Avalanche great Ray Bourque featured in Stanley Cup Final intro

Colorado Avalanche great Ray Bourque is one of the best stories in NHL history.

He waited 22 years to hoist the Stanley Cup and finally did it in his last ever game.

Bourque spent the overwhelming majority of his career with the Boston Bruins before being traded to the Avalanche in March of 2000.

Colorado came up short that season, but raised the best trophy in sports in June of 2001, putting the cherry on top of an excellent career. Bourque retired a champion — going out a winner and finally capturing his elusive championship.

And before Game 1 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night, ESPN featured Ray Bourque heavily in its intro narrated by Jon Hamm.

25 yrs ago, Ray Bourque won his 1st & only #StanleyCup – no one in #NHL history played more games before becoming a Champ

His story is the backbone of the '26 Stanley Cup Final opening

'The Waiting Game'
🏒 Narrated by Jon Hamm
🏆 Produced, directed & edited by @MikeFarrellESPN pic.twitter.com/BlOd84wtqz

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) June 2, 2026

It’s awesome for Avalanche fans to see Ray Bourque and relive that moment 25 years ago. The whole city of Denver was behind him as well as Boston and the entire New England area. It was an excruciatingly long wait for Bourque and his fans.

When Colorado beat New Jersey in Game 7 at (what was then) Pepsi Center, Avs captain Joe Sakic immediately handed the Stanley Cup to Bourque. There wasn’t a dry eye in the Mile High City.

But while watching this is amazing, it also can’t help make Avalanche fans feel a little disappointed. It’s easy to think ESPN filmed this intro with Colorado in mind. And perhaps Brent Burns, another veteran defenseman who’s also chasing a title at the end of his career.

Instead the Avs were shockingly swept out of the Western Conference Final by Vegas and have since undergone a front office shakeup. It’s the Golden Knights and Hurricanes battling for the Cup, not Colorado.

Regardless, it’s still very cool to see Ray Bourque be celebrated 2.5 decades after he finally reached his ultimate goal. There’s always next year for this current Avalanche core.

Related

Cale Makar voted NHL’s best defenseman a fifth year in a rowAvalanche name new head coach for AHL affiliate EaglesFive most important Avalanche games during the 2026-27 seasonNHL drops schedule for 2026-27 Avalanche seasonFirst Avalanche game of 2026-27 season announced, it’s in SeptemberAvs make three more depth signings, including forward with 477 NHL games