The Jacobs family wanted the city to fund a new arena and former Mayor White wanted nothing to do with it.

Uhh, what? I guess you can mark this under things I had no idea were going to happen because I am a young, stupid millennial. But apparently, the Bruins were going to move to Salem, New Hampshire in 1981 and the plan was to put a $50m complex where the Rockingham Park race track is located.

Here is an excerpt from the UPI in 1981:

SALEM, N.H. — The Boston Bruins will move to Rockingham Park next year if New Hampshire pledges massive financing help for a $50 million sports complex and greyhounds can run there, team owners announced Friday. ‘If this project goes forward, the Bruins have made a commitment to be the major tenant,’ said Paul Mooney, the president of the National Hockey League franchise. Delaware North Co., owners of the Bruins and the Boston Garden, and the owners of Rockingham Park propose to reopen the horse race track, add greyhound racing and put up an 18,000-seat arena to house the Bruins, concerts and other entertainment events and possibly the Boston Celtics.

I never knew this. I’m glad I never knew this. The Bruins? In New Hampshire? On what planet would New Hampshire ever be able to house a major professional sports team? This is coming from a kid who spent just about every summer in Salem, New Hampshire as a kid and went to college there for 4 years.

New Hampshire is basically two states. Northern New Hampshire and Southern New Hampshire. Northern New Hampshire is gorgeous, you got the White Mountains, the Lake Regions, ski resorts everywhere, there really aren’t many places to spend the summer better than northern New Hampshire.

Southern New Hampshire on the other hand, might be the worst place on earth. I worked in southern New Hampshire for two years after college at a little AM radio station in Nashua, basically the capital of southern NH. And it sucked. I hated every second of it. Weirdos everywhere. What does southern New Hampshire have to offer besides a bunch of homeless people asking you for spare change on main street in Nashua? Ever been to Manchester? No? Good. That place is the worst. Weirdo junkies everywhere that refuse to leave you alone. Salem is probably one of the bright spots of southern NH, Canobie lake, arlington pond, get away from Main St. and it’s a decent place.

But imagine the Bruins actually moving to that state? I mean, I love the B’s. But would they even retain the same name? Would they be the New England Bruins?. A home rink in southern New Hampshire? That is the grossest thing I have ever heard.

Thank god this never happened. Even though a race track and hockey rink right next to each other would of been pretty cool. I think I speak for everyone when I say the Bruins are fine exactly where they are. Another example of the Jacobs family being the worst owners in Boston. How dare you threaten to take our Bruins away from us, even if it was 1981. And from the looks of the Boston Globe article, if the Bruins went, the Celtics were leaving Causeway too. Man, that would of sucked.