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In 1979, the year Ray Bourque made his NHL debut, Jimmy Carter resided in the
White House, Superman went to No.1 at the box office and I Will
Survive won a Grammy. In what turned out to be the first of 20 seasons with
the Boston Bruins, Bourque was awarded the Calder Trophy as the league's top
rookie. With Boston, he would go on to become the highest-scoring defenseman of
all-time, win five Norris Trophies as the NHL's best defenseman and establish
himself as one of the game's most skilled and well-liked players. After two
decades in the league, Bourque had but one dubious distinction: He had played
more career games (1,825) than anyone in NHL history without winning a Stanley
Cup. Six months before his 40th birthday, the Montreal native decided to make
one last effort to win a championship and asked Boston to trade him. The Bruins
obliged, and on March 16, 2000, Bourque was sent to the Colorado Avalanche. The
2000-01 season proved to be Bourque's best in five years as he led the team in
minutes played and went to his 19th straight All-Star Game. Colorado finished
the regular season with the league's best record (52-16), earning home ice
advantage throughout the playoffs. After defeating Vancouver, Los Angeles and
St. Louis, the Avalanche came up against the defending champion New Jersey
Devils in the Stanley Cup finals. Rebounding from the brink of elimination, the
Avs ended New Jersey's run with a 3-1 win in Game 7. "Just seeing Ray carry
that Cup around the ice makes you want to cry," said Colorado forward Dan
Hinote. "It makes everything in the world seem right again." Just 16
days after leading the Avalanche to a title, Bourque announced his retirement.
"For me, this is a pretty neat finish," he said. "It means I
retire as a champion."
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Photograph by David E. Klutho
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