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--> --> Bourque retires after first Cup victory DENVER (AP) - Ray Bourque retired, and his jersey is going with him. The Hall of Fame-bound defenseman announced his retirement Tuesday, 17 days after hoisting the Stanley Cup with tears streaming down his face. Bourque, finally capturing the cup in his 22nd NHL season, learned his No. 77 jersey will be retired and will hang from the rafters of Pepsi Center, even though his stint with the Colorado Avalanche was limited to 15 months. "Ray's contributions to our hockey club were tremendous and will never be forgotten," Avalanche general manager Pierre Lacroix said. Bourque's jersey is the first to be retired in the six-year history of the Avalanche. The fifth in the history of the franchise, which originated as the Quebec Nordiques. Bourque, who lamented during the playoffs that in all of his magnificent seasons he had "never won my last game," corrected that oversight by capturing the cup and going out a winner. "It took a long time, but the timing was perfect," he said. "For me, this is a pretty neat finish. It means I retire as a champion." Bourque dabbed his eyes and choked back tears several times at Tuesday's news conference. While insisting he was still capable of playing the game at a high level, Bourque said his primary reason for retiring was to spend more time with his family. Bourque, 40, the highest-scoring defenseman in NHL history, was a five-time winner of the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman and played in a record 19 consecutive All-Star games. He played for 21 seasons in Boston, but requested a trade to a contender in March 2000 in hopes of winning the Stanley Cup. He finally got it when the Colorado Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils in Game 7 on June 9. Bourque recalled reporting to the Boston Bruins' training camp in 1979, "hoping to make the big team. I was a shy, quiet kid from St. Laurent, Quebec. I believed I could play in the NHL, but you never know until you get there." More than 1,800 games later, he said, "here I am having exceeded my wildest dreams." Family matters became more important for Bourque since his trade to the Avalanche. Bourque's wife, Christiane, and their children, ages 17, 15 and 10, stayed in Boston after he was traded. Other than spending more time with his family, Bourque said he had no immediate plans. "I suppose once I get to the fall," he said, "I'll be able to sit back and think about some business options and other opportunities." He called winning the cup "an unbelievable feeling," but insisted he had "absolutely no regrets" about leaving the game now. "To compete at the highest level of this game, you have to be mentally prepared every night," he said. "Honestly, that gets tougher and tougher to do after 22 seasons. "I could have played another two or three years, but I don't think I would have played at the same level. I've always wanted to go out on my terms and playing at the level I've been accustomed to playing. There are some things you can't do anymore. You make some adjustments, but you just can't react as quick, and I knew I wasn't going to get any quicker." Asked what he will miss most, Bourque said, "Just messing around with the guys, having fun playing a kid's game. I am 40 years old and go to the rink every day and play a game for a living. It doesn't get much better than that." Bourque said he decided last summer that the 2000-2001 season would be his last, regardless of his team's accomplishments. "The voice in my head kept saying the same thing. I knew I was leaving after this year. I was just hoping it could finish like this. This is the one thing I was chasing for so long and hoped I was going to be able to hoist." Asked what legacy he hoped to leave his teammates, he said, "I think the passion and just the joy of playing the game." Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing