Boston Bruins To Unveil “All-Time Team” to Celebrate 100th Anniversary Season

If you had to make up an All-Time lineup of 12 forwards, six defensemen and two goaltenders out of every player who ever suited up for your favorite team, how would it look? For the  Boston Bruins, entering their 100th season, fans are about to find out the official roster of that 'All-Time Team.'

The Bruins have announced that they'll unveil the 20-man "Centennial" roster on October 12th, the day after Opening Night of their Centennial season. 

With names like Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito and Ray Bourque ready to mingle with this generation's roster of players like Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, it should be an incredible night for Bruins fans and alumni alike. 

Team president Cam Neely — who will have a prominent place on that All-Time Team himself — says it's something they've been thinking about for some time now.

"We started having loose discussions probably three or four years ago about this being a big deal coming up, and being the first American team to turn 100 (the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs are already past the century mark)," Neely said. "We began talking about how it's going to look...

"And getting our alumni involved is a really big part of it. You're talking about 100 years' worth of hockey players. That's the lifeblood of a team, its current and former players."

Neely says 1,055 players have skated or played goal for Boston -- 944 forwards and defensemen, 111 goalies. They'll start by choosing the "Historic 100" most legendary Bruins, which will also be part of the celebrations. 

The All-Centennial Team of 20 will be selected from that group.