With the Bruins' championship roster largely intact and Benoit Pouliot seemingly replacing Michael Ryder on the roster, I think there is one more free agency signing the Bruins should make to add to their forwards.
When Mark Recchi was a part of the Bruins, he quickly became a fan and locker room favorite for his veteran leadership qualities. A part of two Stanley Cup-winning teams, Recchi knew what it took to win the ultimate prize and his knowledge manifested itself in the way he played the game. It inspired his teammates and when Recchi made the decision to retire at the age of 43 after winning his third Cup in June, Patrice Bergeron was still begging him to return for one more season.
He was only a Bruin for three seasons but with what he brought to the table earning him the "A" during that time, it certainly felt like he was here for a lot longer than that. Those are the things a guy like Recchi imparts on a team. I'm not suggesting he can be replaced. However I think there is one player, who just happens to be an unrestricted free agent, that may be able to offer similar veteran leadership and the adoration of his teammates and fans: Chris Drury.
A native of Trumbull, Connecticut, Drury may have grown up a fan of the Rangers, the team that just bought out his contract and made him a free agent but he established himself as a top prospect in hockey during his time at Boston University. He was the kind of winner Charlie Sheen would admire before he stepped on the BU campus, having won a prep school hockey championship and also a Little League World Series championship.
As a Terrier, Drury won numerous Beanpots, the Hobey Baker award and a national championship. It was also at BU that he forged a bond with Travis Roy, his one-time linemate who was paralyzed eleven seconds into his first shift as a Terrier upon crashing headfirst into the boards and shattering his C4 vertebrae. Drury was on the ice when it happened and was the first player to rush to Roy's side.
Roy has said that part of the reason he chose to play for BU was because of his admiration for Drury and their friendship continued even after they were no longer able to take the ice together as teammates. When Drury graduated from BU, moved on to play for the Colorado Avalanche and won a Stanley Cup with them in 2001, on a team that included Ray Bourque, he was asked soon after the victory what he planned to do with the Cup when he had his day with it. He responded that he was taking it to Travis Roy, which he did.
Drury and Roy still speak regularly on the phone, although Drury has said in interviews that there isn't a day that goes by that he doesn't think of him. Every summer, Drury hosts a charity golf tournament in Connecticut to benefit the Travis Roy Foundation, which provides funds to spinal cord research and also to help spinal cord patients in need of adaptive technology to make living with their injuries more bearable.
Drury's professional resume includes two silver Olympic medals, more clutch goals than one can even count at this point and unfortunately, from my perspective as a Bruins fan, teaching Danny Briere how to be a clutch performer and a winner when they were teammates with the Buffalo Sabres. Having hated Briere for some time now, I have to admit he too has become those things.
Joe Sakic, a clutch player in his own right and a surefire Hall of Famer, has said of Drury, "You want a goal, you're in overtime -you want him." At 35, Drury is past his prime, much like Recchi was when he joined the Bruins. But Drury can still get it done. He's always been a skilled player but he was never even one of the top players of his generation when he was at his best. Mike Eruzione once said of him, "He's not superskilled. He just wins." (By the way, Jonathan Toews reminds me of him in that regard. He could be the next Drury). It's been his intangibles that have served him over his career, and those are still there. I think he would be a great addition to the Bruins, as their recent winning ways jibe with the kind of person and player Drury is.
I think he would fit in well on the ice and in the locker room and provide a veteran presence who both knows how to get it done and who will quickly win the admiration and respect of his teammates. I envision him sliding onto the third line with Kelly and Pouliot. Speaking of Pouliot, he has been long-regarded as a bust who has failed to capitalize on his potential, the Bruins being the latest team to hope they can unlock it. Couldn't hurt to have Drury in his locker room.
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