The following advice may be hard to follow, as Tyler Seguin/Taylor Hall has seemingly been a Boston Bruin since May 15, the morning following the team’s catastrophic playoff exit at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers. It may be hard to follow since it’s just one player, and since this fan base saw Joe Thornton teams experience first-round exits and worse. Most of all, it may be hard to follow because it’s just so damn hokey, but the suggestion comes in any case:

Embrace June 25, 2010 as the biggest day for the Bruins in a long time. 

Aside from game days, it’s been a while since Bruins fans could point to one single day as being greatly significant in the team’s history.  Adding Hall/Seguin – the type of player rock-bottom teams typically build around – to one of the top teams in the NHL  isn’t an opportunity every city gets to observe, so the local folk should consider themselves fortunate. This is one of those franchise-changing days. 

Unlike the other days and drafts in recent Bruins history that may rival it, this isn’t happening to a rock-bottom team. It isn’t happening to a team that embarrassed itself so badly in the regular season that the NHL powers that be wouldn’t even implement a daring enough lottery to potentially knock them down a few spots. This is a team that came within a reality check of playing in the Eastern Conference finals. 

And it’s about to add a guy who would be considered a savior for other teams.

Savior. There’s that s-word that seems to be thrown around unfairly with prospects in every sport. If your team stunk it up and you’ve got a top pick, you’re getting a “savior,” whether he’s ready or not. 

Yet Seguin/Hall, who would unquestionably be a huge help to the worst offense in the NHL (just 196 goals after finishing second in the league with 270 a year earlier), might not even have to be top-liners right away. In the center Seguin’s case, he could very well be on the third-line out the gate, but that shouldn’t stop him from putting his footprint all over the offense. 

Both Seguin and Hall are elite goal-scorers (48 for Seguin, 40 for Hall this past season in the Ontario Hockey League). Hall, a left wing, is considered a bit tougher and takes more hits, while Seguin can seemingly make any play he wants, whether setting up a wing or doing it himself, in highlight-reel fashion all the while. 

Seguin can also play wing, as he did for part of his first year as Plymouth Whaler, though you generally don’t get Steve Yzerman and Joe Sakic comparisons because you can contribute at wing. Within a year or two (or sooner), Seguin could very well be the face of the offense, so he’ll be better off in the long term if he sticks to his natural position.  

So, with only hours separating Seguin or Hall from the Bruins on a day the die-hard fans won’t soon forget, what other days have their even been acquisition-wise of this magnitude?

July 1, 2006 might be the most comparable offseason date in recent memory. It was, as many remember, the day the team reeled in top free agents Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard. Of course, adding one wunderkind isn’t as significant as adding two all-stars, but this move inspires more hope, because unlike then, the next Bruin is being added to a real contender.

The circumstances under which Chara and Savard were brought in absolutely screamed “desperate team willing to build through free agency.” The team had finished with 74 points and had only the recent top five selection of Phil Kessel going for them. 

Draft day in 1997? Same deal. Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov were massive talents, but they were headed to a wretched squad. Same for Kessel’s selection. When you add a star to a garbage team, it’s a new beginning, but the team is still likely a ways away. When you add a top player to a contender, you’re just that much closer to the ultimate goal. 

Consider this: The Bruins made their trade with the Maple Leafs that sent Kessel prior to everything they did on the ice last season. You knew that, but read the following information and think about it again. 

The last time a playoff team got to choose with one of the top two picks in the draft was in 2001, when the Senators chose Jason Spezza second overall fresh off a 109-point season (second in the Eastern Conference). 

Their situation was different, however. The Senators made the deal for the second overall pick after the season, so they weren’t directly building on a playoff team with a top pick. They subtracted Alexei Yashin to get the second pick, Bill Muckalt and some gigantic defenseman named Chara from the Islanders. The team took a hit in points the next year, dropping to 94, though they did make it to the conference semifinals. 

The Bruins shouldn’t anticipate going down in any way. They were Kessel-less for an entire season and two rounds of playoff hockey. Since then, they’ve added a goal-scoring right winger in Nathan Horton while not losing any big pieces (save the Dennis Wideman argument for another time). With the exception of the last four games, the team had hit their stride and found an identity down the stretch. Now they get their game-changer. 

Whether it's Taylor or Tyler, this is every bit as big as it's been made out to be. Get carried away.