Bruins Owner JEREMY JACOBS "will be inducted" into the builder category of the Hockey HOF, where he will join Bruins Senior Advisor to the Owner HARRY SINDEN, who "received his call 34 years earlier," according to Fluto Shinzawa of the BOSTON GLOBE. The induction will take place in Toronto on Nov. 13. During Jacobs' stewardship, the Bruins’ "crowning achievement" was winning the Stanley Cup in '11. Jacobs has since "shifted the team’s CEO title" to son CHARLIE. However, the elder Jacobs remains NHL BOG Chair. Jacobs said, "This was a total surprise. I’m humbled and very appreciative, because I know a lot of people that preceded me in here were good friends." Jacobs bought the Bruins from Storer Broadcasting in '75. In earlier seasons, Jacobs "had not been amenable to big-ticket acquisitions" and "practiced fiscal restraint." But in '06, Jacobs "approved one whopping investment that would change the franchise’s future." On July 1, 2006, the Bruins signed D ZDENO CHARA to a five-year, $37.5M deal. On the same day, the Bruins also signed C MARC SAVARD to a four-year, $20M contract. Not only did the signings "improve the roster, they signaled to the rest of the league that the once-thrifty Bruins were willing to pay for good players" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/27). In Buffalo, John Vogl writes Jacobs, who also owns locally-based concessionaire Delaware North, has "long been one of the most dominant figures in shaping the business of hockey" (BUFFALO NEWS, 6/27). Jacobs said of his induction, "The length of my ownership perhaps plays a role in this. But, my continued participation in the league at the league level, it did come as unexpected. It happened today, I didn’t anticipate it" (BOSTON HERALD, 6/27). Jacobs also was part of SBJ/SBD's Champions class of '16 (THE DAILY).
CUT FROM A DIFFERENT CLOTH: In Boston, Steve Buckley writes, "At face value, Jacobs’ ascendence to hockey immortality has merit." But "don't not expect thousands of Bruins fans to be rushing to Toronto" to attend Jacobs’ induction. That kind of relationship has "never existed between Jacobs and Bruins fans, and the warm and fuzzy glow of a Hall of Fame speech isn’t going to change things." Before the salary cap, Jacobs was "viewed as the owner who wouldn’t pay for talent but could charge high ticket prices because he knew B’s fans loved their hockey." He remains a "stiff, uncomfortable presence when he’s in Boston." In the hockey business, Jacobs has been a "hard-liner and a backroom presence," and it is the hockey business that is "honoring Jacobs" (BOSTON HERALD, 6/27). WEEI.com's Ty Anderson noted with "tremendous pull in the league, Jacobs has also brought several events to Boston over the course of his ownership, including the All-Star Game, NHL Draft, and two Winter Classic games." He is "certainly a polarizing figure around the league, as he was viewed" as one of the "hardest owners to negotiate" with during the '12 NHL lockout. Jacobs "allegedly grew to be ‘despised’ by players during the latest round of CBA negotiations, and even got a few more licks in against the players with some interviews and pressers when the lockout ended." Jacobs was also one of the more "vocal owners when it came to removing NHL participation" from the '18 PyeongChang Games (WEEI.com, 6/26).
