The Boston Bruins and their most recent Stanley Cup glory will be forever tied to Dennis Seidenberg and his presence on the blue line during the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs. The German defenseman ended up in Boston following a trade from the Florida Panthers in March 2010.
He has become an instant force on the Bruins defense. Although Seidenberg came to Boston as a shutdown blue-liner whose primary focus should have been on defense, he was able to post some solid offensive stats, as well. In his first full season with the Bruins, Seidenberg reached 32 points, which remained his career-high. Then, in the playoffs, the German rearguard collected 10 points in 25 games.
More than that, Seidenberg helped the Bruins claim their first Stanley Cup in 39 years. Eventually, the Bruins bought him out with his career trending down in 2016. From his 859 contests played in the NHL, Seidenberg skated in 401 of those with the Bruins. Of 69 playoff games, 50 came with Boston.
Seidenberg skated in his last NHL games in April 2018 with the New York Islanders. Following his recent retirement, he offered a few kind words to the Bruins fans.
“I definitely cherished my time in Boston, playing in front of a really knowledgeable fan base, a real passionate fan base. They could be critical, but they knew what they were talking about. All the support over the years, especially when we were having so much success, was just a treat to play in front of. Like I’ve mentioned 100 times, I loved playing for the city of Boston and living in the city of Boston, having two of my kids born there. To this day, when we go there we feel like we’re home. It was nothing but the best playing in Boston for the Bruins,” stated Seidenberg, via The Athletic.
Since the Bruins won the Stanley Cup last time, they have been to two other Cup Finals, both without any success. In 2013, Seidenberg battled injuries and never returned to be the force for Boston in the playoffs again. Nevertheless, the memories from the 2011 Stanley Cup run shall remain forever.
“It was a dream. The way the entire city was cheering us on, the build-up and the way we won, going to three Game 7s. It was just an unbelievable story to be part of that. The group we had was special. Obviously, we needed the luck to get past the first round, and even later on in the playoffs, but the snowball started rolling and it got bigger and bigger and at the end, we were so in tune with the way we played that we ended up beating a team that was more skilled than us. We weren’t supposed to win a best-of-seven series,” recalled Seidenberg.
Lastly, he never got to play more games for any other team than the Bruins. What were his most favorite games played with the Spoked B on his chest?
“Game 7 against Tampa [in 2011] was pretty special. The overtime game against Montreal [Game 7 in the first round in 2011] was crazy because everyone was so tight and nervous,” replied the 38-year-old.
