1974–75 Boston Bruins season



The 1974–75 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 51st season in the NHL. The Bruins finished 2nd in the Adams Division and lost in the Preliminary Round to the Chicago Black Hawks 2 games to 1.

Off-season
After three successful seasons coaching and managing the Rochester Americans, where he was named Coach of the Year, Don Cherry was hired as the Bruins coach, replacing Bep Guidolin. Cherry played his only NHL game for Boston during Game 5 of the 1955 playoffs.

After being suspended by the Bruins on March 10, 1974, Derek Sanderson was traded to the New York Rangers for Walt McKechnie on June 12, 1974. Sanderson would play several more NHL seasons while fighting a losing battle with alcoholism and a wild lifestyle. He'd ultimately find recovery and redemption with significant help from Bobby Orr and other Bruins teammates. He'd become the Bruins TV colour analyst, a respected businessman and helped others avoid his mistakes.

Regular Season
Two changes were made to the Bruins jerseys to start the season. First, the 50th anniversary patch was removed from the shoulders. Second, the contrasting shoulder yolks were removed, leaving a largely mono-coloured jersey for the first time since the black "block B" jersey of the 1948-49 season. The Bruins added a Massachusetts 200th anniversary patch to the shoulders for the 1975-76 season and starting in the 1976-77 season, a bear head was added to the shoulders. This makes identifying jerseys from the 1974-75 season very easy. The white jersey was worn at home with white socks and the black jersey on the road with gold socks. Although player names on the backs of the jerseys existed for select games in the 1973–74 season, this practice was abandoned by the Bruins for the 1974-75 season.

On December 22, 1974, Phil Esposito scored the 500th goal of his career. At 8:22 of the first period of the Boston-Minnesota game on January 4, 1975, Dave Forbes checked Henry Boucha into the boards in the North Stars corner. Boucha took exception and suckered punched Forbes. A melee ensued which quickly died down. Terry O'Reilly was deemed to be the third man in and was given a game misconduct. Boucha and Forbes were each given seven penalty minutes and both went to the box without any overt animosity. However, as soon as their penalties expired and they took to the ice, Forbes butt ended Boucha in the face, fracturing his eye socket. Another melee ensued but quickly ended as the extend of Boucha's injury was realized. Bleeding profusely, Boucha was stretchered off. When the dust settled, Boston was short handed for ten minutes, which they killed off. The Bruins went on to win 8-0, scoring a short handed goal and seven power plays goals, an NHL record. Forbes was given a ten game suspension and charged with aggravated assault. His trail ended in a hung jury. Forbes and the Bruins settled a civil case by paying Boucha in excess of one million dollars. Boucha made a comeback, playing the next season for the Kansas City Scouts and the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the WHA but with his vision permanently affected, he retired from pro hockey.

Regular Season

 * Scoring
 * Goaltending

Playoffs

 * Scoring
 * Goaltending

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts

Awards and Records

 * Most power play goals in one game (7), January 4, 1975 versus the Minnesota North Stars.
 * James Norris Memorial Trophy: Bobby Orr
 * Hart Memorial Trophy: Bobby Orr, Third place
 * Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: John Bucyk, Runner-up
 * NHL Goal Scoring Leader: Phil Esposito (6th win)
 * Bobby Orr, Defence, NHL First Team All-Star
 * Phil Esposito, Center, NHL Second Team All-Star

Transactions

 * Trade Derek Sanderson to the New York Rangers for Walt McKechnie on June 12, 1974.
 * Trade Walt McKechnie and a third round pick (Clark Hamilton) to the Detroit Red Wings for Hank Nowak and Earl Anderson on February 18, 1975.

Trivia

 * Bruins who recorded a Hat trick this season include:
 * Bobby Orr during the 5-5 tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 23, 1974.
 * Bobby Orr during the 10-4 win over the Washington Capitals on November 10, 1974.
 * Phil Esposito during the 11-3 win over the New York Rangers on December 19, 1974.
 * Phil Esposito during the 8-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 21, 1974.
 * Phil Esposito during the 5-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on January 9, 1975.
 * Bobby Orr during the 6-0 win over the California Golden Seals on January 30, 1975.
 * Bobby Orr during the 8-2 win over Washington on March 22, 1975.

Video
Two videos of the two fights between Dave Forbes and Henry Boucha which led to Boucha's eye injury on January 4, 1975.