Thursday afternoon did it. The day where I was able to determine that I am no longer a fan of an organization that I have been since I can remember. It’s the day that I stopped being a fan of the Boston Bruins. It’s actually not too big of a surprise when you think about it, but to break away from a franchise that you’ve not only enjoyed as a kid, but is also your hometown team, well, they really did something to piss me off.

I stuck with the Bruins as they let Adam Oates go, that they got rid of fan favorite and hard worker Jason Allison during the late 90’s, mostly because I didn’t understand that it was a money grab. Then the Bruins owner led a lockout that lost an entire hockey season during 2004-2005. That same owner and his leadership came back the right after the lockout and traded the franchise player, Joe Thornton, for 10 cents on the dollar. The team had hit rock bottom, but I still watched. I watched them suck. I watched them refuse to pay anyone. I watched the revolving door of goaltenders; Byron Dafoe, John Grahame, Andrew Raycroft, Tim Thomas (first run), Jeff Hackett, Hannu Toivonen, Manny Fernandez, Tim Thomas (second run), Tuukka Rask, Tim Thomas (third run including a cup), and now Tuukka Rask. I stuck with them as they performed the greatest choke job in NHL history by blowing a 3 games to none series lead against the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010. Then I watched them win their first Stanley Cup in 39 years with an improbable Game 7 win in Vancouver. It was the highest high for the franchise since I had been alive. And then it just got worse.

A major part of me leaving my allegiance with this franchise behind is the increase of “fans.” Of course bandwagon and fair weather fans are expected as a team’s success increases. But this took it to a whole new level. Backtracking just a bit, I was able to attend Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011 for $105, $5 more than the face value of the ticket. In 2013 I looked into purchasing tickets from the same affiliate, in the same section, for $550. Mind you the economy hasn’t improved since 2011 very much. So I knew I wouldn’t be going to another game, but for shits and giggles I looked up prices for tickets to the Cup Finals. $880. $880! It’s not the Super Bowl where one game decides everything. That was Game 3 where a champion would not be determined. But I continued to watch. And I continued to watch what I thought I liked. Now full disclosure I have always been a fan of the way the Blackhawks, Red Wings, Penguins, and several other teams play the game. They play offense. They attack. They aren’t bad for the game. They aren’t the Capitals, Kings, or Bruins who sit back and hope for you to make a mistake. They score. They don’t try and win the 2-1 1-0 or 2-0 game. They want to force you to score. That’s hockey, that’s tough, that’s wanting to win, not hoping your opponent will lose. That’s why Jerome Iginla chose the Penguins over the Bruins. He wanted to attack, and wanted to win. The style that the Boston Bruins play is bad for the game of hockey. However I knew that. I knew that in 2008 when Claude Julien first introduced that style. When they had finally returned to the playoffs and lost to Montreal in Game 7 of the Quarterfinals. But they had won and I was excited for them to finally have a winner, no matter how they got there.

Now it seems their selfish owner is taking precedence again. Locker room leader Andrew Ferrence was not resigned by the team because of “salary cap issues.” The same goes for top playoff performer Nathan Horton. Then they did the unthinkable. They made the Joe Thornton trade again. Only this time it was with 21 year old Tyler Seguin. He’s been in the NHL for three seasons. He was the team’s leading scorer in his only full 82 game season in 2011-2012. They said he had maturity issues, and possibly a drinking problem. The only problem that he was to the team is that they had to pay him; that they didn’t want to pay him. They traded him to Dallas on Thursday for a guy I’ve barely heard of and 3 prospects that no one will ever hear of. Seguin took the classy high road and thanked the city of Boston for their hospitality, when it was the same fair weather, know-nothing, “fans” that were calling for him to be traded after a sub-par performance in a lock-out shortened season where they played 48 games in 99 days and then had to play in the playoffs. Again, the kid is 21 years old. 99.9% of people drank a lot when they turned 21. And if the problem was as big as they are saying now, why wasn’t he sat during the season/playoffs? So the Bruins shed his salary and yesterday signed the same Jerome Iginla (36 years old), that flat out said he did not want to play for this team just a few months ago. Of course is contract is just a shade over $1 million, with incentives, so this was perfect for this trash organization. They sign a big name guy to a cheaper, shorter contract, while shipping out a franchise player that is worse 10x more to the organization. And for those that will argue that now they have more cap flexibility, well then where are the guys that they had visited with? Daniel Alfredsson is in Detroit, and Vincent Lecavalier has signed with Philadelphia. Where are the contract extensions for the goalie that helped carry you to the Cup Finals, or the Alternate captain that played with a hole in his lung for this team? Sure they said that they were going to happen, and they probably will, but where are they?

So to recap; cheap ownership, poor management, awful fair-weather fans, bad style of play for the league, and sheer stupidity have led me to leave my allegiance to this organization behind.

Now for the fun part: Picking a new team.

I’ve got to say I was pretty excited about this. I’ve been loyal to my home town teams forever, so to look at it from an outsider’s prospective and to see what other teams do is a real treat. After long and careful thought, I have decided to take my talents to Motown, or Hockeytown. It has a storied past, a history of success, and one of the most exciting teams in the game to watch. The Red Wings are a respected franchise, with a history of dominance and respect. They hid hard, and they score. They are flat out a fun team to watch and be a part of. Isn’t that what watching sports is all about? So thanks for the memories Bruins, hopefully the divorce won’t be too messy, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they somehow read this to start a smear campaign against me and this website.