Bourque, Raymond J.
Hockey
b. Dec. 28, 1960, Montreal, Quebec
After three seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Bourque was a first-round draft choice of the NHL's Boston Bruins in 1979 and he became a starting defenseman immediately.
Bourque set a record for points by a first-year defenseman and won the 1980 Calder Trophy as the league's rookie of the year and was named to the first All-Star team.
The Bruins had given him the Number 7, which had been Phil Esposito's number. December 4, 1987, was Phil Esposito Night at Boston Garden and the team announced that the number would be retired after Bourque was finished wearing it. During the pre-game ceremony, Bourque skated over to Esposito and removed the Number 7 sweater to reveal another sweater bearing the Number 77. He gave Esposito the old sweater, to be hung in the Boston Garden rafters, and Bourque wore the 77 for the rest of his long career.
The Bruins reached the playoffs 17 consecutive seasons during Bourque's tenure and they made the Stanley Cup finals twice without winning the championship. With the team out of the playoff picture late in the 1999-2000 season, he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado lost in the conference finals that year, but in 2001 they won the Stanley Cup. The City of Boston staged a parade in which Bourque displayed the cup to his thousands of fans. He announced his retirement shortly afterward and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2004, his first year of eligibility.
The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Bourque was a very intelligent defenseman, almost subtle in his approach. Where other defenders would crash an opponent as hard as possible into the boards, often sending the puck flying wildly away, Bourque had the knack of checking him just hard enough to separate him from the puck, which he would then take control of, often to lead a rush to the other end. Bourque also excelled on the power play because of his strong left-handed slap shot.
Bourque won Norris Trophy winner as the league's outstanding defenseman in 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, and 1994. Only Doug Harvey and Bobby Orr won it more times. He was named to the First All-Star team 13 times, to the second team six times, and he played in the league's All-Star game a record 19 consecutive years.