The Bruins entered the NHL in 1924 as the league's first United States-based club, created by grocery-chain owner Charles Adams. After some lean opening seasons the team reached the Stanley Cup Final before the decade was out, and defenseman Eddie Shore gave the young franchise its first true star and its first two championships in the late 1920s and late 1930s, followed by a third title in 1941 behind the famed "Kraut Line" of Milt Schmidt, Woody Dumart, and Bobby Bauer. A long stretch without a title followed as the roster thinned during and after World War II.

The arrival of Bobby Orr in the late 1960s transformed the franchise; paired with scoring leader Phil Esposito, Orr powered the physical, high-scoring "Big Bad Bruins" to championships in 1970 and 1972 and redefined how defensemen were used in the sport. Boston remained a frequent playoff contender through the 1980s and 1990s behind Ray Bourque and Cam Neely but could not add another title despite repeated Final appearances. The drought finally ended in 2011 with a seven-game win over Vancouver, and the club has since combined deep playoff runs, including further Final trips in 2013 and 2019 and a record-setting 2022-23 regular season, with the longtime core of Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, and Brad Marchand anchoring one of the league's most consistently competitive teams.