Ray Bourque had already put together a Hall of Fame resume that most players can only dream about. He owned five Norris Trophies, had made 19 All-Star Game appearances, and spent more than two decades with the Boston Bruins. The one thing that never came with all that success was the Stanley Cup, and by the time he was 39, the clock was ticking.
That reality pushed Boston into a franchise-shaping move on March 6, 2000. The Bruins sent Bourque to the Colorado Avalanche, with defenseman and power forward Dave Andreychuk heading to Boston as part of a package that also included centers Brian Rolston and Samuel Pahlsson, defenseman Martin Grenier, and a first-round pick in the 2000 NHL Draft. It was the kind of trade that carried immediate weight, but its real significance wouldn’t be clear until much later.
Boston was slipping in the standings, and Bourque made the difficult decision to ask for a trade from the only organization he had ever known once it became obvious his title chances were fading. Colorado was built to chase championships, with Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Patrick Roy already in place. Avalanche general manager Pierre Lacroix saw exactly what Bourque could add, and Bourque saw the same thing on the other side.
The first try fell short. Colorado reached the 2000 Western Conference Final, only to lose to the Dallas Stars in seven games.
Bourque was still without a ring, and retirement could have easily followed. Instead, he came back for another run.
The Avalanche answered with a dominant 2000-01 season, winning the Presidents' Trophy and finishing with the NHL’s best record in the regular season. In the playoffs, they moved on to the Stanley Cup Final against the defending champion New Jersey Devils, but even then the finish line stayed just out of reach. New Jersey went up 3-2 in the series, putting Colorado one loss away from watching the dream disappear again.
Colorado forced a Game 7 by blanking the Devils 4-0 in Game 6, then took the ice in Denver on June 9, 2001 with everything on the line. The Avalanche played like a team trying to win it for Bourque.
Alex Tanguay opened the scoring with two goals, and Joe Sakic added another just over a minute later to make it 3-0. The Devils got one back with about 10 minutes left, but the hole was too deep.
Patrick Roy shut the door the rest of the way, and when the final horn sounded, the crowd let the moment wash over it. Ray Bourque was finally a Stanley Cup champion.
The iconic scene still had one more twist. After receiving the Cup, Sakic broke with tradition and handed it straight to Bourque instead of taking the first lift himself.
Twenty-two seasons in, Bourque raised the Stanley Cup over his head at last. For one of hockey’s greatest defensemen, it was the ending his career had been chasing all along, and sometimes that matters more than whatever comes back in a trade.
In Other News...
Avalanche Catch A Break In Dallas But Face A Bigger Concern
The Avalanche are getting a little help from Dallas on a night when lineup depth already matters. Wyatt Johnston is out for the Stars because of an illness, ending his ironman streak and forcing Dallas to reshuffle its middle six, with Sam Steel bumped up to second center and defenseman Kyle Capobianco trying life up front.
Colorado, though, has its own bigger issue to manage. The Avalanche are already missing Zachary LHeureux to injury and Cale Makar for family reasons, leaving them with 17 skaters and a thinner margin for error than they would like as the game wears on. In a matchup like this, the absences may shape as much as the hockey itself. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Face Dallas With Bednar Staff Suddenly In Question
The Avalanche are heading into two important games against the Stars with more than just the standings on the line. Colorados staff picture has become a point of interest, with assistant coach Dave Hakstol still traveling with the team in Dallas even as there is growing speculation around his next step away from the NHL bench.
What makes the timing notable is how quickly this could come together. Hakstols situation has not been resolved publicly, but the possibility of a move has introduced a little extra uncertainty around a team that is trying to keep its focus on Dallas and the next stretch of the season, even as another chapter for one of its assistants may be taking shape very soon. [Read more 🡒]
Former Avalanche Champion Hospitalized After Frightening In-Game Incident
Former Avalanche forward Nico Sturm was back in the headlines for an unsettling reason during Minnesotas game against Vegas, when he was struck near his right ear by a puck and taken to a local hospital by ambulance. It was a frightening scene for a player who has carved out a dependable NHL career with stops in both Minnesota and Colorado, where he was part of the Avalanches 2022 Stanley Cup championship team.
Wild coach John Hynes said Sturm was still being evaluated after the incident and would not travel with the team to Winnipeg for its next game. For Colorado fans who remember Sturm as one of the depth pieces in that title run, the immediate concern now is his condition and how long he might be sidelined after such a scary in-game moment. [Read more 🡒]