Mayor honours Boston Bruins with city hall flag raising

Bruins Nation descended on city hall Thursday, cheering Mayor Keith Hobbs’ decision to fly the team flag in honour of their Stanley Cup win.
 
About two dozen Boston faithful, most wearing jerseys sporting the names of Bruins legends like Cam Neely, Gerry Cheevers and current star Zdeno Chara, watched the mayor break city protocol and raise the team flag high to a place of honour.

“It’s a fun day,” said Hobbs, who was joined by former Bruins players Johnny Adams and Pentti Lund for the ceremony, along with his son Scott, diehard Vancouver Canucks fan who lost a bet to his father and had to don a Neely jersey and raise the flag himself.
 
“Thunder Bay is rich in Bruins history as well.”

Adams, who won a Cup in 1970 as Boston’s third-string netminder, said it’s been a whirlwind of activity since the Bruins won their latest, defeating the Canucks in seven games.

Adams said he had no idea there were so many Bruins fans in Thunder Bay.

“I was surprised to see all the sweaters here also,” he said. “There are all kinds of kids, I guess they’re out of school now, so they’ve got their sweaters on.”

Hobbs, who’s always marched to the beat of his own drum, admitted he was told he shouldn’t be flying an NHL team’s flag at city hall, as it breaches the city’s protocol.

“I asked the city clerk if we could fly it for a few hours. You know what, we broke protocol. It’s for fun. But it’s also in recognition of the Bruins history. Johnny Adams alone won a Stanley Cup. We should be celebrating those kinds of things,” Hobbs said.

“We talked about if a Thunder Bay player is on Stanley Cup winning team, maybe we should fly the flag of their team. We really have to pump up our city and the rich hockey (tradition) we have here.”

Since 2006 three Thunder Bay players have won the Cup: Eric Staal in 2006 with Carolina, Jordan Staal in 2009 with Pittsburgh and Chicago’s Patrick Sharp brought it home last July.
Not everyone agreed with Hobbs’s decision to hoist the black and gold at city hall.

Former mayor and current at-large Coun. Ken Boshcoff questioned the mayor’s decision to sidestep official city policy.

“(The mayor) can’t use the mayor’s office for personal whims,” Boshcoff told Thunder Bay Television, reached by phone in Victoria.

Boshcoff also admitted it’s not that big of a deal. According to official city policy, only the city clerk or a majority vote of council can approve the raising or lowering of a flag at city hall.