Cam Neely
In case you haven’t been paying attention, and judging by the lack of posts, you haven’t… the NHL has started its annual Stanley Cup Playoffs. Some of you will remember the Stanley Cup as that shiny bauble that we drank from almost five years ago… while others of you will remember it as… well, that shiny bauble that you *could* have drank from with us five years ago. But I digress…
The Bruins and Canadiens have been engaged in a thrilling first-round matchup, quite contrary to what most (including me) expected coming in. This should’ve been the Lions vs. the Christians - but someone forgot to tell the Bruins that they were the sacrificial lambs… er, Christians in this matchup. Down 3-1 in the series (after they actually could’ve been up 3-1, or at least tied, if not for horrendous officiating), they’ve won two straight (starting with Game 5 *in* Montreal). Needless to say, everyone is excited.
But perhaps the most exhuberant spectator is former Bruin player and current Bruin executive, Cam Neely. Recall that he played on that 1988 team (coached by former player Terry O’Reilly, fwiw - perhaps the only Bruins player to *exceed* Neely’s intensity on the ice)… the 1988 team that ended something like a 45-year playoff series losing streak against these same Canadiens. The Bruins-Canadiens rivalry was much like the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry for so many years: extremely intense, but decidedly one-sided. As a player, Cam Neely helped end that one-sided-ness.
Now as an executive, he looks like he wants back on the ice. During Game 6 (and perhaps thorughout the series, although I haven’t noticed as much), they’d flash to the box where four Bruins execs are sitting… GM Peter Chiarelli and VP Cam Neely among them. Three of the four are sitting in their chairs, taking notes, and throwing their arms up when the Bruins score… the fourth is Neely. He cannot sit down. He’s up behind his chair… pacing… going white knuckles as he grabs the back of his chair… and leaping like Bob Beamon when the Bruins score. It is out-standing.
I’m not sure if the adrenaline rush ever leaves any former player - but I can guaran-damn-tee you that the rush has *not* left Cam Neely… even just a little bit. He wants to be out there getting the Gordie Howe hat trick against the hated Habs himself - but he can’t (thanks Ulf Samuelsson-ofabitch). So instead, he’s brought that intensity to the executive suite with Chiarelli, et al.
It’s almost as fun to watch as the action on the ice. Gotta love Cam Neely - the intensity he’s showing in his three-piece suit far above the ice reminds me of the intensity he showed in the Black-and-Gold sweater on the ice… that drive that made him a HOFer and got his number retired.
On a related note, they say that Milan Lucic is a young Cam Neely. I love Lucic’s game, but let’s not get crazy. If Lucic can be half the player Neely was (and hopefully play twice as long), he’ll bring a lot of memories of his own. Fwiw, he had a beautiful tip in the slot on a shot from the point to score a 3rd-period goal in that same Game Six… and if I’m not mistaken, that was the goal that brought the *greatest* exhultation from Neely. He’s on record as saying he likes the way Lucic plays.
Here’s hoping Lucic can match Neely’s intensity - even now… almost fifteen years after Neely last played for the Bruins.
April 26th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Did you see when Neely gave Chiarelli a double-high-five (er, is that a “high-ten?) after the OT win? Chiarelli was sitting down, and Neely was standing, and he almost knocked Chiarelli out of his chair with the brute force of his “high-ten”. It was awesome.
And speaking of Neely, can you imagine what he would have been like with the new one-piece sticks? One of my buddies from Boston joked that if he came flying down the wing and took a slap-shot with one of those sticks, and a defensemen tried to block the shot, it would shear the guy’s leg off at the shin.
April 26th, 2008 at 10:59 am
I did see that. Classic.
I think its a good thing to have a guy with that passion (and of course his overall hockey knowledge) in the front office. Lucic is but one example, but I suspect many players - and thus the organization as a whole - will benefit from Neely’s presence, even though he hasn’t played in fifteen years (God damn Samuelsson).
Can you imagine if Neely was VP, Mike Milbury was GM, and Terry O’Reilly was coach? Mercy.
April 27th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
If the franchise hadn’t been so grossly mis-managed for the last 20 years, that might be exactly what you’d have. That and two or three more cup banners.
April 27th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
That Raymond Borque did *not* hoist at *least* one Cup in his twenty years in Boston is an absolute crime. I’m glad Sinden granted him his wish, and I’m glad Borque got to win one with the Avs, and I’m glad Sakic afforded him the respect he’d earned long before by forgoing the tradition of the captain being the first to skate with the puck so that Borque could enjoy that honor… but you’ve got Ray Borque and Cam Neely in their primes, with Moog and Lemelin in net… get the extra scorer or two you needed to get past the damn Oilers to win a freakin’ Cup! That’s right, I’m not over that yet - and never will be. Damn Jacobs (Jeremy, not Kevin).
I get that they came up short in 1988 - but then recognize your shortcomings (i.e. need more firepower, cuz you got the goaltending, the defense, and the top line already), and make it happen… you know, like the Avs, Devils and Red Wings have done several times the past dozen years or so. Damn Jacobs (again Jeremy, not Kevin).