ON THIS DAY: A tough moment for Boston Bruins fans
23 years ago today, a long and tough waiting period finally ended for Bruins fans as captain Ray Bourque was traded after 21 years in the black and gold.
Bourque played his last game for Boston on March 4th, 2000 against the Philadelphia Flyers, losing 3-0.
With the Trade Deadline approaching, the future Hall of Famer was rumoured to be headed to either the Flyers, Devils, Red Wings, Stars, Blues, or Avalanche.
Somewhere he had a chance to captain that elusive Stanley Cup championship.
On March 6th, it finally happened, as Bourque was officially traded to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Brian Rolston, Martin Grenier, Sammy Pahlsson and a first-round pick (Martin Samuelsson).
In 1,518 career games with the Bruins, Bourque collected 395 goals and 1,111 assists for a total of 1506 points.
To this day, the defenseman ranks first in franchise history in games played, assists and points.
Despite it being one of the hardest moves for the fans, city and organization, it worked out just as everyone hoped. As on June 9th, 2001, Bourque finally hoisted the Stanley Cup after the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils in seven games.
Leading to the most legendary Cup handoff in NHL history:
Bourque showed how special Boston was to him when he brought the Cup back, as an emotional rally was held in front of approximately 20,000 fans at Boston's City Hall Plaza on June 12th, 2001.
