When the world's best hockey players retire, their competitiveness doesn't go away. And in this THN Archive story, Bruins icon Ray Bourque spoke about his post-playing-career life.
Boston Bruins legendary defenseman Raymond Bourque is one of the NHL's all-time best competitors. And in this feature story from THN's Jan. 24, 2011 edition -- Vol. 64, Issue 15 -- writer Ryan Dixon spoke to Bourque about life after his playing days:
50 YEARS YOUNG
By Ryan Dixon
At 50 years old, Ray Bourque is still black and gold to the bone. But there sure isn’t any rust on him.
Depending on the day, Bourque might be found mingling with the upper crust of Boston Bruins fans in TD Garden’s Premium Club or checking in on Tresca, a restaurant in Boston’s north end he’s owned for five years. Failing that, he can be spotted back on the ice, playing in the twice weekly pick-up game he’s a part of with a few other former Bruins such as Reggie Lemelin, Brad Park, Bob Sweeney and Terry O’Reilly.
“Same guys, two teams; we just go black and white teams and we just play games to five,” Bourque said. “We play for about an hour-and-a-half, hang out, have a nice little workout and good laughs.”
Bourque hit the half-century mark as 2010 was nearing its close on Dec. 28, while fellow legend Mark Messier hits the big five-oh Jan. 18, just eight days before his buddy Wayne Gretzky blows out 50 candles (more on pg. 14). Both Bourque and Messier said they didn’t attach a ton of significance to the milestone. “Haven’t really given too much thought to it,” Messier said. “It’s amazing to see the years go by quickly, but other than that, I still feel good, I still like to stay in shape…I skate a little bit, I run, work out, ride the bike, weight training.”
Since retiring after the 2003-04 season, Messier has gone back inside the game, currently holding the post of special assistant to New York Rangers GM-president Glen Sather and working with Hockey Canada in a number of capacities.
Bourque, who famously hung up his skates after winning the 2001 Stanley Cup with Colorado, hasn’t followed suit – yet. “I’d be lying if I told you I don’t think about it sometimes,” he said, “but you’ve really got to be committed 100 percent to do that and right now I’m pretty content with what’s going on.”
Bourque isn’t saying he’ll never get involved, just that it would have to be the right situation for him: “Thinking about it and doing it are two totally different things. I know how much work goes into it. You play 22 years and you travel and all that stuff and then you just want to step away from it and not travel or be as busy or scheduled as you were and then you fall into being pretty comfortable with the life you have.”
That life includes being the proud poppa of three kids. The oldest, Melissa, is a director with The Boys and Girls Club of Boston, while sons Chris and Ryan both followed dad’s footsteps into hockey. After 325 American League games and 33 in the big show with Washington and Pittsburgh, Chris now plays in the Swiss League, while the youngest, 20-year-old Ryan, is a third round pick of the Rangers who served as an assistant captain on Team USA’s bronze medal-winning national junior squad.
Ray remains a proud Boston resident who revels in seeing his sons play the game and still carves out a lot of time for his old team. “I love watching it and I really follow the Bruins,” he said. “I watch a lot of games. Love playing, too. Still love playing and still get around pretty good.”