good things happen.”
The Boston College alumnus did receive a consolation prize a week
later, as he and Luongo received the Jennings Trophy, given to the
team that allows the fewest goals during the regular season.
Born in the USA
When Schneider (Marblehead, Mass.) and the Bruins’ Tim
Thomas (Flint, Mich.) faced each other in Games 4 and 6 of the
Stanley Cup Finals this year, it was the first time American
goaltenders appeared for both teams in the finals since 1991, when
Pittsburgh’s Tom Barrasso (Stow, Mass.) faced
Minnesota’s Jon Casey (Grand Rapids, Mich.).
Drury, Rangers part ways
After a frustrating 2010-11 season, Chris Drury’s run with
the New York Rangers is officially over. The Blueshirts bought out
the final year of their captain’s contract, making the
Trumbull, Conn., native an unrestricted free agent.
Drury broke his finger twice and underwent knee surgery last
season, limiting him to just 24 games. He didn’t score a goal
until New York’s final game of the regular season and went on
to register just a single point in five playoff games.
The former Boston University star never quite produced at the
level that was originally expected of him after the Rangers doled
out a five-year, $35 million contract to Drury in the summer of
2007. After scoring 25 goals and picking up 58 points in his first
year on Broadway, his numbers declined every season, as New York
failed to win a playoff round during Drury’s tenure.
A consummate professional, Drury could have balked at the buyout
offer and, instead of receiving $3.33 million in compensation, been
given his full $5 million salary for next year had he chosen to
apply for a medical exception.
“It was a great honor and privilege to be a New York Ranger
for the past four years, and I will always be grateful for the
opportunity to fulfill that childhood dream,” Drury said in
an email to the New York Post.
In 12 NHL seasons, Drury has 255 goals and 615 points. Many
speculate that he may possibly return to the Colorado, a team in
dire need of adding on salary to reach the cap floor, where Drury
won the Calder Trophy in 1999 and spent the first four seasons of
his pro career.
Pacioretty extended
Winger Max Pacioretty (New Canaan, Conn.) and the Canadiens agreed
to a two-year contract extension. The deal is expected to carry a
cap hit of $1.62 million over the next two seasons.
Pacioretty’s 2010-11 season came to an end March 8 in
Montreal, when he suffered a season-ending neck injury and a
concussion after a jolting hit by Bruins defenseman Zdeno
Chara.
“Knowing that I’ve had so long to recover and
I’ve done so much to recover and the strength I have in my
body, I’m not going to hesitate at all,” Pacioretty
said via conference call from his home. “I know the type of
game I have to play to be successful, and I’m going to
continue to play that way throughout my whole career.”
The former University of Michigan standout had 24 points in 37
games for the Canadiens last season, including seven goals on the
power play.
This article originally appeared in the July 2011 issue of
New England Hockey Journal.
Jesse Connolly can be reached at jconnolly@hockeyjournal.com