#2- Ray Bourque finally wins the Stanley Cup

#2- Ray Bourque finally wins the Stanley Cup

For me, the greatest Hockey moment of all-time came when Ray Bourque finally got to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup over his head as a Champion, and that is why it comes in as my #2 Sports Moment.

Ray Bourque began playing in the NHL in 1979 as a Defenseman for the Boston Bruins. His final game was June 9, 2001. In the 22 seasons between, Ray Bourque became (in my book) the greatest defenseman to ever play the game. Among his many, many accomplishments are the following: NHL records for Goals (415) and Points (1579) by a Defenseman, Shots (6206), and All-Star appearances (19); Boston Bruins team records for games Played, Assists, and Points; Five-time Norris Trophy Winner (Best Defenseman). Bourque also served as Team Captain of the Boston Bruins from 1985 until his trade to the Colorado Avalanche in 2000 (he then served as an Alternate Captain until his retirement).

Ray Bourque also represented himself and his teams with class and integrity. Many people in and around sports have likened Bourque to being NFL greats Dan Marino, John Elway, and Joe Montana all wrapped into one. Yes, he is that likable. When he was drafted, the Bruins issued him jersey #7 which drew the ire of many fans because #7 had previously been worn by Phil Esposito (Most of the records Gretzky broke were previously owned by Esposito). Several years later, the Bruins honored Esposito by retiring his #7. At the retirement ceremony, Bourque skated to Esposito and in a stunning show of class and respect removed his own #7 jersey and handed it to Esposito, effectively communicating to everyone that #7 belonged to Phil Esposito. Bourque wore #77 thereafter, and his jersey has since been retired by both the Boston Bruins and the Colorado Avalanche (one of only 6 NHL players ever to have their jersey retired by more than one team).

After losing in the Stanley Cup Finals twice with the Bruins (1988 and 1990), Bourque saw his team gradually decline right out of playoff contention and in 2000 he requested a trade to a playoff contender. On deadline day he and teammate Dave Andreychuk were traded to Colorado for three players and a 1st Round Draft Pick. That season the Avalanche lost the Conference Finals in 7 games to Dallas. Bourque came back for the 2000-2001 season and the Avalanche dominated the league. The team won the President’s Trophy and finished with a record of 52-16-10-4. The Avalanche also hosted the All-Star game.

In the Playoffs, the Avs swept the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 in the first round and survived the upstart LA Kings in 7 games in the second round. They routed St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference Finals in 5 games with Joe Sakic scoring the series winning goal 24 seconds into OT. Throughout the playoffs, the Avalanche players carried out a campaign they called “Mission 16W” representing the 16 wins needed to win the Stanley Cup, as well as the team goal to get Ray Bourque a championship. In the Stanley Cup Finals, Bourque and the Avalanche faced the defending champion New Jersey Devils.

Going into game 5, the series was tied. Patrick Roy made a bad play which handed the Devils the game and gave them the chance to win the Cup on home ice. Roy recovered from his gaffe and shutout the Devils in Game 6. Game 7 was June 9, 2001 in Denver and the Avalanche won the game 3-1, winning the Stanley Cup and completing Mission 16W. That is when the moment happened.

After all the cheering and hugging, the handshake line, and then hugging family, the Stanley Cup was brought out. As is tradition, the Cup is presented to the Captain of the Team, in this case, Joe Sakic. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman conveyed the message everyone was thinking without saying when he said, “Joe, someone here has waited a long time for this, why don’t you go and give it to him!” The crowd exploded into applause as Sakic received the Cup and instead of being the first to hoist it over his head as was his right, he skated straight to Ray Bourque and handed it to him. Bourque, with tears streaming down his face raised the Cup over his head.

While the image of Bourque crying while hoisting the Cup is burned into my memory forever, the part that makes it even more meaningful was the picture taken from behind him. In that picture you see Bourque raising the Cup with his wife and children looking on, tears streaming down their faces too. They knew how important this accomplishment was to him.

Ray Bourque waited longer than any other player in the 116 year history of the Stanley Cup to win it. His 22-year career and NHL record streak of most games played without winning the Stanley Cup came to an end that day at 1,826 games.