Sunday, June 3 Updated: June 8, 1:54 PM ET Cup or not, Bourque has had 'a great ride' By Terry Frei Special to ESPN.com EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Ray Bourque's quest has been one of the relentlessly chronicled stories of the Stanley Cup finals, even to the point where he occasionally has been as irritated by it as a cheap shot in the corner. The television ratings in Boston are higher than those for New York-New Jersey, which is confirmation of both New England's passion for Bourque's chase and of the Devils' inability to be embraced as a Big Apple franchise. How many free agents are re-signed by the Avs may affect Ray Bourque's decision about his future. And, yes, it all could end Thursday night. Bourque could perfunctorily shake hands with the Devils, then skate off the ice at the corner of Continental Airlines Arena, not waiting around to watch Scott Stevens and the Devils hoist aloft the trophy Bourque has so coveted. "No matter what happens, it has been a great ride," Bourque said this week. "I couldn't have asked for any better career for myself. I mean, it has been just great. To be paid for what you'd do for free and do it for so long, I mean, I can't complain. When it does end, I just want to enjoy my family and spend a lot of time with them." For so long . . . He has teammates who weren't born when he played in his first NHL game, when he was so quiet and shy that some of his 1979-80 Bruins teammates assumed for years that the bilingual Bourque didn't speak English when he came into the league. His mother, Anita, had died of cancer when he was 12. He groped with the "why" questions for years, and he added to his natural reticence. For so long . . . After it was obvious that the kid defenseman from Montreal was going to be great, in one of his first lengthy interviews -- with The Boston Globe's Steve Marantz -- he was asked if he had met another of the city's major sports stars. "Who's Larry Bird?" Bourque asked. For so long. . . He even competed three seasons against the Devils when they were the Colorado Rockies and were based in Denver's McNichols Sports Arena. The pictures of Bourque from those days are almost unrecognizable. He was leaner, and had a baby face, longer hair and a single digit on his back. For so long . . . And, no, he doesn't have to be reminded that Game 6 could be his final one in the NHL. “ It's been that way a few years now when it comes to this time of year, so it's nothing I haven't thought of. I'm focused on what I have to do. You prepare the same way, do the same things. Then, once it's all over with this year, then we'll worry about what's going to come after that. ” — Ray Bourque "It certainly can be," he said. "It's been that way a few years now when it comes to this time of year, so it's nothing I haven't thought of. I'm focused on what I have to do. You prepare the same way, do the same things. Then, once it's all over with this year, then we'll worry about what's going to come after that." Wait a minute. We haven't offered the disclaimer. Consider the next paragraph as being read aloud by one of those fast-talkers at the end of the auto dealership's commercial, reminding you that the offer to give you the car if they can't beat somebody else's deal only applies when the deals involve two cars of the same color, equipment and Vehicle Identification Numbers that both end in 7. If Colorado wins Game 6 in the Meadowlands, which is not out of the question because of these teams' schizoid home and road performances, the Bourque quest is not over. It will come down to a monumentally dramatic Game 7 on Saturday in Denver. Bourque still could wind up holding Lord Stanley's farewell present to Canada over his head, feeling the exhilaration of a long-sought championship. "Winning on the road never has been a problem for our team," Bourque said. "We've won plenty of big games. We're confident we're going to get it done." Let's dispense with something right now: Bourque's career will not be tarnished if the Avs do not win this series, and he retires. It's comical the way this kind of stupidity always is ascribed to others, as in: People say . . . They say . . . Well, for years, we heard all the garbage about "they" saying Dan Marino's greatness wouldn't be confirmed until the Dolphins won a Super Bowl. The same was said of John Elway. The fact was, both of them carried teams for years to overachievement, and anyone with brain cells knew it. By the time the Broncos won twice with Elway taking the snaps, he wasn't carrying the team any longer, but so what? Bourque's career would not be tarnished if the Avalanche don't win the Cup. It would be a dramatic curtain, a nice touch, but it wouldn't affect the assessment of Bourque's career. We all know that, don't we? But no matter what happens in Game 6, the 22nd season is on the verge of ending. As one of the Norris Trophy finalists, Bourque will go to Toronto next week for the NHL Awards ceremony in the Air Canada Centre, but Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom is a lock to finally break through. Soon after that, Bourque probably will publicly announce his intentions. Yes, if the Avs manage to pull off the comeback, it probably clinches his retirement. He is under contract for next season, at $6.5 million, but the deal involves a mutual option and an agreement that if Bourque decided to play a 23rd season, there would be no haggling. If he retires, or the Avs don't pick up the option, Bourque would receive $1 million -- effectively bumping his salary to that $6.5 million this season. Keep in mind that nobody knows for certain what Bourque will decide. And that includes Bourque. If he were forced to make an irrevocable decision in the aftermath of the finals, he would retire. That's clearly the way he is leaning now. His game was solid this season and didn't involve serious deterioration, but he also is smart enough to know that even with his legendary conditioning, he is risking a rollover of the odometer -- taking him beyond effectiveness. His family last year moved into a palatial new home in Boxford, Mass., a Boston suburb. His daughter remained behind in the area, attending school, while the Bourques' two sons came with their parents to Denver and attended school. But son Christopher will attend Cushing Academy next fall, in the Boston area, and play hockey for the prestigious school. It all adds up to a convincing argument for retirement. Then there is the issue of economics -- and how the dollar issue ties into the Avalanche future. Rob Blake, Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy all could be unrestricted free agents on July 1, and the Avalanche need to develop a strategy and priorities. Blake has backed off his adamance that he will test the market; if the Avalanche steps up with a big-time offer before July 1, he would consider it. Regardless, barring surprises, he will end up either with the Avalanche or Maple Leafs. Sakic would prefer to stick with the Avalanche, but there still are a few scars lingering from the bargaining last summer that left him with a one-year deal. Roy doesn't want to leave, either, and he almost certainly will be back. The problem with all of that -- if it is a problem -- is that the Avs probably will need to know what Bourque is going to do to formulate their offseason strategy. Press Bourque for a decision quickly, and it almost certainly will be retirement. If he is given a couple of months to ponder, as the bruises heal and the competitive juices don't disappear, it could be: What the heck, one more year, even if it means living in Denver during the season while his family stays in Boston. And the contradiction is that if the Avs re-sign all hands, it could make Bourque think that Colorado indeed has a bona fide chance to win the Cup. But that's down the road. In the next 72 hours, we'll find out whether the Bourque decision will be made in the aftermath of a celebration or a discussion of what might have been. Terry Frei of The Denver Post is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. His feedback email address is ChipHilton23@hotmail.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

AUDIO/VIDEO  Ray Bourque is enjoying every second of the Stanley Cup finals. wav: 150 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6