# 1999–2000 Boston Bruins season

The 1999–2000 Boston Bruins season was the team's 76th season of operation. The Bruins failed to qualify for the 2000 Stanley Cup playoffs.

## Off-season

Following a second-round loss to the Buffalo Sabres the year previous, the Bruins headed into the 1999–2000 season with confidence that they could reach the playoffs for the third straight year under head coach Pat Burns. General manager Harry Sinden signed no free agents in the offseason and made no significant moves heading into the season. Goaltender Byron Dafoe was to be the starter for the third straight year following his best season in 1998–99, going 32–23–11 with a .926 save percentage.

## Regular season

On February 21, 2000, Marty McSorley, playing for the Bruins, swung his stick and hit Donald Brashear in the head with seconds left in the Bruins-Vancouver Canucks game. Brashear lost consciousness and suffered a grade 3 concussion, but not from immediate contact with the stick. The stick hit Brashear's helmet, but caused him to fall backward, and his head hit hard on the ice.
As a result of the stick incident, McSorley was charged with assault and suspended by the NHL for the remainder of the 1999–2000 season (including playoffs) missing 23 games. On October 4, 2000, a jury found McSorley guilty of assault with a weapon for his attack on Brashear. He was sentenced to 18 months probation. The trial was the first for an on-ice attack by an NHL player since 1988. After his assault conviction, his NHL suspension was extended to one full year (through February 21, 2001). This suspension was the longest in NHL history and afterwards McSorley never played in another NHL game.
During the regular season, the Bruins were the only team not to score a short-handed goal.

### Final standings

Northeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 45 | 27 | 7 | 3 | 246 | 222 | 100 |
| 2 | 6 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 41 | 28 | 11 | 2 | 244 | 210 | 95 |
| 3 | 8 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 35 | 32 | 11 | 4 | 213 | 204 | 85 |
| 4 | 10 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 35 | 34 | 9 | 4 | 196 | 194 | 83 |
| 5 | 11 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 24 | 33 | 19 | 6 | 210 | 248 | 73 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | z – Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 45 | 22 | 12 | 3 | 237 | 179 | 105 |
| 2 | y – Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 44 | 24 | 12 | 2 | 227 | 194 | 102 |
| 3 | y – Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 45 | 27 | 7 | 3 | 246 | 222 | 100 |
| 4 | New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 45 | 24 | 8 | 5 | 251 | 203 | 103 |
| 5 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 43 | 27 | 6 | 6 | 244 | 209 | 98 |
| 6 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 41 | 28 | 11 | 2 | 244 | 210 | 95 |
| 7 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 37 | 31 | 8 | 6 | 241 | 236 | 88 |
| 8 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 35 | 32 | 11 | 4 | 213 | 204 | 85 |
| 8.5 |||||||||||
| 9 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 37 | 35 | 10 | 0 | 217 | 216 | 84 |
| 10 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 35 | 34 | 9 | 4 | 196 | 194 | 83 |
| 11 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 29 | 38 | 12 | 3 | 218 | 246 | 73 |
| 12 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 24 | 33 | 19 | 6 | 210 | 248 | 73 |
| 13 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 24 | 48 | 9 | 1 | 194 | 275 | 58 |
| 14 | Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 19 | 47 | 9 | 7 | 204 | 310 | 54 |
| 15 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 14 | 57 | 7 | 4 | 170 | 313 | 39 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
bold – Qualified for playoffs; z – Won conference; y – Won division

## Schedule and results

1999–2000 regular season :
October: 4–5–4–0 (home: 2–1–2–0; road: 2–4–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1LOctober 2, 19991–3Carolina Hurricanes (1999–2000)0–1–0–0Recap
2LOctober 4, 19990–4@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1999–2000)0–2–0–0Recap
3LOctober 7, 19993–4@ Ottawa Senators (1999–2000)0–3–0–0Recap
4TOctober 9, 19991–1 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (1999–2000)0–3–1–0Recap
5TOctober 11, 19993–3 OTColorado Avalanche (1999–2000)0–3–2–0Recap
6LOctober 13, 19991–2@ Colorado Avalanche (1999–2000)0–4–2–0Recap
7TOctober 15, 19992–2 OT@ Dallas Stars (1999–2000)0–4–3–0Recap
8LOctober 16, 19991–2@ Phoenix Coyotes (1999–2000)0–5–3–0Recap
9TOctober 20, 19992–2 OT@ Los Angeles Kings (1999–2000)0–5–4–0Recap
10WOctober 23, 19993–1@ San Jose Sharks (1999–2000)1–5–4–0Recap
11WOctober 24, 19993–2@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1999–2000)2–5–4–0Recap
12WOctober 28, 19997–3Tampa Bay Lightning (1999–2000)3–5–4–0Recap
13WOctober 30, 19993–0Buffalo Sabres (1999–2000)4–5–4–0Recap :
November: 7–3–2–0 (home: 4–2–1–0; road: 3–1–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
14WNovember 4, 19993–1New Jersey Devils (1999–2000)5–5–4–0Recap
15WNovember 6, 19994–2Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2000)6–5–4–0Recap
16LNovember 10, 19992–6@ Buffalo Sabres (1999–2000)6–6–4–0Recap
17WNovember 11, 19994–3 OTToronto Maple Leafs (1999–2000)7–6–4–0Recap
18WNovember 13, 19995–2@ New York Rangers (1999–2000)8–6–4–0Recap
19TNovember 17, 19992–2 OT@ New Jersey Devils (1999–2000)8–6–5–0Recap
20WNovember 18, 19995–3New York Rangers (1999–2000)9–6–5–0Recap
21LNovember 20, 19990–3Washington Capitals (1999–2000)9–7–5–0Recap
22WNovember 22, 19992–1@ Carolina Hurricanes (1999–2000)10–7–5–0Recap
23WNovember 24, 19995–2@ Nashville Predators (1999–2000)11–7–5–0Recap
24TNovember 26, 19992–2 OTVancouver Canucks (1999–2000)11–7–6–0Recap
25LNovember 28, 19991–2New York Islanders (1999–2000)11–8–6–0Recap :
December: 2–6–3–2 (home: 1–3–2–0; road: 1–3–1–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
26TDecember 2, 19992–2 OT@ Washington Capitals (1999–2000)11–8–7–0Recap
27LDecember 4, 19993–9Chicago Blackhawks (1999–2000)11–9–7–0Recap
28TDecember 9, 19992–2 OTEdmonton Oilers (1999–2000)11–9–8–0Recap
29LDecember 11, 19994–5Detroit Red Wings (1999–2000)11–10–8–0Recap
30WDecember 13, 19992–0Phoenix Coyotes (1999–2000)12–10–8–0Recap
31LDecember 14, 19992–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1999–2000)12–11–8–0Recap
32WDecember 17, 19993–1@ Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2000)13–11–8–0Recap
33LDecember 18, 19990–4@ St. Louis Blues (1999–2000)13–12–8–0Recap
34LDecember 21, 19991–3Nashville Predators (1999–2000)13–13–8–0Recap
35TDecember 23, 19993–3 OTMontreal Canadiens (1999–2000)13–13–9–0Recap
36LDecember 27, 19990–3@ New York Islanders (1999–2000)13–14–9–0Recap
37OTLDecember 29, 19994–5 OT@ New Jersey Devils (1999–2000)13–14–9–1Recap
38OTLDecember 30, 19994–5 OT@ Ottawa Senators (1999–2000)13–14–9–2Recap :
January: 4–4–4–2 (home: 1–4–3–1; road: 3–0–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
39TJanuary 1, 20002–2 OTNew Jersey Devils (1999–2000)13–14–10–2Recap
40WJanuary 4, 20007–3@ New York Islanders (1999–2000)14–14–10–2Recap
41LJanuary 6, 20003–7Carolina Hurricanes (1999–2000)14–15–10–2Recap
42LJanuary 8, 20002–5New York Islanders (1999–2000)14–16–10–2Recap
43LJanuary 11, 20002–3Toronto Maple Leafs (1999–2000)14–17–10–2Recap
44TJanuary 13, 20000–0 OTBuffalo Sabres (1999–2000)14–17–11–2Recap
45TJanuary 15, 20002–2 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (1999–2000)14–17–12–2Recap
46TJanuary 17, 20003–3 OTAtlanta Thrashers (1999–2000)14–17–13–2Recap
47WJanuary 19, 20004–3@ Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2000)15–17–13–2Recap
48WJanuary 20, 20004–2@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1999–2000)16–17–13–2Recap
49OTLJanuary 22, 20003–4 OT@ Florida Panthers (1999–2000)16–17–13–3Recap
50OTLJanuary 24, 20003–4 OTCalgary Flames (1999–2000)16–17–13–4Recap
51WJanuary 29, 20001–0Buffalo Sabres (1999–2000)17–17–13–4Recap
52LJanuary 31, 20002–4Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1999–2000)17–18–13–4Recap :
February: 2–5–4–0 (home: 1–2–1–0; road: 1–3–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
53TFebruary 1, 20004–4 OT@ Ottawa Senators (1999–2000)17–18–14–4Recap
54WFebruary 3, 20004–2Toronto Maple Leafs (1999–2000)18–18–14–4Recap
55TFebruary 8, 20002–2 OTWashington Capitals (1999–2000)18–18–15–4Recap
56LFebruary 11, 20002–5@ New York Rangers (1999–2000)18–19–15–4Recap
57LFebruary 12, 20001–5Florida Panthers (1999–2000)18–20–15–4Recap
58TFebruary 16, 20003–3 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1999–2000)18–20–16–4Recap
59LFebruary 21, 20002–5@ Vancouver Canucks (1999–2000)18–21–16–4Recap
60LFebruary 23, 20002–4@ Edmonton Oilers (1999–2000)18–22–16–4Recap
61WFebruary 25, 20003–0@ Washington Capitals (1999–2000)19–22–16–4Recap
62TFebruary 26, 20002–2 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1999–2000)19–22–17–4Recap
63LFebruary 29, 20003–5Ottawa Senators (1999–2000)19–23–17–4Recap :
March: 4–7–1–2 (home: 2–5–1–0; road: 2–2–0–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
64LMarch 2, 20002–5Montreal Canadiens (1999–2000)19–24–17–4Recap
65LMarch 4, 20000–3Philadelphia Flyers (1999–2000)19–25–17–4Recap
66LMarch 6, 20001–5Ottawa Senators (1999–2000)19–26–17–4Recap
67OTLMarch 8, 20001–2 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (1999–2000)19–26–17–5Recap
68WMarch 10, 20005–3@ Carolina Hurricanes (1999–2000)20–26–17–5Recap
69WMarch 11, 20005–3@ Montreal Canadiens (1999–2000)21–26–17–5Recap
70OTLMarch 16, 20004–5 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (1999–2000)21–26–17–6Recap
71WMarch 18, 20003–2Pittsburgh Penguins (1999–2000)22–26–17–6Recap
72LMarch 19, 20002–6@ Philadelphia Flyers (1999–2000)22–27–17–6Recap
73WMarch 21, 20004–0Tampa Bay Lightning (1999–2000)23–27–17–6Recap
74LMarch 23, 20001–3Florida Panthers (1999–2000)23–28–17–6Recap
75TMarch 25, 20004–4 OTLos Angeles Kings (1999–2000)23–28–18–6Recap
76LMarch 29, 20003–4@ Montreal Canadiens (1999–2000)23–29–18–6Recap
77LMarch 30, 20002–3St. Louis Blues (1999–2000)23–30–18–6Recap :
April: 1–3–1–0 (home: 1–0–1–0; road: 0–3–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
78TApril 1, 20002–2 OTNew York Rangers (1999–2000)23–30–19–6Recap
79LApril 4, 20004–5@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1999–2000)23–31–19–6Recap
80LApril 5, 20003–6@ Florida Panthers (1999–2000)23–32–19–6Recap
81LApril 8, 20000–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (1999–2000)23–33–19–6Recap
82WApril 9, 20003–1Pittsburgh Penguins (1999–2000)24–33–19–6Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Bruins only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Bruins only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 6 | Joe Thornton | C | 81 | 23 | 37 | 60 | −5 | 82 |
| 33 | Anson Carter | RW | 59 | 22 | 25 | 47 | 8 | 14 |
| 14 | Sergei Samsonov | LW | 77 | 19 | 26 | 45 | −6 | 4 |
| 77 | Ray Bourque‡ | D | 65 | 10 | 28 | 38 | −11 | 20 |
| 38 | Dave Andreychuk‡ | LW | 63 | 19 | 14 | 33 | −11 | 28 |
| 41 | Jason Allison | C | 37 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 5 | 20 |
| 20 | Darren Van Impe | D | 79 | 5 | 23 | 28 | −19 | 73 |
| 11 | P. J. Axelsson | LW | 81 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 1 | 24 |
| 23 | Steve Heinze | RW | 75 | 12 | 13 | 25 | −8 | 36 |
| 19 | Rob DiMaio‡ | RW | 50 | 5 | 16 | 21 | −1 | 42 |
| 28 | Andre Savage | C | 43 | 7 | 13 | 20 | −8 | 10 |
| 18 | Kyle McLaren | D | 71 | 8 | 11 | 19 | −4 | 67 |
| 22 | Mikko Eloranta | LW | 50 | 6 | 12 | 18 | −10 | 36 |
| 43 | Joe Murphy†‡ | RW | 26 | 7 | 7 | 14 | −7 | 41 |
| 32 | Don Sweeney | D | 81 | 1 | 13 | 14 | −14 | 48 |
| 10 | Cameron Mann | RW | 32 | 8 | 4 | 12 | −6 | 13 |
| 17 | Shawn Bates | C | 44 | 5 | 7 | 12 | −17 | 14 |
| 25 | Hal Gill | D | 81 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 51 |
| 21 | Eric Nickulas | RW | 20 | 5 | 6 | 11 | −1 | 12 |
| 57 | Antti Laaksonen | LW | 27 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 2 |
| 12 | Brian Rolston† | LW | 16 | 5 | 4 | 9 | −4 | 6 |
| 37 | Mattias Timander | D | 60 | 0 | 8 | 8 | −11 | 22 |
| 26 | Mike Knuble† | RW | 14 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −2 | 8 |
| 53 | Brandon Smith | D | 22 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −4 | 10 |
| 29 | Marty McSorley† | D | 27 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 62 |
| 16 | Ken Belanger | LW | 37 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −4 | 44 |
| 48 | Joe Hulbig | LW | 24 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −8 | 8 |
| 51 | Jay Henderson | LW | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 9 |
| 27 | Landon Wilson | RW | 40 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −6 | 18 |
| 55 | Jonathan Girard | D | 23 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 |
| 39 | Joel Prpic | C | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −6 | 0 |
| 61 | Marquis Mathieu | C | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 4 |
| 42 | Peter Ferraro | LW | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
| 47 | John Grahame | G | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 8 |
| 46 | Sean Pronger | C | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 13 |
| 49 | Johnathan Aitken | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 |
| 44 | Nick Boynton | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 0 |
| 34 | Byron Dafoe | G | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 45 | Aaron Downey | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Robbie Tallas | G | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 6 |
| 54 | Jeff Zehr | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 34 | Byron Dafoe | 41 | 13 | 16 | 10 | 1030 | 114 | 2.96 | .889 | 3 | 2307 |
| 47 | John Grahame | 24 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 609 | 55 | 2.46 | .910 | 2 | 1344 |
| 35 | Robbie Tallas | 27 | 4 | 13 | 4 | 628 | 72 | 3.17 | .885 | 0 | 1363 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Ray Bourque |
| Team | Elizabeth C. Dufresne Trophy | Joe Thornton |
| Team | John P. Bucyk Award | Steve Heinze |
| Team | Seventh Player Award | Joe Thornton |
| Team | Three Stars Awards | Joe Thornton (1st) |
| Team | Three Stars Awards | Kyle McLaren (2nd) |
| Team | Three Stars Awards | Sergei Samsonov (3rd) |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Mikko Eloranta | October 2, 1999 |
| First game | John Grahame | October 4, 1999 |
| First game | Jeff Zehr | November 20, 1999 |
| First game | Aaron Downey | March 30, 2000 |
| First game | Nick Boynton | April 1, 2000 |
| First game | Johnathan Aitken | April 5, 2000 |

## Transactions
### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 25, 1999 (1999-06-25) | To Atlanta ThrashersRandy Robitaille | To Boston BruinsPeter Ferraro |
| October 20, 1999 (1999-10-20) | To Toronto Maple LeafsRight to match arbitration award of Dmitri Khristich | To Boston Bruins2000 2nd-round pick (#59 overall) |
| December 28, 1999 (1999-12-28) | To Edmonton OilersKay Whitmore | To Boston BruinsMike Matteucci |
| March 6, 2000 (2000-03-06) | To Colorado AvalancheRay Bourque Dave Andreychuk | To Boston BruinsBrian Rolston Martin Grenier Samuel Pahlsson 2000 1st-round pick (#27 overall) |
| March 10, 2000 (2000-03-10) | To New York RangersRob DiMaio | To Boston BruinsMike Knuble |

## Draft picks

Boston's draft picks at the 1999 NHL Entry Draft held at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 21 | Nick Boynton | D | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OHL) |
| 2 | 56 | Matt Zultek | LW | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OHL) |
| 3 | 89 | Kyle Wanvig | RW | Canada | Kootenay Ice (WHL) |
| 4 | 118 | Jaakko Harikkala | D | Finland | Lukko (Finland) |
| 5 | 147 | Seamus Kotyk | G | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OHL) |
| 6 | 179 | Don Choukalos | G | Canada | Regina Pats (WHL) |
| 7 | 207 | Greg Barber | RW | Canada | Victoria Salsa (BCJHL) |
| 8 | 236 | John Cronin | D | United States | Boston University (Hockey East) |
| 9$^1$ | 247 | Mikko Eloranta | LW | Finland | TPS (Finland) |
| 9 | 264 | Georgijs Pujacs | D | Latvia | Dynamo-81 Riga (Latvia) |

### Notes

* The Bruins acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 27, 1998 that sent a ninth-round pick in 1998 to the New York Islanders in exchange for this pick.