Details:
- Height: 6'0"
- Weight: 219lbs
- Date of birth: December 28, 1960
- Birthplace: Montreal (Saint Laurent), Quebec, Canada
- NHL Career: 1979-2001
- Position: Defenseman
Bio:
Raymond Bourque, one of hockey's all-time greatest players, was born in Montreal in 1960. After three sterling seasons in the Quebec Junior League, he was chosen by the Boston Bruins with their first selection, eighth overall, in the NHL's 1979 entry draft. In his first NHL season, he scored 65 points, won the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year and made the first NHL All-Star team. Through twenty seasons with the Bruins, twelve as team captain, Bourque dominated with his unique combination of offensive prowess (he was a perennial shot-accuracy champ at All-Star games), defensive excellence and durability, earning 17 selections to NHL all-star teams. He was a five-time recipient of the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman. After 21 seasons in Boston during which the Bruins failed to win a Stanley Cup, in 2000 Bruins general manager Harry Sinden tried to help Bourque realize his championship dream by trading him to the Colorado Avalanche. Bourque then took matters into his own hands and in the following year, he propelled Colorado to win the Stanley Cup. Despite the change in uniforms, Bourque will always be closely associated with the Bruins-he was their team captain for 14 seasons. Both the Bruins and the Avalanche retired his number 77.
Career Highlights, Awards, and Accolades:
- Scored 1,579 points in 1,612 regular season games-ninth on the all-time NHL list and the most of any defenseman
- His 1,169 assists rank fourth all-time
- He is seventh all-time in NHL games played
- In 214 playoff contests, he scored 180 points, 10th all-time
- Third in all-time playoff assists with 139
- He scored 30 goals in a season, becoming only the sixth defenseman to do so
- Became only the third defenseman to reach the 1,000-point mark
- Played in 19 consecutive NHL All-Star games, more than any other player
- 13-time first team NHL All Star
- All-time Bruins leader in points, assists and games played
- Won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman five times
- Represented Canada in three Canada Cup tournaments (1981, '84 and '87)
- Represented Canada in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan
- Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001
