Bouque, along with his Hall classmates Murphy and Coffey, helped to revolutionize the position of defense.

An 'offensive' Class of 2004
By Phil Coffey | NHL.com
Nov. 1, 2004

The fact that Ray Bourque, Paul Coffey and Larry Murphy are being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as the Class of 2004 should come as no surprise to fans of the sport.

After all, the three defensemen were near constant sights around NHL rinks for over two decades, producing reel after reel of highlights for all to savor and treasure.

All three defensemen were pivotal to their teams' respective success. All three were defensemen who weren't afraid to grab the puck and lug it onto the offensive zone. All three left their playing careers with their names engraved on the Stanley Cup, in the cases of Coffey and Murphy, multiple times.

So any discussion at the 2004 induction ceremonies is going to be about defense, although Cliff Fletcher, who will be enshrined into the Hall in the Builders Category, can certainly lead an insightful discussion on how to build a successful team.

Bourque resides among the Parthenon of the game's greatest all-around defensemen. Playing in Boston for the vast majority of his career, Bourque's game was closely scrutinized by those Bruins faithful who can recite from memory the dazzling array of moves that made Bobby Orr arguably the best defenseman to ever lace on a pair of skates.

Being compared to Orr is a daunting task for any player, but Bourque was always graceful and classy and in the process carved out a legacy of success that has seen his No. 77 join that of Orr's famed No. 4 in the rafters of the FleetCenter.

Coming out of the Quebec Major Junior League as Boston's top selection in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, Bourque wasted little time making that all-important first impression, winning the Calder Trophy as the League's top rookie. He also secures a spot on the NHL's First All-Star Team, becoming the first non-goalie to reap the Calder and First All-Star designations.

Bourque brought a balanced game to the rink. He won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman five times in his career and scored 410 goals and 1,169 assists in 1,612 regular-season games. And in addition to that prodigious scoring pace, Bourque never neglected the dirty work of playing in front of his own net. Blessed with excellent size and a mean streak, Bourque was quiet, but extremely effective, in moving opposing forwards away from Boston's goalies.

A fixture on the international scene with three Canada Cup appearances, a spot on the NHL All-Star team that competed against the Soviet Union at Rendez-Vous '87 and a spot with the Canadian Olympic team in 1992, Bourque's great quest was to win a Stanley Cup.

The dream was never realized in Boston, but a trade to the Colorado Avalanche in the spring of 2000 was the catalyst for the fulfillment of that dream. The Avalanche answered Bourque's call for "16W" -- 16 wins -- in the 2001 Stanley Cup Playoffs and he skated away from an active career with the Stanley Cup held overhead.

In all, Bourque was an NHL First Team All-Star a dozen times in his career and recorded a career-high 96 points during the 1982-84 season. He also played in 19 straight NHL All-Star Games, scoring the winning goal with just 37.3 seconds left in regulation play at the FleetCenter in the 46th All-Star Game. Bourque was named the MVP of the game. He also conjured up images of perfection for his work in All-Star Weekend's SuperSkills competition Accuracy Shooting event, winning eight times, including back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993 when he nailed all four targets on just four shots. Only the Rangers' Mark Messier has completed that event perfectly, winning in 1996.

All three of this year's inductees have their name engraved on the Stanley Cup -- Murphy (above) and Coffey, multiple times.

"It's something special for me, growing up in Montreal and watching so many great players, playing in Boston and playing with so many great players, and then finishing in Colorado," Bourque said of his induction. "It's a tremendous honor and a tremendous cap to a career. It's one of those things that you never think about when you start playing.

"When I started out playing in the NHL, my goal was simply to establish myself as a player and I never contemplated this type of honor."

Coffey was the perfect running mate for Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and the Edmonton Oilers' dynasty of the 1980s. Drafted sixth overall in the 1980 Entry Draft, Coffey immediately conjured up images of Orr because of his wonderfully fluid skating stride and tremendous speed.

The three-time Norris Trophy winner won three Stanley Cups while with the Oilers and added another as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In 21 seasons, Coffey scored 396 goals and 1,135 assists in 1,531 regular-season games. In Stanley Cup Playoff action, Coffey scored 59 goals and 137 assists in 194 games.

Today, Coffey stands second to Bourque in scoring by an NHL defenseman, so the two of them heading into the Hall of Fame together just makes sense.

"I had nothing but respect for Ray as a player and I think that our styles might have differed a little bit and as Ray said it's for the other people to debate who was better," Coffey noted. "It's something that I definitely don't want, nor need, to get into because taking a backseat to a guy like him is nothing but a complement anyway. "

Coffey was a key cog in the Oilers' dynasty of the 1980s.

Coffey's career certainly stands on its own merits. As an Oiler, he was named to the NHL's First All-Star Team twice and three times as a Second Team member. With the Penguins, he was a First Team member once and a Second Team selection once as well.

After nearly five seasons in Pittsburgh, Coffey was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for a season in 1992 and then was dealt to the Detroit Red Wings in January, 1993. As a Red Wing, Coffey won the 1995 Norris Trophy and also named an NHL First Team All-Star selection.

Coffey retired in 2001 after stints with the Hartford Whalers, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins.

"I had tremendous respect for Paul's game and how he played the game and I had the opportunity to play with him in some Canada Cups and compete against him in many games and I really respected how he played," Bourque said of the comparisons between the two. "But debating about who was the best and all that stuff, that was up to other people to talk about and decide."

While everyone enjoys debating the merits of Bourque vs. Coffey and vice versa, Larry Murphy slips through the cracks a bit and that's a shame since his NHL career also was marked by longevity, production and victory.

The fourth overall selection of the Los Angles Kings in the 1980 Entry Draft, Murphy set NHL records for most assists (60) and points (76) by a rookie defenseman in 1980-81. During his 21 NHL seasons, Murphy played in an NHL record for defensemen 1,615 regular season games, scoring 287 goals, 929 assists and 1,216 points. A second team NHL All-Star in 1987, 1993 and 1995, Murphy won four Stanley Cups -- in 1991 and 1992 with Pittsburgh and 1997 and 1998 with Detroit.

"This is something that, as a player, is the ultimate compliment," Murphy said. "It is a statement of appreciation and I am extremely thrilled to receive this honor."

As for Fletcher, his long career in the NHL also is marked with success.

Fletcher began his NHL career in 1966 as a scout for the Montreal Canadiens. From Montreal, he joined the expansion St. Louis Blues in 1967 where he later was named assistant general manager. Continuing on his expansion run, Fletcher joined the Atlanta Flames in 1972 as GM when they joined the NHL. Fletcher remained with the team when it moved to Calgary in 1980, building a respected and successful franchise whose highlight was a Stanley Cup win in 1989.

From Calgary Fletcher moved to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where his work restoring the franchise led to him being named The Hockey News Executive of the Year in 1993. After Toronto, Fletcher served as a consultant to the Tampa Bay Lightning and then moved to Phoenix in 2001, where he first served as GM and now currently holds the role of Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations.

"It's a privilege that I'm going to be joining such an illustrious group of people in the Hall of Fame," Fletcher said. "I wasn't certain if my name had been put forward to the Committee, so I was completely taken aback by the phone call from Jim Gregory."

Also slated for induction in 2004 is ESPN.com columnist Jim Kelley, who will receive the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for distinguished hockey journalism and Carolina Hurricanes play-by-play man Chuck Kaiton, who will be given the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for his work as a broadcaster.