So how do you celebrate the 85th birthday of legendary Bruins Hall of Famer Johnny Bucyk in this age of social distancing?
The Bruins alumni came up with a pretty cool idea on Tuesday as a caravan of former Bruins players drove past Bucyk’s home in Boxford while enthusiastically beeping, waving and saying hello while the Chief sat in the driveway to take it all in.
“We had a great turnout of alumni and office people, so [Chief] was fired up,” said Bruins Foundation President and former B’s forward Bob Sweeney. “He was in a great mood.”
That’s the kind of thing that is so great to hear with the last few months of the coronavirus outbreak having been particularly challenging for those in the senior citizen category.
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Hall of Famer Ray Bourque, Rick Middleton, Don Marcotte and Sweeney led a parade of cars filled with B’s alumni and members of the Bruins organization that slowly rolled by the Chief’s residence at time when Bucyk has pretty much been confined to his house due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Chief still served as the Bruins travelling secretary up until a couple of seasons ago and was a fixture with the team both at home and on the road for decades.
Hip issues have slowed Bucyk down as of late and his Hall of Fame teammate Bobby Orr had mentioned him while discussing all his Bruins teams while reminiscing about the 1970 Stanley Cup team last week.
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Bucyk was due for a hip replacement surgery in March that’s been put on hold until indefinitely while the COVID-19 outbreak runs its course.
“I wish I could do a lot more, but it’s been pretty quiet since this all started with us staying in Florida,” said the 72-year-old Orr, talking about living in Florida through the last few months of the coronavirus outbreak. “We decided we’d sit it out down here. There’s not a lot going on. You hit a couple of golf balls and walk around the neighborhood.
“We’re talking, but not getting together at all. I had both knees done, I had shoulder surgery and my hip replaced. I’m feeling pretty good. I have some aches and things, but I’m doing okay. I played a tough game and it’s to be expected. I know Chief is having a tough time. It’s a tough game. You see a lot of the hockey players that are having issues later in life. But the surgeons did a pretty job of putting me back together and I’m having a good time playing with my grandkids, doing a little fishing and playing a little golf.”
What could have been a bit of a quiet birthday for the Chief was certainly brightened in a very thoughtful way with a little help from his Bruins friends this week.