For the Bruins, the time for celebration is almost over. Thursday night, the team will close the book on its celebratory summer, raising a championship banner before its season opener against the Flyers. That banner will remind generations of TD Garden-goers that in 2011, the Bruins won the Stanley Cup.
Last night, the Bruins were given more personal reminders in the form of rings. The jewelry will mostly be stored in trophy cases, along with other memorabilia from the championship run.
Few players said they’d wear the ring with any regularity. As winger Milan Lucic said, championship rings these days are so big, they’re “yelling at you, screaming off your fingers.’’
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The Bruins’ ring features more than 300 diamonds, including 46 princess diamonds, 35 of which were custom cut, and 256 round diamonds.
Inside the band is a pair of inscriptions. On one side, the NHL logo is surrounded by logos of the Canadiens, Flyers, Lightning, and Canucks - the teams Boston defeated in the playoffs last year.
On the other side is the playoff slogan from last season: “Full 60+ to History.’’
The players all opened the boxes containing their rings at the same time at the conclusion of a speech by owner Jeremy Jacobs.
“Everyone was taken aback at how nice it was and how nice it looks,’’ winger Shawn Thornton said. “It’s probably worth more than my parents made growing up. I’m kind of speechless. It’s unbelievable how great of a job [the Jacobses] did.’’
Team executive Charlie Jacobs declined to disclose how much the rings cost.
The ceremony took place in the Wharf Room at the Boston Harbor Hotel, and a red carpet marked the Bruins’ trail to the seaside dining room. The path to the dining room went under the hotel’s archway, which had a roughly 40-foot banner adorned with the Stanley Cup and a Bruins logo billowing beneath it.
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A pack of fans greeted the players at the entrance, along with media bearing cameras and tape recorders. The victors posed for photos with their wives and dates - dateless Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin posed together - and spoke briefly with the media before heading into the Wharf Room.
Among those in attendance were the retired Mark Recchi and Shane Hnidy, along with Michael Ryder, who signed with the Stars in the offseason. Tomas Kaberle, who left for the Hurricanes in the offseason, was the only departed player unable to return for the ceremony.
“These guys, we’ll always remember each other for what we did,’’ Ryder said. “It’s good to get together and have this time.’’
The ring is Recchi’s third - his first came in 1991 with the Penguins and the other in 2006 with Carolina. As a player, Recchi rarely wore his finger-sized title reminders. In retirement, he says that will change.
“I’ll start wearing them now that I’m done playing,’’ Recchi said. “I’ll start wearing them a lot more. I’m excited to do that.’’