BOSTON - Harry Sinden, president of the Boston Bruins for the last 17 of his more than 40 years with the team, resigned Wednesday to become an adviser to club owner Jeremy Jacobs.

Boston Bruins NHL hockey team President Harry Sinden, right, and newly named general manager Peter Chiarelli leave the dais after a news conference where Chiarelli was introduced to members of the sports media at the Garden in Boston, in this May 31, 2006 file photo. Sinden is stepping down after more than 40 years with the NHL team. He will continue as an adviser to Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

The move is the latest in the reorganization of a franchise that last won the Stanley Cup in 1972 and hired Peter Chiarelli as general manager and Dave Lewis as coach after last season.

The team said it would not hire a new president, but instead align all hockey operations under new general manager Peter Chiarelli.

Sinden said the timing is right for him to step down, as he's been moving toward an advisory capacity with the Bruins for some time. He added that he needed to step aside to ensure people know that the new management team was running the Bruins, not him.

"I can't control perception. I don't think I ever have over the years been able to control the fact ... that somehow I was pulling all the strings in some people's minds. It was totally false," he said. "Whether or not I can convince people that that's not the case, it wasn't the case and won't be the case now, I don't know."

Sinden acknowledged his decision came with some sadness.

"I have such great memories, but you know I'm still involved, I'm going to be involved," he said.

"I haven't reached the point yet that I can say, 'Well, that was a great trip, thanks,' I don't think I'm quite there yet."

The 74-year-old Sinden began in the Bruins organization in 1961 as a minor league coach in Kingston, Ontario, and became head coach in Boston in the 1966-67 season. In his fourth and final full season as coach, he led the Bruins to the 1970 Stanley Cup, their first in 29 years.

Sinden spent the next two years in private business before taking over on Oct. 5, 1972, as general manager, a job he held until Nov. 1, 2000. He also served as president since 1988 and began overseeing operations of the Bruins home, the TD Banknorth Garden, as its chairman in 2002.

In March, Sinden fired his successor as GM, Mike O'Connell, and the team missed the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. In previous years, Sinden's role in making deals decreased and he began serving more as an adviser to O'Connell, who traded star center Joe Thornton to San Jose early last season.

Thornton went on to become the NHL's most valuable player.

On Wednesday, Jeremy Jacobs said he was honored Sinden had agreed to stay on as an adviser.

"Harry is not only a close friend but is an inspirational leader and certainly a legend in the world of hockey," he said.

Sinden is a key figure in NHL circles, serving on many league policy-making and rules committees. He'll remain as an alternate governor for the Bruins on the league's Board of Governors.

In 1983, Sinden was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and later became a member of the hall's board of directors. In 1997, Sinden was one of 30 members of the inaugural class for the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame.

Sinden also was an amateur defenseman in Canada during the 1950s and was part of that country's team that won a silver medal in the 1960 Olympics.