BOSTON -- Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs has a message to whatever NHL team of the remaining eight eventually hoists the Stanley Cup in the middle of June.
Dont get too comfortable with Lord Stanleys chalice.
Jacobs was presiding over an end-of-season press conference for the reigning Cup champ Bruins that came too soon after getting knocked out in the first round by the Washington Capitals.
While expressing disappointment at the seasons final outcome and pride at the regular season that produced a Northeast Division title and a No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, Jacobs indicated the Black and Gold have their sights set on more hockey immortality next year.
I think weve got to tell the Stanley Cup winner this year that the Cups on loan to them, said Jacobs, in a show of chest-thumping bravado. Thats going to come back home here in the near term.
Jacobs son Charlie has taken over much of the day-to-day presence with the Bruins on Causeway Street, and he expressed a similar mixture of pride and disappointment with a hockey club that was on two very distant ends of the spectrum over the last year.
They climbed to the NHL mountaintop last June while defeating the Canucks in a seven-game series, but they couldnt overcome Cup fatigue, a tiny dose of champions arrogance and a healthy dose of adversity this year.
Its disappointing to be sitting up here this early in the postseason and have a season-ending press conferencethe fact that its very disappointing. Having said that, we cant overlook where weve been: the Stanley Cup parade here was a very special moment for the summer, said Jacobs. We perhaps got probably caught up in the bit and it snuck up on us in October, but I thought we righted the ship by the time November and December came aroundthe team certainly responded well.
Then when you get set up and come into the playoffs as we didwhen youre missing your top-line winger, its not an excuse its a fact. There is such parity in the league today, if youre missing a top-line center as we were, and a fifth or sixth defensemen as we were... its a difference maker. We get a series that was as close as we had in seven games of one goal apiece and it shows. I cant say Im not proud of my teamI am really proud of the organization and Cam Neely, and General Manager Peter Chiarelli and Head Coach Claude Julien and the players. Im real happy and proud of the effort that we gave. But I cant say that Im up here with a giant smile on my face because I just dont have one. I feel we couldve had a better ending.
The elder Jacobs seems to have a happier ending in mind for next seasons team after forging together the hunger and disappointment stemming from this season, and harnessing it into another excuse-free Cup run next year.