Ray Bourque

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Raymond Jean "Ray" Bourque (born December 28, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice
hockey player. He currently holds records for most career goals, assists, and points by a defenceman
in the National Hockey League (NHL). Bourque is also an Olympian and has become nearsynonymous with the Boston Bruins franchise, for which he played 21 seasons and became its
longest-serving captain. Bourque finished his career with the Colorado Avalanche, with whom he
won his only Stanley Cup in his final NHL game.

Ray Bourque
Hockey Hall of Fame, 2004

Contents
1 Playing career
1.1 Switching to #77
1.2 International play
1.3 Colorado Avalanche
2 Retirement
3 Awards and achievements
4 Career statistics
4.1 Regular season and playoffs
4.2 International
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Playing career
Bourque was born in Saint-Laurent, Quebec. Bourque was the third-round pick of the Trois-Rivires
Draveurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Half-way through his rookie
season, coach and GM Michel Bergeron traded Bourque to Sorel for high-scoring Benoit Gosselin.
After a stellar junior career with Sorel and Verdun of the QMJHL, in which he was named the
league's best defenseman in 1978 and 1979, Bourque was drafted 8th overall by the Bruins, with a
first-round draft choice obtained from the Los Angeles Kings in a 1977 trade for goaltender Ron
Grahame, whose son John would be a future teammate of Bourque's. Boston GM Harry Sinden
intended to select defenseman Keith Brown, but Brown was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks
immediately prior to Boston's selection. Panicking, the Bruins settled on Bourque, allegedly against

Bourque with the Bruins in 1981

Born

December 28, 1960

Saint-Laurent, QC, CAN

Height

5 ft 11 in (180 cm)

Weight

220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)

Position

Defence

Shot

Left

Played for

Boston Bruins
Colorado Avalanche
Canada

National team
NHL Draft

8th overall, 1979

Boston Bruins

Playing career

19792001

their better judgment.[1]

Bourque would make an immediate impact in Boston during his rookie season of 197980, scoring a goal in his first game while facing the Winnipeg
Jets.[2] Bourque asserted himself from the start as one of the best defencemen in the league, winning both the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year and
a First Team All-Star selection, the first time in NHL history a non-goaltender had ever achieved the distinction. His 65 points that season was a
record at the time for a rookie defenceman.[3]
In 1985, upon the retirement of Bruins' captain Terry O'Reilly to coach the club, Bourque and veteran Rick Middleton were named co-captains of the
team, Middleton to wear the "C" during home games and Bourque for road games. Upon Middleton's retirement in 1988, Bourque became the team's
sole captain, and retained the position for the remainder of his Bruins' tenure. In so doing, he passed Dit Clapper as the longest tenured Bruins' captain
in history, as well as passing Alex Delvecchio of the Detroit Red Wings as the longest-serving team captain in NHL history, a mark since surpassed by
Steve Yzerman of the Red Wings.
Bourque proved a solid force for Boston for twenty-one seasons (19792000), famous for combining offensive prowess at a level that few defensemen
in league history had ever achievedhe was a perennial shot accuracy champion at All-Star Gamesand near-unparalleled defensive excellence.[4]
Bourque won five Norris Trophies as the league's top defenceman and finished second to Mark Messier in 1990 in the closest race ever for the Hart
Memorial Trophy, the league's Most Valuable Player award. The Bruins' reliance on Bourque's on-ice mastery was so total thatwhile Bourque was
very durable throughout much of his careerthe team was seen by many to flounder whenever he was out of the lineup.[5]
During Bourque's tenure with the Bruins, the team continued what would be a North American professional record twenty-nine consecutive seasons in
the playoffs, a streak that would persist through the 1996 season. In the playoffs, Bourque led the team to the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton
Oilers in both 1988 and 1990, where the Bruins lost in both series.[6]
Bourque was also popular among Bruins fans because of his willingness to re-sign with Boston without any acrimonious or lengthy negotiations. He
passed over several opportunities to set the benchmark salary for defenceman; instead, he usually quietly and quickly agreed to terms with the Bruins,
and this stance irritated the National Hockey League Players' Association which had been pushing to drive up players' wages.[7]

Switching to #77

Bourque was well known for wearing number 77 with the Bruins and Avalanche, but it was not his
original number. When he debuted with the Bruins in 1979, he was assigned sweater number 7, a
number that had been rarely issued by the team after Phil Esposito departed from the team in 1975. In
December 1987, Esposito's number 7 was retired by the Bruins. Although Bourque could have
continued wearing number 7 until his own departure from Boston, he decided to change jerseys out of
respect for Esposito. Bourque was called upon to take part in Esposito's jersey-retirement ceremony at
Boston Garden. He skated to Esposito at center ice, took his sweater off, and handed it to Esposito while
revealing his new number, 77thus "surrendering" the number 7 jersey so it could be retired. He would
wear number 77 for the remainder of his career.[2]

International play
Bourque (wearing #7) skates at Boston
Garden during his rookie season
Bourque played for Team Canada in the Canada Cup in 1981, 1984 and 1987. However, he did not play
in the 1991 edition, despite attempts by Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier to persuade him to take part.
Bourque also played for the NHL All-Stars in Rendez-vous '87 against the Soviet Union, and played for the Canadian team in the 1998 Winter

Olympics, leading all defensemen in scoring, with a goal and two assists in six games.[8]

Colorado Avalanche
The Bruins' record for North American professional sports, twenty-nine consecutive seasons in the playoffs, was ended in the 1997 season. The next
two seasons, the Bruins returned to the playoffs and in 1999, they won a playoff series for the first time since 1994.
Despite a nucleus of young talent and high expectations for 19992000, injuries caused the Bruins to plummet to the bottom of their division, and they
went on track to miss the playoffs. This was further exacerbated by negative attention over teammate Marty McSorley's hit on Donald Brashear.[9][10]
[11]

Bourque requested a trade from the fading Bruins so he would have a chance to win the Stanley Cup.[3] Initially, he requested a trade to a team on
the East Coast such as the Philadelphia Flyers, and Flyers' general manager Bobby Clarke offered the Bruins Andy Delmore and Daymond Langkow
for Bourque. In reality, Bruins general manager Harry Sinden was finalizing a trade with the Colorado Avalanche, under the condition that it could not
be leaked to the press. Sinden badly wanted Bourque to have a chance to close out his career with a Cup win, and told Bourque, "This may not be your
first choice, but this is the team I feel is best." On March 6, 2000, Bourque was traded to Colorado with fellow veteran Dave Andreychuk for Brian
Rolston, Martin Grenier, Sammy Pahlsson, and a first-round draft pick.
Although Bourque played just one full season with the Avalanche, he proved to be a force both on the ice and in the locker room. In 2000, he helped
the struggling Avalanche improve their form and capture their division. During the playoffs, they advanced to the conference finals, where they lost to
the Dallas Stars in a hard-fought series, with Bourque hitting the post in the last minutes of Game Seven which would have tied the game after his
team rallied from a 30 deficit in the third period to 32.
In 200001what turned out to be his only full season in Coloradohe was named an alternate captain. He led all Colorado defencemen in scoring,
and formed a solid defensive pairing with Adam Foote and Rob Blake, the latter of whom the Avs received from the Los Angeles Kings in a trade.
Bourque was named to the postseason First All-Star team, finishing as runner-up to the Detroit Red Wings' Nicklas Lidstrom for the Norris Trophy.
In the 2001 playoffs, Bourque scored the game-winning goal in Game Three of the finals against the New Jersey Devils. After a 41 loss in Game Five
that put the Avalanche in a series deficit 32, Bourque flew in his family and relatives for the pivotal Games Six and Seven, winning them 40 and 3
1, respectively. Finally, on June 9, 2001, after 22 seasons, Bourqueand the Avalanchewon the Stanley Cup, in what proved to be Bourque's final
game as a player. After team captain Joe Sakic, who had just won his second title, took the Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, he
immediately handed it to Bourque (without hoisting it himself) so Bourque could take the first victory lap around the ice. This broke a longstanding
tradition that called for the captain to take the first lap. Victorious Colorado goalie Patrick Roy, whose fourth championship had come the same day as
Bourque's first, said of the Cup and his teammate, "A name was missing from that [Cup], and today it is back to normal."[12]
Bourque had waited longer to win his first Cup than any other Cup-winning player had in the 108-year history of the Stanley Cup, having played 1,612
regular season and 214 playoff games before winning the ultimate prize. On June 12, 2001, three days after the Cup victory, Bourque exercised his
right as a player to bring the Cup back to Boston for an emotional rally in Boston's City Hall Plaza, attended by some 20,000 fans. Bourque retired
shortly thereafter, having set defensive regular season records in goals (410) and assists (1169) for 1579 points. During the 200001 season, which
would be the last for both players, Bourque surpassed Paul Coffey (intended to be Bourque's replacement on his former team, the Bruins) to become
the all-time leader in goals, assists and points for a defenceman at any senior professional level.

Retirement
Bourque was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004, his first season of eligibility. His uniform
number #77 has been retired by both the Bruins and the Avalanche; he is one of only six players (Gordie
Howe, Bobby Hull, Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Patrick Roy) whose jersey has been retired by more
than one club. His birthplace of Saint-Laurent named the Arna Raymond-Bourque in his honour.[13]
Bourque still lives in the Boston area with wife Christiane, remaining active in several local charities, and
was named a Bruins team consultant on November 3, 2005. He is also the co-owner of an Italian restaurant
called Tresca in Boston's North End.[14]
Bourque's eldest son, Christopher, was drafted by the Washington Capitals in 2004. Christopher played for
the Hershey Bears in the 2007 season and made his NHL debut for the Capitals in 2007. Chris then joined
the Boston Bruins, his father's former team, on May 26, 2012. His younger son, Ryan, was a third round
draft choice of the New York Rangers in 2009, and was a member of the USA's 2010 gold-medal World

The Arna Raymond-Bourque in SaintLaurent, QC.

Junior Championship team, earning three assists during the tournament.[15][16][17] Ryan plays for the Hartford Wolf Pack in the American Hockey
League (AHL) and was an alternate captain for the USA's 2011 World Junior Championship team, in which he again earned three assists as the team
won the bronze medal.[15][18][19] On July 2, 2014, Chris was signed to a 1-year deal with the New York Rangers, joining his brother with the Rangers'
AHL affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack.

Awards and achievements

Bourque's exceptional talent as a player has led him to become one of the most honored players in
hockey history. During his career, he was selected to thirteen NHL First Team (the most in history)
and six Second Team All-Star squads, second in total in league history only to Gordie Howe and
most amongst defencemen. He won the Norris Trophy as the top defenceman in the league five
times, fourth all-time after Doug Harvey, Bobby Orr and Nicklas Lidstrm.

Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Competitor for

Canada

Canada Cup

Among his numerous other records and honors are the following:

1981 Canada

Retired third (second among defencemen), and is currently eighth (fourth among
1984 Canada
defencemen), in all-time games played with 1,612.
1987 Canada
Retired second, and is currently fourth, in all-time assists with 1,169; this is still a record for
defencemen.
Is eleventh in all-time points scored with 1,579.
Is first in all-time points scored by a defenceman with 1,579.
Is first in all-time defence goals scored with 410.
The career leader in shots on goal with 6,206, nearly one thousand ahead of the second leading shooter, Marcel Dionne.[20]
Led the NHL in shots in 1984, 1987, and 1995.
Holds the NHL record for most shots on goal in one game with 19 (Mar. 21, 1991)
Is third in all-time cumulative plus-minus with 528, behind Larry Robinson and Orr.[4]
Won the Norris Trophy in 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, and 1994.
Won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 1992.
Received the Lester Patrick Trophy in 2003.
Named a NHL First Team All-Star in 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, and 2001.
Named a Second Team All-Star in 1981, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1995 and 1999.
Became only the sixth defenceman in professional history to score 30 goals in a season (1984).
Became only the third defenceman in professional history to reach the 1,000 NHL points milestone (1992)
Is the Bruins' all-time career leader in games played (1,518), assists (1,111) and points (1,506), also ranking fourth in goals and first in assists
with a single team (any position).
Registered his 1,528th point Oct. 25, 2000, vs. Nashville, passing Paul Coffey as the NHL's all-time leader among defencemen.
Registered his 1,137th assist Dec. 21, 2000, vs. L.A. Kings, passing Coffey for second place on the NHL's all-time assists list and first among
defencemen.
Named to play in the All-Star Game for the 19th consecutive season, passing Wayne Gretzky for the league record, 2001; Bourque also
appeared in the All-Star Game in every season that it was held during his career (there was no game in 1987 or 1995).
Was named the Most Valuable Player of the All-Star Game in 1996.
Is third all-time in playoff assists and tenth all-time in playoff points.
Won the NHL All-star Game Shooting Accuracy Competition in 1990, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001.[21]
In 1998, three years before the end of his career, he was ranked number 14 on The Hockey News' list of the one hundred greatest hockey
players of all time. He was the highest-ranking player who had not yet won a Stanley Cup, the next highest being No. 38-ranked Dionne.[22]
Stanley Cup champion 2001.

Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Season
197677
197677
197778
197879
197980
198081
198182
198283
198384
198485
198586
198687
198788
198889
198990

Team
Trois-Rivires Draveurs
Sorel Black Hawks
Verdun Black Hawks
Verdun Black Hawks
Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins

League
QMJHL
QMJHL
QMJHL
QMJHL
NHL
NHL
NHL
NHL
NHL
NHL
NHL
NHL
NHL
NHL
NHL

GP
39
30
72
63
80
67
65
65
78
73
74
78
78
60
76

Regular season
G
A
Pts
3
20
23
9
16
25
22
57
79
22
71
93
17
48
65
27
29
56
17
49
66
22
51
73
31
65
96
20
66
86
19
58
77
23
72
95
17
64
81
18
43
61
19
65
84

PIM
27
29
90
44
73
96
51
20
57
53
68
36
72
52
50

GP

4
11
10
3
9
17
3
5
3
4
23
10
17

2
3
2
0
1
8
0
0
0
1
3
0
5

Playoffs
A
Pts

1
3
16
19
9
11
1
1
5
6
15
23
2
2
3
3
0
0
2
3
18
21
4
4
12
17

PIM

0
18
27
2
16
10
0
4
0
0
26
6
16

199091
199192
199293
199394
199495
199596
199697
199798
199899
199900
199900
200001

Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
Colorado Avalanche
Colorado Avalanche
QMJHL totals
NHL totals

NHL
NHL
NHL
NHL
NHL
NHL
NHL
NHL
NHL
NHL
NHL
NHL

76
80
78
72
46
80
62
82
81
65
14
80
204
1612

21
21
19
20
12
20
19
13
10
10
8
7
56
410

73
60
63
71
31
62
31
35
47
28
6
52
164
1169

94
81
82
91
43
82
50
48
57
38
14
59
220
1579

75
56
40
58
20
58
18
80
34
20
6
48
195
1141

19
12
4
13
5
5

6
12

13
21
15
214

7
3
1
2
0
1

1
1

1
4
5
41

18
6
0
8
3
6

4
9

8
6
17
139

25
9
1
10
3
7

5
10

9
10
22
180

12
12
2
0
0
2

2
14

8
12
18
171

International
Year
1981
1984
1987
1987
1998

Team
Canada
Canada
NHL All-Stars
Canada
Canada
Senior totals

Event
CC
CC
RV
CC
Oly

Result
2nd

4th

GP
7
8
2
9
6
32

G
1
0
1
2
1
5

A
4
4
0
6
2
16

Pts
5
4
1
8
3
21

PIM
6
8
2
10
4
30

See also

Captain (ice hockey)

Hockey Hall of Fame
List of NHL statistical leaders
Notable families in the NHL
List of NHL players with 1000 assists
List of NHL players with 1000 games played

References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.

Good and lucky at NHL draft http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Draft/2012/06/19/19897566.html

Harding, Thomas (June 10, 2001). "Raymond Bourque timeline". The Gazette (Colorado Springs). Retrieved July 21, 2008.
"Ray Bourque biography". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 22, 2008.
"NHL & WHA Career Leaders and Records for Plus/Minus". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 21, 2008.
Paul Kelly (ed.). Hockey Almanac: 199394. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International Ltd. p. 42. OCLC 29917276.
Ralph Dinger (ed.). The National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book, 199091. Philadelphia: Running Press. p. 151. ISBN 0-89471-870-3.
"Say It Ain't So: Boston Bruins". CNN/Sports Illustrated. May 9, 2001. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
"Team Canada - Olympics - Nagano 1998 - Player Stats". Retrieved March 12, 2014.
"Bruins' Marty McSorley charged with assault". CBC News. March 8, 2000.
"NHL brass promises to 're-evaluate' McSorley's career". CBC News. November 11, 2000.
Marrapese-Burrell, Nancy (February 22, 2000). "Bruins Hit Bottom\ Carter, Dafoe Hurt; McSorley Head-Hunts". The Boston Globe.
Falla, Jack, ed. (2001). Quest for the Cup: A History of the Stanley Cup Finals, 18932001. Toronto: Key Porter Books. p. 266. ISBN 978-1-55263-343-4.
"L'Agenda Spring-Summer 2008" (PDF). Retrieved July 22, 2008.
"Tresca Restaurant". Retrieved July 22, 2008.
"Kreider, Bourque make final USA cut". New York Rangers. December 22, 2010. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
"Goalscoring Leaders" (PDF). iihf.com. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
"Player Statistics by Team: USA" (PDF). iihf.com. Retrieved December 29, 2010.
"Boxford's Bourque an alternate captain of Team USA; squad is 10 at World Junior Hockey Championships". Tri-Town Transcript. December 27, 2010.
Retrieved December 28, 2010.
"2011 WJC Player Statistics by Team: USA" (PDF). iihf.com. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
"Career Shots On Goal leaders". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 21, 2008.
"NHL Al-Star Game Shooting Accuracy Competition Winners". NHL.com. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
Dryden, Steve (1999). The Top 100 NHL Players of All-Time. McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 978-0-7710-4175-4.

External links
Ray Bourque's biography (http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?
type=Player&mem=P200401&list=ByName#photo) at Legends of Hockey (http://www.legendsofhockey.net/)
Ray Bourque's career statistics (http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=520) at The Internet Hockey Database
(http://www.hockeydb.com/)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ray_Bourque&oldid=683254396"
Categories: 1960 births Boston Bruins captains Boston Bruins draft picks Boston Bruins players Calder Trophy winners
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame inductees Canadian ice hockey defencemen Canadian people of French descent Colorado Avalanche players

French Quebecers Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Ice hockey people from Quebec Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics
James Norris Memorial Trophy winners King Clancy Memorial Trophy winners Lester Patrick Trophy recipients Living people
National Hockey League All-Stars National Hockey League first round draft picks National Hockey League players with retired numbers
Olympic ice hockey players of Canada People from Saint-Laurent, Quebec Sorel perviers players Stanley Cup champions
Trois-Rivires Draveurs players Verdun perviers players

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