Which Number Will Bruins Retire Next?

The San Jose Sharks retired Joe Thornton’s No. 19 Saturday night, which reminded me of a cool, fun fact about his time with the Boston Bruins.

View the original article to see embedded media.

During his tenure as a franchise player for the Bruins, Jumbo would always stand in a certain spot on the ice during the national anthem prior to home games. Even though he began his NHL career wearing No. 6 for the Bruins, Thornton eventually switched to No. 19 (many believe the No. 6 Bruins sweater is cursed) and he would position himself on the blue line directly below and in between Nos. 15 and 24, representing Milt Schmidt and Terry O’Reilly, respectively.

I could see this perfectly from my original seat in the press box on level 9 at TD Garden, so I asked Thornton if he stood there as motivation, thinking maybe one day his number would hang from the rafters at TD Garden. In typical Jumbo fashion, he played it off as no big deal, but smiled. The Bruins traded Thornton to the Sharks on Nov. 30, 2005, in exchange for Wayne Primeau, Marco Sturm and Brad Stuart. Several years later, I asked Thornton again about standing in that certain spot on the blue line during the anthem and he admitted he would look up, see those retired numbers and he would be in awe.

Watching Thornton’s No. 19 ascend into the rafters at SAP Center also sparked a discussion as to which number the Bruins will retire next.

Rick Middleton was the last Bruins player to have his number retired. No. 16 also became the 11^th sweater retired by the Bruins, joining Eddie Shore (2), Lionel Hitchman (3), Bobby Orr (4), Dit Clapper (5), Phil Esposito (7), Cam Neely (8), Johnny Bucyk (9), Schmidt (15), O’Reilly (24) and Ray Bourque (77).

Next up? No doubt Zdeno Chara (33) and Patrice Bergeron (37) will have their numbers retired after they’re both soon inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. An argument could also be made for David Krejci’s No. 46, or Tuukka Rask’s No. 40. What about Brad Marchand’s No. 63 one day? Many have also suggested retiring No. 30 for both Gerry Cheevers and Tim Thomas.

Either way, it’s a fun discussion to have.

Recent Bruins News

New Bruins Forward Finally Breaks The Ice

Jim Montgomery Named Head Coach Of Bruins Rival

Bruins Superstar Has Massive Response Game

Important Bruins Forward Named Top Trade Candidate

Insider Proposes Nikita Zadorov Trade With Bruins Rival

Former Bruins Star Named Top Trade Candidate

Bruins Hit Home Run Acquiring Tough Guy

Bruins Star Named As Surprising Trade Candidate