The Boston Bruins are a professional men's ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team has been in existence since 1924, entering the league as the first American based expansion franchise. The team's home arena is the 17,565 capacity TD Banknorth Garden where it has played since 1995, after leaving the Boston Garden which had been their home since 1928. The team's mascot is Blades the Bruin, an anthropomorphic bear.