Definitely a difference-maker

Sporting News, The, March 20, 2000 by Larry Wigge

He provides leadership, guts and heart-and there's no fear that he will ruin the chemistry a team has built up.

"Why now?" I ask Bourque.

"Well, two reasons," he replies. "One: I asked to be traded because I want to win a Stanley Cup. It's the one thing I haven't accomplished in my career. I wanted to go to a contender. And two: At this point in time, I needed a challenge. I want to find out what's left of Ray Bourque.

"They, uh, we have so much talent up front. It's really scary watching guys like Joe and Peter.... If I can push the puck up the ice a little to help them catch the opposition flat-footed, think how much better the, uh, our offense will be."

You can excuse Bourque for the slip-ups after spending 21 seasons with the same team.

Bourque awakes from his pregame snooze and realizes that his emotional departure from Boston isn't just the flashback of a bad dream. It's reality. It's the opportunity of a lifetime for a guy who twice has taken his team to the Stanley Cup finals but never won it all.

"Once I woke up from the nap, it was really weird," Bourque says. "Reality set in. I was going to the rink and it wasn't to play for the Boston Bruins. I was going to play for another team."

You could say he was as much a part of Boston as the famous Tea Party, baked beans, the Green Monster and Paul Revere.

"We needed this," Forsberg says. "We weren't focused. And now, with all the attention we'll get, you can bet this will bring us together to play with the kind of emotion we need in the playoffs."

"The feeling in the room before the game was so different," Drury says. "There was electricity. Guys were here early, and they were chirping. There definitely was a lot of energy."

Sakic even offered to give Bourque his captain's `C,' knowing how valuable the veteran defenseman can be in the locker room and on the bench.

"I remember playing against the Americans in the Olympics at Nagano," Sakic says. "There were times when he shouted something positive to a teammate, and there were other times when he didn't even have to say anything to get your attention, if you know what I mean."

Flyers G.M. Bobby Clarke's face is flushed, his lips drawn tight. He is disappointed he didn't acquire Bourque. But, Clarke says, "I assume we're not the only team that's disappointed."

The insiders had Bourque staying in the East and being traded to the Flyers. But Clarke would not include goaltending prospect Maxime Ouellet in his deal without getting a guarantee that Bourque would be more than just a rent-a-player for this season.

Even though the Flyers were Bourque's first choice, he would not relent on the contract issue.

Detroit and St. Louis also made offers but finished second to Avalanche G.M. Pierre Lacroix, who contacted Bruins G.M. Harry Sinden 15 days before finally consummating the deal.

"We thought we made an excellent offer," Pleau says. "We thought we made a special offer and had a chance at getting Ray."

Blues defenseman Al MacInnis won a Stanley Cup with Calgary in 1989, and he has seen other teams load up before the March trading deadline over the years to put themselves into position to win hockey's ultimate prize.