If the Boston Bruins had it their way, they’d still be playing hockey right now. Still, the Bruins have had a lot to be happy about lately. The SportsBusiness Journal recognized that by handing the Bruins their Sports Team of the Year Award. Boston beat out the Texas Rangers, Stewart-Haas Racing, Dayton Dragons, and Sporting Kansas City.
The criteria for the award are “excellence, growth, creativity, innovation, sound planning, implementation and outcomes.” The time period was from March 1, 2011 through Feb. 29, 2012.
The Bruins enjoyed record growth of revenue in terms of retail sales, corporate sponsorships, and ticket sales. Additionally, the Bruins Foundation, which is the franchise’s charitable arm, set new highs in fundraising. Then, of course, there’s the most obvious reason the Bruins were considered: Their 2011 Stanley Cup victory.
Boston’s first round exit in 2012 can be partially overlooked on the grounds of fatigue. They still have an excellent team and while they do have a couple question marks going into the summer, they don’t have any major unrestricted free agents that need re-signing. It looks like Boston will have another good team in 2012-13.