With the Winter Classic only little more than a month away, the announcements and reality of the NHL’s signature event at Gillette Stadium feels like it’s just around the corner, and quickly hitting home in a great way.
The NHL announced the current rosters for the 2016 Winter Classic Alumni Game between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens legends set for the afternoon of Dec. 31 at the home of the New England Patriots.
The Bruins roster includes Ray Bourque, Cam Neely, Terry O’Reilly, Al Iafrate, Mark Recchi, Reggie Lemelin and 98.5 the Sports Hub color analyst Bob Beers, among others. And Jose Theodore, Larry Robinson, Stephane Quintal, Guy Carbonneau and Chris Nilan are on the Montreal side.
Interestingly, Stanley Cup winning goalie and Conn Smythe winner Tim Thomas was not among the names listed on the alumni roster for the Black and Gold after leaving the team on strained terms in 2012.
The rosters are current as of Nov. 24 – additions or changes may be made leading up to the game. The Alumni Game will consist of three 20-minute periods (running time) and two 12-minute intermissions to be broadcast nationally in the United States at 3:30 pm on Dec. 31 by NBCSN.
Here are the full rosters for both the Bruins and Canadiens alumni with Mike Milbury, Derek Sanderson and Don Cherry tapped to help lead the coaching staff for the Black and Gold squad:
Bruins Alumni Roster Canadiens Alumni Roster
PJ Axelsson Donald Audette
Bob Beers Christian Bordeleau
Ray Bourque Francis Bouillon
Rob DiMaio Benoit Brunet
Tom Fergus Patrice Brisebois
Hal Gill Guy Carbonneau
Steve Heinze Lucien Deblois
Al Iafrate Gilbert Delorme
Brian Leetch Eric Desjardins
Reggie Lemelin Normand Dupont
Ken Linseman Gaston Gingras
Rick Middleton Rick Green
Jay Miller Mike Keane
Cam Neely Alex Kovalev
Terry O’Reilly Sergio Momesso
Andrew Raycroft Mats Naslund
Mark Recchi Chris Nilan
Sergei Samsonov Lyle Odelein
Marco Sturm Oleg Petrov
Bob Sweeney Stephane Quintal
Don Sweeney Stephane Richer
Tim Sweeney Larry Robinson
Glen Wesley Richard Sevigny
Steve Shutt
Jose Theodore
Bruins Coaching Staff Canadiens Coaching Staff
Lyndon Byers Simon Arsenault
Don Cherry Yvan Cournoyer
Stan Jonathan Jacques Demers
Don Marcotte Stéphane Gauthier
Tom McVie Réjean Houle
Mike Milbury Guy Lafleur
Derek Sanderson
Bruins Honorary Coaches
John Bucyk
Eddie Sandford