Boston Bruins legend, Ray Bourque, joins the show!
What are some of the memories Bourque has of his years in Boston?
What are some of the memories Bourque has of his years in Boston?
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00:00One of the all-time greatest defensemen ever to play in the NHL, a Hall of Famer,
00:06and an all-around good guy, Ray Bork. Ray, how are you? I'm great, how about you? Thanks for being
00:12here. Good to be here. We were talking yesterday with Razor, with Andrew Raycroft, and he was
00:18talking about particularly the Christmas party and the Bruins guys going out every year and buying
00:27gifts for the kids. And I'm sure when you think back on things that you experienced here during
00:35your long tenured career with the Boston Bruins, that's one that you remember is getting that
00:41opportunity to go and see those who are in the middle of this great fight against cancer.
00:48Yeah, we always went out. Something that, you know, as you become a Bruin, we had certain
00:55events that we had to attend, and you learn early on that giving back and being part of the community
00:59was very important. And as years went on, you know, we were in hospitals, a lot of different
01:05children's hospitals, Dana-Farber, all over the place, visiting little kids at times. And then,
01:13yeah, Christmas time was pretty special for us. I started where I start collecting money from
01:18all the players at Christmas, and we actually went out literally buying gifts and going
01:24into hospitals and giving them to the kids that, you know, going through tough times at that time
01:31of the year and going into homeless shelters and single moms and kids that weren't
01:37going to get gifts at Christmas. So that was pretty special, and it's still going on now with the
01:42Bruins at Christmas. Now it's sponsored by big companies and they still go out, though, the
01:47players still go out and get the gifts and give them out. So yeah, this community is amazing.
01:54All teams are a big part of it, and you learn pretty quick. This is a special place. And that's
02:00one of the reasons, I'm sure, why you stayed here and why you didn't leave after your career was
02:05over. Yeah, and I think a lot of guys that end up playing here for, you know, a certain amount of
02:10time end up living here and raising their kids here. And I got here 45 years ago. Last week was
02:18August 8th is the day I was drafted. 45 years ago, my buddy called me just to remind me,
02:26because he was knocking on my door that morning. He was a big Bruins fan and so excited that the
02:30Bruins drafted me. And I was like, yeah, that went fast. But, you know, pretty quick that I
02:38realized I always thought when I was starting to play, you know, okay, I'd retire, go back to
02:42Montreal and my wife, both of us are from there. And, you know, once we retired, we'd go back
02:48there. But once you have kids, and then they're in school, and they're doing their thing here,
02:52and you realize how special this area is New England. There's no way going back. And even
02:57when I went up to Colorado for about a year and a half, you know, there's no way that I wasn't
03:02coming back here to settle and for all very special reasons. And something like this,
03:09this tells you all about New England and what you guys do WEI now over 20 years of doing this and
03:15raising money and in the Jimmy fund and how long it goes back to Ted Williams, where it all started
03:22with the Red Sox relationship with, you know, Dana Farber and the Jimmy fund. It's just an
03:29amazing place. And Ray, you know, I grew up watching you. I always the first most vivid
03:34memory when you first went to Colorado was you still have the Bruins shorts underneath the pads.
03:39I remember that vividly, but you gave back when you were here. You performed at the top of the
03:45game. You're one of the great defensemen in the history of the NHL, maybe the best.
03:50And yet you stop playing, and you are everywhere. At every charitable endeavor,
03:56you're either donating something or you're there doing the raffle or what makes you I mean,
04:01you've given a lot on the ice more than most ever will. And now you're here 45 years later,
04:08getting up in the morning to hang out with us morons.
04:10Let's be honest, Curtis. It's like me. It's about the free golf.
04:14You know where I'm going after this, right?
04:16Aren't you playing today?
04:17Where are you playing today?
04:18Salem Country Club.
04:18Salem Country Club.
04:19We're hosting. We're hosting people that are coming in from Florida that I, I went to in
04:25Florida and we, uh, we have a big event, uh, at our golf course that we auction off golf,
04:31like four dinners, three rounds of golf. And, um, people got here last night. We had dinner last
04:37night. We're playing golf today. Another dinner tonight at my house. And we raise a ton of money
04:41for children's hospital out there in the Fort Myers area. Uh, so we're doing that, but.
04:46Curtis also winters in Florida or more correctly, his parents do.
04:49Right here. You hear that?
04:52One day I'll get there.
04:53Uh, you brought up being drafted. Did you care where, where you were going or did you just,
04:58did it matter to you? Did you want to, do you want to be drafted by a Canadian team or did.
05:02No, I, you know, growing up in Montreal and dreaming about playing for the Canadians when
05:06I was a young kid, then, then you kind of get to a certain age and you kind of know that,
05:10uh, things are happening. You're going to get drafted, but ended up in Montreal.
05:14Probably wouldn't have been the best place. I think if you're going to play in your hometown,
05:18you want to start somewhere else, kind of establish yourself, know how things are done.
05:22Uh, starting in your hometown, uh, the pressure, I mean, I speak French and English. I had to,
05:27I would have to deal with that, you know, double interviews, uh, friends, family, uh, and this,
05:35and just making the lineup in Montreal back then, you know, a lot of guys were amazing players.
05:39I'd have to start in the minors cause how strong and deep they were, uh, and teams. Um, so I, uh,
05:46I was just so happy to go to a team original six team that was established rich in history and had
05:53just lost to Montreal the year before and the semifinals where I could have gone to Colorado,
05:58Minnesota, all these, and these teams sucked. So, you know, and they suck for about 10 years.
06:02So you come to a place where all you got to do is do your job and have fun and breaking in with
06:07guys like Jerry achievers and genre towel and Brad park, Tara Riley, uh, you know, probably a handful
06:14of those guys have one cups and 70, 72. Well, you brought up during the break, John Wentzink
06:19John Wentzink. Did you buy his house? Yes. Cause he told me to
06:26was he, did he give you a deal?
06:30114,000 ended up selling it for three 25. It was pretty good.
06:35Was he the toughest guy you ever played with? He was just such a teddy bear. I mean,
06:39these guys, right. They're so tough on the ice and he looks so mean and, um, just amazing guys,
06:45but he, he played the part big time. Like he looked like he was nuts, right? Yeah. The,
06:51the Afro, the big hair challenge in Minnesota bench to a fight, just classic stuff back then.
06:58Yeah. I mean, can we really sit here and give Ray his flowers? Cause this is kind of like,
07:04I'm always like amazed when people, we go out, we always see a lot of people and there's a ton
07:09of Bruins fans. And, you know, I remember my days as a youngster playing hockey and being a
07:13defenseman, but when everybody talks about Ray book, they talk about one of the greatest defensemen
07:22to ever put on a pair of skates, even his peers and his teammates, whether we're talking with
07:27Millbury, which I'm talking with. And so the fact that, that, you know, I don't know him like that,
07:33but we have paths across. It's like, it's amazing to be able to sit with somebody when you think of
07:41what they were able to accomplish as a player. And I don't know if you ever thought about it
07:45when you were coming up, like the level of respect and just, and where you sit in the world
07:52of hockey, it's like, I mean, you got to give this guy his flowers is never impressed.
07:59I was just never crossed paths on the ice. I was always hoping to run into Wiggy at Saugus
08:08you went out a few times. I used to skate there Tuesday and Fridays with the guys. And we never
08:12really, and I don't care, you know, you're a hall of famer. You played college, you played
08:17high school, you played in the NFL. We all end up in Saugus. It's amazing though. It's amazing.
08:28It's, you know, growing up around, it's amazing. I could never have dreamt to have the career that
08:32I had. And, you know, when I came in, I was just hoping if I could play 10, 12 years,
08:39I would thought, you know, that would have been a great career. And right out of the box,
08:43it was amazing. It was so much fun, lived a dream and never really stopped to really smell the
08:50flowers till the day I retired. You know, you're told all these things while you're playing and
08:55you realize how things are going, but you never want it to end until, you know, once I retired
09:01and I looked back and I said, wow, good job, right? What's your guess at why Jeremy Swainman
09:10isn't signed yet? Hey, that's how it goes, man. You know, I had negotiations where it came to
09:18the end and it's really frustrating as a player. Didn't they take you to arbitration?
09:25Every year. How do you do that? How do you take the greatest defenseman to ever play the game
09:28to arbitration every year and try to point out that, you know, he doesn't backtrack.
09:34Right. That's when things were kind of changing where salaries, you know, became public and they
09:40kind of exploded and Harry just had a hard time, you know, seeing that transition happening and
09:47money. He thought it was going to ruin the league and look at it now. It's just flourishing and
09:52doing great. Swain's going to get his money. This is going to work out. You know, he's an
09:58amazing goalie, amazing kid and we don't want him going anywhere and it's going to get settled for
10:03sure. This takes time and, you know, Swain wants his money and the Bruins want to save some money.
10:09Swainman aside, what do you think about the state of the Bruins right now? Not the end of the season
10:14that we wanted, obviously, but what do you feel about Montgomery? How do you feel like they're
10:18gelling? I love Montgomery. I think he's a great coach. He's the right coach for this team. I really
10:24like their two free agents that they signed. Is it Nazaroff and Lindholm? I probably got the name
10:33wrong. Elias Lindholm, I believe. Lindholm's a center man. They need him bad, you know, losing
10:41Patrice and Krejci last year and really having the season that they had last year, I think they
10:46overachieved regular season. I don't think they were built for the playoffs. I think Lindholm and
10:53this big defenseman that people are going to love. He's a monster and he just goes out there. He's
11:00an excellent player, but he'll run people out of the rink as well and I know Bruins fans don't
11:05like that, but you better get used to it because they're going to see it. Two great signings. I
11:12think it's going to help their team. So I expect them to be better this year. The great Sean McDonough
11:19is listening to the show right now and just sent me a text and said, we need to point out a couple
11:23things. Number one, you are unappreciated as a charity auctioneer. You've undertaken that role
11:31many times and you've become very, very good at it. So impressive. Well, you saw me in action.
11:36I saw you in action. Congratulations guys. Five years. Yes. Amazing. Yes. Thank you. And also
11:42points out that you are the leading defensive scorer in the history of the NHL. Is that correct?
11:48Yeah. And 12th all time, 12th all time in players in the NHL when it comes to points,
11:54both offensive defense. That's 12. That's amazing. 12th all time. Think about that.
11:59And he's so far ahead of like a lot of people. Yeah. It's going to be, it's going to be a while.
12:05My car, my car, maybe my car averages 80 points for 20 years. He'll get there.
12:11If they actually just read it, your plaque at the hall of fame, it just says he's so far ahead
12:16of a lot of people. I don't know how much time we have. I always ask players as much as you want.
12:22No, no. I always, I always love to tap in. My tee time's at 11. Tomorrow. I hope. I like seeing
12:28wiki like starstruck lunch at Twin Peaks. There are like a few people that I would love to sit
12:37down, obviously Larry bird, but you know, but having the opportunity to meet you and sit down
12:42a bunch of time. And I always ask guys of your caliber, how do you view the game now versus like
12:48when you played, like, do you like it? Are there things that you would change? Like, you know,
12:53I always want to tap into the mind of like great players and how they, I just figured this out.
12:57This is a giant end around to get a free dinner at Tresca about time. You mentioned you talk
13:06about the North end. I love Tresca. Sometimes you jump over Tresca. I don't know. I mean,
13:11I give everybody love. I do. I'll tell you what I love is the it's fall and you have the pumpkin
13:17ravioli served and it's served in the pumpkin and baby pumpkin. It's so good. But yeah. What do you
13:25think of today's game? I think it's awesome. I would have loved to play it in today's game.
13:30When I played, you know, we had the red line. I would love to play without the red line and just
13:35throw some bombs to, you know, cam just out there or Adam oats or just these guys flying down and
13:43the rules. You know, we used to have hooking clutching, grabbing. I don't know how many times
13:50I'd make a pass coming around and that would ever be two guys with the past. Then you're jumping in
13:54and make it an outmatched situation. All of a sudden the guy would give you this big hook and
13:59you just want to turn around and slash him like so hard and there's no calls. And so offensively
14:06would have been way more fun to play. And today's game defensively is a lot tougher because you can't
14:11clutch and grab. You can't hook. You can't do those things. But being able to skate, I think
14:16it would have done all right. But I love the game. I think the players just up and down lineups. I
14:22mean, the skill and the speed of these players is just amazing. And I just love watching the game
14:27today. Well, I know you brought a little donation, which we appreciate. Yeah. We work family
14:35foundation that, you know, we do great things. We'd like to donate $10,000. Oh my God.
14:43Thank you. All right. Thank you very much. Amazing. A round of applause for the great
14:47bore. And you guys have the captain's ball coming up. Yep. We have, you know, we've teamed up with
14:54Nancy Frady and John. And after Pete's passing, we had created the ball. My wife said, can we
15:01have something that has nothing to do with sports and get all dressed up and dolled up and all that
15:04have fun? I said, yes, we created the ball pre COVID. We canceled three times because of COVID
15:10then during that time Pete pass. And we don't really lock into one specific cause up until
15:17Pete's passing. And our, our ball is strictly for ALS research. That's out of the Healy center
15:23had a mass general and the Pete Frady's family foundation that gives grants up to families
15:28affected with ALS. So it's September 19th. You go to board family foundation.org. Learn all about it.
15:35It's at Sawa Sawa. It's awesome. It holds, it could hold like 1500 people and the more, the
15:44merrier. I promise you an amazing time. And it was awesome last year and I'm sure it'll be even
15:50better this year. So something I really want to grow into something special every year. So
15:54with Nancy's networking and ours and the Frady's and teaming up like that,
15:59uh, it's just, uh, it's been fun. It's been great. And it's, uh, it's such a, I mean,
16:05like the Jimmy Fon and this today, you know, ALS is just awful. We appreciate what you do.
16:12Uh, what are you looking to card today at Salem? If I could shoot 77,
16:18be happy with that. 77. I don't get there that often strive for that. Every time I go out,
16:23they give me cart 77. Yeah. Kids got a good tip. Yeah. Every once in a while I'll shoot it. Yeah.
16:29Shyme shot that in the front at the numbness. I was hoping to meet him. He talks about golf all
16:34the time. Yeah. We should go play. You want to play with shine me and shine Salem country club
16:38shine. You want to go to Salem and we'll play with Ray. I would be honored. Okay. Can I do
16:42that instead of dinner that I owe you? That's fine. Yep. Uh, this is that I'll take it. Okay.
16:47All right. So me, you and shine, we'll go play it. Do you play golf? Uh, no, I stay Chris. Uh,
16:51yeah, I'll play Courtney. I would love to. I'll definitely come, but I stink. He'll just be in
16:57your cart talking the whole time. I hope you're okay with that. Just talking Hawkins. We'll have
17:00to put two forces together. All right. Yeah. Let's do it. We'll do it before the end of the summer.
17:03Ray Bork, you're the best. He always been great to us. Great to the show. Good work guys. All
17:08right. Thank you. All right. That is Ray Bork. We take a quick break, Ken, or should we, you want
17:12to know, is that okay? We'll we'll take a quick break. It is day. Number two of live watching
17:18Ken manage. He's great at it. Uh, generally he defers to somebody else on important. Well,
17:24he looks to you. He made this decision himself.