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Player Review: Gabriel Bourque

Years ago when Rene Bourque played for the Montreal Canadiens there was a meme about “Almost Bourque” as he very often almost scored goals. Sadly, I was not able to bring this meme back for Gabriel Bourque this year as much as I would have liked to.

Bourque is what he is. He is a fourth liner who should probably be in the AHL or in Europe. Unlike Mason Appleton from yesterday, he does not come close to driving play in the NHL. Bourque was also not a prolific scorer. He is is quite possibly a holdover from the idea that your third and fourth liners have to be grinders instead of skilled players of defensively talented play-drivers.

I have included every season so that you can see how Bourque has not progressed or been a play driver in his career. His best season was also one of the Nashville Predators best seasons and they smartly let him walk after the 2015-2016 season. The Colorado Avalanche signed Bourque and while it is obvious some some of his fall off the cliff was induced by a far weaker team, his fall was also helped by the fact he is not a play driver himself.

The Jets would be smart to let Bourque walk this offseason. If they want a veteran who can sit in the pressbox, they should find one who was a scorer in the AHL and can help drive play when called upon. Outside of that, there is not a lot to say about Bourque.

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