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Bourque hasn't put hockey on ice yet
Hockey Hall of Famer Ray Bourque will be in Colorado on Friday for an autograph session, but he settled for watching the Colorado Avalanche play the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in Game 4 of the NHL's Western Conference semifinals on television from his home in Massachusetts.
"I sit back," Bourque said, chuckling when asked if he still watches hockey games with some anxiety. "When you're a player and you can't play because you're hurt, then it's tough to watch."
Bourque retired from hockey in 2001, after winning a Stanley Cup championship for the first time in his illustrious 22-year NHL career as a member of the Avalanche. He remains close to the game, having worked as an on-ice consultant for the Boston Bruins at home games during the past regular season. "It was fun, working with the young defensemen," Bourque said. "I sit in the coaches' box. But traveling . . . I'm not ready for that."
And Bourque has been watching his sons grow as hockey players. He helps coach his youngest son, Ryan at prep school. Oldest son Chris Bourque plays for the Hershey Bears in the American Hockey League.
"I can't say I sit back at those games," Bourque said of watching Chris, whose team has reached the Eastern Conference finals of the AHL playoffs. "It's like you're playing the game with him."
Bourque said the NHL's new rules have brought "great flow to the game," but didn't overlook the problems defensemen have encountered. "For me, the only part that's tough, being a defenseman, is the battles in the corner. It's tough," Bourque said. "You have to be in perfect position to play defense now. You see hooking calls . . . at times it's taken too far.
"But overall it's good. You watch a game and there's 4-5 minutes with no whistle. That's impressive."
Besides staying involved with family matters -- he and wife Christiane have opened a day spa, Maison Esthetique, in Danvers, Mass., and the couple is building a new home -- Bourque finds time for a few rounds of golf. "I always joke about golf being my summer job," he said.
Colorado, Bourque said, "still holds a special place, so many memories. I was hoping the Avalanche would play (Friday) so that I could be there to watch." Even with his former team down 3-0 in the series against Anaheim, Bourque held out hope -- recalling another series that seemed over, but resulted in an improbable ending.
"Nobody thought the Boston Red Sox would back on the New York Yankees," Bourque said, looking back on the 2004 playoff series between the bitter American League rivals. "I was at Game 4 of that series. You get some momentum, and then it's a feeling of 'What do you have to lose?' Meanwhile, the pressure shifts to the other team."
For information on the autograph session with Bourque from 6-7 p.m. at Colorado Mills (14500 West Colfax Ave. in Golden), call denverautographs.com (303-462-1145) or Latitude Sports Marketing (303-520-0151).