Following the death of Red Auerbach earlier this year, I made a point to head to the store and pick up "Let Me Tell You A Story", the book he had collaborated on with author John Feinstein.  Even growing up in Boston in the 1980s, I didn't know a lot about Auerbach other than the fact that he was maybe the greatest coach in NBA history and one of the top three legendary figures in a city full of them.

One thing that stood out was Feinstein's account of the way Auerbach handled the Rick Pitino Era in Boston, which started with much hope in 1997 and ended with the organization on even worse footing four years later.  Where Pitino was concerned, Auerbach tended to avoid commenting altogether (which for him was a huge deal - Red had an opinion on everything), even among friends, for fear that something negative might end up in the media and create an issue.

On one occasion mentioned by Feinstein, however, Red pointed out that many former Celtics were playing on other teams, which was his way of saying that Pitino was giving away too many good players for next to nothing.

That quote was startling to me because it was one I had considered many times before - just never in terms of the Celtics.  On the contrary, my first thought upon reading that line was of the Boston Bruins, the oft-forgotten player in the city's sports scene.  After a nearly thirty year run of playoff appearances dating back to the days of Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito, the Bruins had fallen on hard times in the 1990s under the ownership of Jeremy Jacobs, who cut the payroll and allowed many of his best players to be dealt or walk away rather than signing them to long-term, big-money deals.  It was the hockey version of Moneyball, except without the analysis and success that makes Billy Beane's idea work.

Just for fun, I decided to look through the NHL team rosters to find as many former Bruins as possible, with the only stipulation that they were either still playing or had only recently retired.  The results were even more surprising than I had expected, with about seventeen players who had once played successfully in Boston now elsewhere in the league, in some cases helping teams win Stanley Cups and in one winning the Hart Trophy as the league's Most Valuable Player.  To break it down more clearly and demonstrate just how many of these guys there are, they are separated into individual lines below.  (Note: the use of the word lines is about as far as my hockey knowledge goes, so be gentle if I write anything stupid from here on out.)

First Line

Center: Joe Thornton - Drafted first overall in 1997 and viewed locally as the player to replace Ray Bourque as the face of the team for the next two decades, Thornton played seven seasons and 23 games for the Bruins and served three seasons as the team's captain before being traded to San Jose for three players in November 2005.  All he did in the rest of the season was tally 92 points in 58 games for the Sharks to win the Hart Trophy, the first player to ever do so after switching teams in mid-season.

Left Wing: Sergei Samsonov - The only true left wing on this list, Samsonov was drafted in the same first round as Thornton, going eighth overall in 1997, before being traded in the same season.  Oft injured during his last three seasons in Boston, Samsonov helped the Edmonton Oilers reach the Stanley Cup finals before signing with Montreal in the off-season.

Right Wing: Mike Knuble - Knuble didn't start out with the Bruins, playing four seasons for the Red Wings and Rangers before coming to Boston, and didn't come into his own until 2002-03, when he doubled his previous career-high with thirty goals.  He left the team following the lost 2004-05 season to sign with Philadelphia, where he has lit the lamp 48 times in a season and a half.

Defense: Kyle McLaren - My enduring memory of McLaren remains the vicious cheap shot he doled out to Montreal's Richard Zednik in the 2002 playoffs; if I'm not mistaken, it was the last game he played for the Bruins before being dealt to the Sharks in the off-season.

Defense: Nick Boynton - Boynton played six seasons with Boston, joining the team as a first round draft pick in 1999 and earning regular playing time by his third year.  His +/- for his first three seasons as an everyday player were 18, 7, and 17, but he slumped following the lockout and was traded to Phoenix for defenseman Paul Mara in June.  He has struggled with the Coyotes, recording only two assists in twenty games before fracturing his foot in November.

Goal: Andrew Raycroft - It took Raycroft three seasons to play for the Bruins on a regular basis, but he finally found success in 2003-04, chalking up 29 wins and allowing just 2.05 goals per game to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL's best rookie.  He struggled in 2005-06, however, and was traded to Toronto during the draft.

Second Line

Center: Bryan Smolinski, Chicago Blackhawks

Left Wing: Brian Rolston, Minnesota Wild

Right Wing: Bill Guerin, St. Louis Blues

Defense: Sean O'Donnell, Anaheim Ducks

Defense: Glen Wesley, Carolina Hurricanes

Goal: John Grahame, Carolina Hurricanes

Yahoo! Sports provided the statistical and position information for this story.