Of Bill Cowley, it is said he made more wings than Boeing.
Cowley, whose No. 10 is still in circulation by the Bruins, would have been a point-per-game player for his entire NHL career had he not asked the official scorer to take away an assist for which he had been credited.
He won the Stanley Cup twice, and won the Hart Trophy twice.
He is in the Hall of Fame.
He played all but the first year of his 13-year NHL career with the Bruins.
He does not belong on the Bruins' Mt. Rushmore (or Mr. Shutdown as some are posting the all-time top-4 defense), but the fact his number isn't up is a bizarre omission for the franchise.
Couple of reax:
Yes, Orr was lied to but he takes full responsibility for his mistake and teaches his clients not to follow his example.
Bourque made it a point to clarify that he asked to be traded. Even in hindsight, it's a silly premise to think in the NHL circa. 2000 you can trade a player so he can win the Stanley Cup. The Avalanche had won it in '96, were a changed team, and were in a tight battle every season with Detroit and Dallas just to come out of the West. New Jersey was ahead in the series Colorado did win, 3-1. What Bourque said immediately after the trade that made much more sense, especially having watched his play falter with his team's for the first time in his 20-year career, is that the injury-decimated Bruins were no longer an environment where he could decide if he should retire of if he still had some game left. So, in the back of his mind -- of course, a contender presents a chance (and Bourque asked to go to the Flyers) -- there was always a hope with the move, but the request was really about finding out of the doldrums that appeared in his own game for the first time ever were repairable by a contending environment. A much more realistic (and documented) premise for the trade request. If Bourque really wanted to ditch the Bruins to get a shot at the Cup, wouldn't he have done it in 1997 when Adam Oates created that mutiny and the blockbuster with the Capitals? Bourque was three years younger and the team was horrible, worst Bruins team of the modern era, easily. Last overall. But he was himself, chasing Bucyk's franchise scoring record (which he broke in Tampa that season), still playing a great two-way game, unfortunately post-Neely with a roster of smoke and mirrors and AHLers.
Last, Montreal: Henri "the Pocket Rocket" Richard won the Stanley Cup 11 times. Scored the Game 7 winner in 1971 in Chicago. Great clutch player in his own right. Definitely on my MTL Mt. Rushmore right next to his older brother, Beliveau and either Harvey or Lafleur.