Former NY Islanders earn spots on 'Historic 100' list of Boston Bruins players

I hope I'm still around to see the New York Islanders do this ...

The Boston Bruins are creating an All-Centennial team as part of the franchise's celebration of its 100th NHL season during the 2023-24 campaign. On Tuesday, the organization released the "Historic 100," a list of the 100 most legendary players in Bruins history. The list was compiled by a list of media members, historians, and others in the hockey community.

A selection committee choose the 20-player (12 forwards, six goaltenders and two goalies) All-Centennial team, which will be unveiled on October 12th.

Of the 100 Bruins that make up the "Historic 100," there are four former Islanders, including Johnny Boychuk, NHL iron man Zdeno Chara, Denis Seidenberg, and Ed Westfall. Also on the list is former Islanders head coach and general manager Mike Milbury. Tim Thomas, who GM Garth Snow acquired to help reach the salary cap floor in 2013, but never played on Long Island, is also on there.

Of the former Islanders on the list, only Boychuk played fewer games for the Bruins than for the Islanders. The fan-favorite defenseman appeared in 317 games over six seasons in Boston compared to 404 with the Islanders. New York acquired Boychuk weeks before the start of the 2014-15 season for a pair of second-round picks. He later signed a seven-year extension during the season with the Isles. He was placed on LTIR due to an eye injury suffered during the 2019-20 season, though Boychuk did play in the bubble during the postseason with the team.

Chara started and ended his career with the Islanders (though he signed a one-day honorary contract with the Bruins). The age-defying defenseman was a Norris Trophy winner in Boston and was the team's captain when they captured the Stanley Cup in 2011, defeating the Vancouver Canucks in seven games. Boychuk joined Chara on that championship blueline, as did Seidenberg, who played his last two NHL seasons with the Islanders from 2016-18.

Before he was selected in the 1972 expansion draft and named the Islanders' first captain, Ed Westfall spent 11 seasons in Boston and was on the ice for Bobby Orr's famous 1970 Stanley Cup-winning goal. Westfall was a 4x All-Star with the Bruins and was the first Islanders to play in an All-Star Game and scored the franchise's first goal.