Bruins and Blackhawks - Good Old Hockey Returns to the Garden!

Hockey thoughts --

Like all fans of a certain age, I'm lovin' that it's two of the Original Six in the Stanley Cup finals. Who can forget that great Chicago team of the mid-60s which did not win the Cup but had five of the six first-team all-stars: Hall, Pilote, Hull, Mikita, and Wharram. Moose Vasko was the one who just missed, made second team defense behind Tim Horton, whose coffee shops' name we now see gracing the boards.

Let's also remember that we have the Blackhawks to thank for putting Boston back into the playoffs at long last when they fell for Milt Schmidt's pitch and traded Esposito, Hodge, and Stanfield for Pit Martin, Gilles Marotte, and Jack Norris. Schmidt then rounded out the Big Bad Bruins by trading Murray Oliver to Toronto for Eddie Shack.

Milt is now 95. He was still getting out onto the golf course until a few years ago. Yes, the greatest hockey player of all time, for any team, was Bobby Orr. But for the Greatest Bruin ever - player, coach, and general manager - Milton Conrad Schmidt has my vote.