Definitely a difference-maker

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

--James Meier

RELATED ARTICLE: Trading places

Why would Ray Bourque agree to go to the Avalanche, a team on the bubble in the Western Conference playoff race?

Anyone asking this question has no clue about what has been wrong with the Avalanche this season. And anyone asking this question doesn't realize what one of the greatest defensemen ever in the NHL can do to help any team.

The Avalanche has shown a big need for veteran leadership on defense of late--especially after the season-ending injury to defenseman Sergei Gusarov.

The Avalanche needs a spark--and Bourque needs a challenge.

In his 21 seasons in the NHL, Bourque has been Rookie of the Year, has won the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman five times and has been selected as a starter for the All-Star team 13 times. He has won just about everything except a Stanley Cup.

Here's what getting Bourque and winger Dave Andreychuk adds to Colorado:

The power-play factor--With Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic injured and with the trade of Claude Lemieux to New Jersey earlier this season, the Avalanche has not been its usual potent self--ranking fifth in the NHL with an 18.7 percent efficiency rating.

By adding Bourque on the point with Sandis Ozolinsh and putting Andreychuk in the mix up front with Forsberg, Sakic, Milan Hejduk, Chris Drury, Adam Deadmarsh and Alex Tanguay, you can count on Colorado adding at least one more goal per game.

And in an NHL where one goal often makes the difference, this could be the biggest boost the Avalanche will get from this trade.

Division champs again--Forget the Oilers. The Avalanche always has had the speed and individual talent to surpass Edmonton. Playing as individuals has been the problem for Colorado.

This is the same team that pulled together and used its great speed to knock off the heavily favored Red Wings in the second round of the playoffs last spring. Paying attention to playing good defense--clogging up the middle to create turnovers--and cashing in on those mistakes was a key for Colorado getting to the Western Conference finals before losing to the Stanley Cup champion Stars.

Bourque is an ultimate team player, and he'll quickly send the Avalanche in that direction.

Defensively speaking--Ozolinsh, Adam Foote, Aaron Miller, Jon Klemm, Gusarov and Greg de Vries are OK, but this group of defensemen was nowhere near as deep as Western Conference rivals in Detroit and Dallas, where the Red Wings have Nicklas Lidstrom, Larry Murphy, Chris Chelios and Steve Duchesne on defense and the Stars feature Derian Hatcher, Richard Matvichuk, Sergei Zubov and Daryl Sydor. And the Blues, of course, play Al MacInnis and Chris Pronger 30 minutes or more per night in key games. Add Bourque to that Colorado defense, and you quickly make Miller and Klemm better. Ozolinsh and Foote already are among the league's top 10 to 15 defensemen.

Rent-a-players--The Avalanche had little success with players whose contracts were running out last season, losing Theo Fleury, for instance, after trading several youngsters to get him at the March trading deadline.