The Boston Bruins are a storied franchise with so many great players that have come and gone over their 90 year existence.
Throughout those years the Bruins have created a brand of hockey that will forever be remembered in Black and Gold. Bruins hockey. Tough, big, bad and sometimes ugly.
In this Two Pad Stack miniseries we will be looking at Bruins players who were at the forefront of establishing the ‘Big Bad Bruins’ style of hockey and those who we thin are the club’s toughest players. Believe me, categorising those guys into a Top 10 is hard. Really hard. There will be a whole group of players who will miss out that could have easily made it in – we could easily have done a top 30.
So without further ado, at No.5 of our toughest Bruins is…
SHAWN THORNTON
The modern day enforcer. One of the leagues most technically gifted fighters. Watching Thornton go to work on an opposing player is a joy to watch.
A member of Boston’s organization up until this offseason, it was hard for fans of the Bruins to accept the fact that cap room and salary issues meant the Black and Gold had to part ways with their beloved enforcer. Despite that, during his seven years in Boston Thornton sure did make a name for himself.
After winning the Stanely Cup with the Anahiem Ducks in 2007, Shawn Thornton brought his veteran leadership and hockey knowledge to the Boston Bruins where he went on to win his second cup (2010-11), and solidify himself as one of the Bruins toughest ever players with 102 career fights as a member of the team. Along with totalling 748 career penalty minutes in Boston. Thornton had no trouble averaging way over double digits fighting numbers every year. He was also the first player to ever drop the gloves in a Winter Classic game, versus the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010.
Most Memorable Season
It’s hard to not pick a Cup winning year as a players most memorable season, and nothing changes with Shawn Thornton. The 2010/2011 regular and post seasons saw the Bruins get the best out of their no.22 as he hit double figures in both goals (10) and assists (10) for the first time in his career, along with a +8 rating, also a career best.
The same year saw the Bruins go all the way to the Stanley Cup Final and win it. In doing so Thornton played in 18 playoff games picking up just 1 point, but it wasn’t his production that the Bruins wanted. His on and off ice leadership was his greatest asset during the 2011 cup run, and boy did it help.
Toughest Season
Following up the cup winning year, Thornton probably had his toughest season in Black and Gold, as the 2011-12 season had seen the 4th liner hit an NHL career high in PIMS with 154, along with dropping the gloves 22 times, his second most in the NHL. That year saw Thornton fight opposing teams toughest players, like Colton Orr, Mike Rupp and Chris Neil.
Biggest Rival
Shawn Thornton and Krys Barch have met toe to toe many times in their long careers, 8 to be exact, with the most recent being last season. So there’s a pretty intense rivalry there. However, a lot of the time with enforcers the rivalry is strictly professional. Any player that drops the gloves to protect a team mate, or to get his team going instantly gets respect from other tough guys around the league and that’s the case here. But either way, on the ice all niceties get put to one side and the big guys go at it.
Now with the Florida Panthers, (quite a contrast right?) Thornton will look to continue to play the same way, and his veteran presence will no doubt help a team like Florida. It was a huge shame to see him leave Boston, but life goes on. If one things for certain, Bruins fans will never forget Shawn Thornton.
Be sure to keep it here for no.4 of the Boston Bruins Top 10 Toughest Players.
