from Pat Pickens of Slap Shot,

For a league that has built its recent growth with superstar players, the N.H.L. has an interesting conundrum on its hands in the Boston Bruins.

After all, the Bruins are an Original Six team from hockey-mad Massachusetts. Their storied past is filled with names like Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Eddie Shore and Ray Bourque.

Boston houses one of the league’s most recognizable franchises, and the N.H.L. has recently sold the Bruins by the logo on the front of their sweaters instead of the names on the back. While Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and Henrik Lundqvist dominate the conversation when the Penguins, Capitals or Rangers are on, NBC paints Boston as “the big, bad Bruins,” even though those days are long gone.

Zdeno Chara is about the only thing big or bad on Boston’s roster, and his play hasn’t been all that great. Still, the Bruins have been very good especially of late.

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