Raymond Bourque
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Ray Bourque of the .
Raymond Jean Bourque (b. December 28, 1960 at Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Canada) is a Hockey Hall of Famer who currently holds the records for most goals, assists and points by a defenseman in the National Hockey League and has become near-synonymous with the Boston Bruins hockey team.
Ray Bourque burst onto the NHL scene in 1979 after being drafted in the first round 8th overall by the Boston Bruins. Bourque immediately asserted himself as one of the best defensemen in the league, and won the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year for the 1979-80 season.
Bourque was a solid force for Boston for twenty-one seasons (1979-2000), famous for combining offensive prowess at a level that few defensemen in league history had ever achieved -- he was a perennial shot accuracy champion at All-Star Games -- and near-unparalleled defensive excellence.
During this period he was selected to thirteen First Team (the most in history) and six Second Team All-Star squads, second in total in league history only to Gordie Howe, and in 1990 finished second to Mark Messier in the closest race ever for the Hart Memorial Trophy, the league Most Valuable Player award. He also served as Boston's team captain for fourteen seasons, the longest tenure in Bruins' history and the second longest in NHL history. He won the Norris Trophy as the top defenseman in the league five times, third all-time only to Doug Harvey and Bobby Orr. In 1998, he represented Canada at the Winter Olympics at Nagano, Japan.
Early in 2000, Bourque requested a trade from the fading Bruins so he would have a chance to win the Stanley Cup. The Bruins facilitated a deal and on March 6, 2000, Bourque was traded to Colorado with Dave Andreychuk for Brian Rolston, Martin Grenier, Samuel Pahlsson and a first round draft pick.
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Although Bourque played just 128 games with the Colorado Avalanche, he proved to be a force both on the ice and in the locker room. Finally, on June 9, 2001, after 22 seasons, the Avalanche -- and Bourque -- won the Stanley Cup, in what proved to be Bourque's final game as a player. His career statistics include 410 goals and 1169 assists for 1579 points, all records for a defenseman. His uniform number 77 has been retired by both the Bruins and the Avalanche.
Ray Bourque was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004. He still lives in the Boston area, remaining active in several local charities.
His son, Chris Bourque, was drafted by the Washington Capitals in 2004 and played for Boston University in the 2004-2005 season; the younger Bourque is a highly-regarded prospect who has subsequently turned professional.
Achievements and Facts
- Played for Team Canada in Canada Cup tournaments, 1981, 1984, 1987
- Became only the sixth defenseman in NHL history to score 30 goals in a season, 1983-84
- Became the seventh defenseman in NHL history to score 200 goals in his career, 1988-89
- Became only the third defenseman in NHL history to reach the 1,000 NHL points milestone, 1991-92
- Became Boston's all-time leading goal scorer among defensemen, 1991-92
- Became Boston's all-time career assist leader, 1992-93
- Became only the second defenseman in NHL history to record 800 NHL assists, 1992-93
- Became only the third defenseman in NHL history to reach the 300 career goals milestone, 1993-94
- Became only the second defenseman and seventh player in NHL history to record 900 NHL assists. 1994-95
- Became Boston's all-time leading scorer with his 1,340th career point, 1996-97
- Moved into third place on the NHL's all-time assist list, 1998-99
- Became the Bruins' all-time leader in GP with his 1,437th game as a Bruin
- Became just the third player in NHL history to record 1,100 NHL assists, 1999-00
- Played his 1,500th NHL game Jan.19 at ATL, becoming just the fifth player in NHL history to reach that mark, 1999-00
- Played his 1,488th NHL game December 23 vs. Montreal, moving into fifth place overall on the NHL's all-time games played list, 1999-00
- Registered his 1,528th point Oct. 25 vs. Nashville, passing Paul Coffey as the NHL's all-time leader among defensemen, 2000-01
- Registered his 1,137 assist Dec. 21 vs. L.A. Kings, passing Paul Coffey for second place on the NHL's all-time assists list and first among defensemen, 2000-01
- Voted to the All-star Game for the 19th consecutive season, passing Wayne Gretzky for the league record, 2000-01
- Played in his 1,600 NHL game March 11 vs. Dallas, joining Larry Murphy, Scott Stevens, Mark Messier and Gordie Howe as the only players to reach the milestone, 2000-01
- Is third all-time in playoff assists and tenth all-time in playoff points.
- Was a teammate of John Grahame, the goaltender whose father Ron Grahame was traded by Boston in 1977 for the draft pick used to select Bourque.
See Also
External link
- Ray Bourque statistics (http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=00000520) - at Internet Hockey Database
| Preceded by: Dave Taylor | Winner of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy 1992 | Succeeded by: Dave Poulin Template:End boxde:Ray Bourque fr:Ray Bourque sv:Ray Bourque |