Hal Gill and his 6-foot-7 frame spent eight seasons with the Boston Bruins, so he understands how hard it can be to compete in Beantown.

The retired blue-liner had some words of wisdom for fellow big guy Jimmy Hayes - who stands 6-foot-6 - about playing with a large stature for his new team, the "Big Bad Bruins."

"(It) can be tough. I had my share of fights, but it was never good enough," Gill told DJ Bean of WEEI.com. "(It was,) ‘You should have beaten up (5-foot-8) Tie Domi.’ It was unrealistic, but that’s what the Bruins fans want. That’s the Big Bad Bruins mantra. It can be tough at times."

Gill recorded more than 900 penalty minutes in his career, 464 of which came with the Bruins, so to say he was tame may be an understatement.

Hayes, however, has thrown his body around - recording 147 hits last season - but has earned just 54 penalty minutes in his career. And Bruins fans may need to concede that the forward isn't going to go to the penalty box to prove he's a physical presence.

"Being big, you’re expected to be physical, and I’ve got to continue to be a physical presence no matter what to stay in this league," Hayes said. "I’m going to have to continue that in my game. I think it’s expected as a big guy, so I’m going to have to continue to develop that physical play.

"(I) don’t want to take dumb penalties. I try not to take them, and I haven’t really done that in my career. Maybe one or two here and there, but I’ve just got to continue to stay out of the box."

- With h/t to Pro Hockey Talk