Boston Bruins' Ray Bourque celebrates his goal after scoring during second period action against the Florida Panthers in Miami Thursday, Jan. 30, 1997.HANS DERYK/The Canadian Press
As far as prolonged waits go, it was always going to be hard to outdo the 22 years, 1,612 regular-season games and another 214 postseason contests that Raymond Bourque had to endure as an NHL player before he was able to hoist Lord Stanley above his head.
But 10 years after retiring in the afterglow of the Colorado Avalanche's seven-game Stanley Cup triumph over the New Jersey Devils, Bourque has finally added membership to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame to the free pass he gained to hockey's own temple back in 2004.
Drafted eighth overall by the Bruins in 1979, Bourque wasn't going to make anyone forget one Robert Gordon Orr in Boston's firmament of sports stars – who could? – but the Saint-Laurent, Que., native certainly lived up to the promise he had shown in major-junior, winning five Norris Trophies as the NHL's best defenceman on his way to becoming the longest-tenured captain in Bruins history.
One of the few players in the NHL to have his jersey number retired by two franchises, Bourque also set NHL career records for goals (410), assists (1,169) and points (1,579) by a defenceman.