Bruin Hockey Great on the Boston Teams of the Early 1970s: “We Won Two Years. We Should Have Won At Least Four.”
Chris Ryan and John “The Chief” Bucyk celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the 1970 Stanley Cup winning Bruin’s Team. John Bucyk was a high scoring left winger and team captain who played most of his career for Boston. He has worked for the Bruins organization as a player, coach, announcer, and ambassador since 1957.
He was a seven time All Star, two-time winner of the Lady Byng Trophy for Sportsmanship, two-time Stanley Cup Winner, a Hockey Hall of Fame member, and one of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players in the history of the NHL. His retired #9 jersey hangs from the rafters of the Boston Garden. John Bucyk, who is actually of Ukrainian descent, was given the nickname of “The Chief” because a Boston cartoonist mistook Bucyk’s high cheekbones for a Native American trait.
In the interview with WKXL’s Chris Ryan, John Bucyk discusses why the Bruins teams in the early 1970s were so successful. He credits General Manager Milt Schmidt and the Bruins organization for making shrewd trades for great players like Bobby Orr, Derek Sanderson, Phil Esposito, Fred Stanfield, and Ken Hodge. When these players were combined with some young Bruins players who were beginning to come into their own, in Bucyk’s opinion, “We became a powerhouse. On the ice, we stood together. We did everything together both on and off the ice.” John Bucyk also feels that the support of the Bruin fan base, which had remained constant during the lean years, helped to motivate the teams that won the Stanley Cup.
Chris Ryan and “The Chief” then discuss the 1970 rounds of playoffs. The first round which was with the New York Rangers was the most difficult. The Bruins won the series in six games. Bucyk explains why the first round always has more pressure. In the next round, the Bruins faced a talented Chicago Blackhawks team which the Bruins swept in four games. The final round was with the Western Division Champion St. Louis Blues. That series was another 4-0 sweep by the Bruins. John Bucyk gives credit to Harry Sinden, the Bruins coach, for carefully pacing the team to get through the grueling rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In the last portion of the interview, the discussion switches to a comparison of hockey during John Bucyk’s era and today. He describes the huge differences in equipment and style between then and now. There is a hypothetical discussion of how today’s hockey players would fare in the 1970s and how players from Bucyk’s era would adapt to the fast-paced game of 2020.
