The Boston Bruins are turning 100 years old today, and to celebrate that historic milestone, they’ll wear special throwback-inspired uniforms during their game against the Montreal Canadiens.
Earlier this year, the Bruins announced the uniform for today’s December 1st contest, one hundred years to the day of their first-ever NHL game, played on December 1, 1924. Much like those 20th-century ’24-25 Bruins, these 21st-century ’24-25 Bruins face Montreal. However, this time, it’s the Montreal Canadiens since the Montreal team they played in 1924 hasn’t seen the ice in almost 90 years.
You may have thought the Bruins would wear a uniform from 1924, perhaps for such an occasion, or maybe even one from the 1930s? But no, instead, they’ll wear the design from the 1980s and ’90s, which coincides with when the club president played for the team (hey, the man knows what he likes).
The base of the black sweater is pure Bruins in the ’80s, with the same yellow and white striping style used during the decade. The crest is slightly different from what the club wore during that era as serifs have been added to the “B” within the spokes — this is the same style logo the Bruins wore in 2023-24, but now presented in their traditional black and yellow colour scheme rather than the commemorative black and metallic gold it was dressed in last season.
A modified Bruins 100 patch is on the upper right front of the jersey, now incorporating the date of their first game. The best part is that they actually placed the patch on the front of their jersey with the Rapid7 advertisement that usually goes there temporarily relocated to the right shoulder for the game.
Inside the jersey are some additional details—the inside collar reads “BOSTON BRUINS 2 – MONTREAL MAROONS 1,” the score from their first game (should I be the one to break it to them that the Montreal team wasn’t officially known as the Maroons for another year? I’m available for consulting gigs, folks!). Inside the bottom hem, the team’s “core values” of tradition, grit, passion, and heart are contained, with each word separated by Boston Bruins logos.
“The Centennial Game will be a special moment for our organization and more importantly, our fans, so the jersey design had to be fit for the occasion,” said Cam Neely, Boston Bruins President in the teams’ press release. “There are so many elements for both fans and the players to enjoy, but my favourite part of the jersey is on the bottom hemline; When our players pull this jersey over their heads, they will see our core values: tradition, grit, passion and heart. These are the values that we have embodied for a century and will carry with us for the next generation, which starts December 1.”
Outside of the jersey, we see some other changes when comparing this to the Bruins’ uniform of the ’80s. The pants now feature the Bruins’ current wordmark logo (instead of nothing). The new socks are black at the top and yellow at the bottom, with a yellow and white stripe separating the two halves. To better match the team’s history, the socks should be entirely yellow with a single thicker stripe trimmed by two small ones — the Bruins always wore yellow socks with their black sweaters from the 1960s through 2017.
