As much as Ray Bourque and Dave Andreychuk will mean to the Avalanche on the ice, they will also mean that much to the psyche of the team. The Avalanche have been given the signal from club management that they are a bona fide contender to win it all.

	Ray Bourque's immediate NHL future lies in Colorado, not Boston, where he spent the past 21 seasons.

As is his nature, Avalanche GM Pierre Lacroix very quietly engineered the deal to get Bourque from the Bruins, along with Andreychuk. Much of the reason Lacroix was able to pull off the deal was his ability to draft well and stock the club for the future.

While the Philadelphia Flyers did not have a stockpile of young talent to move, the Avalanche could draw from a roster stuffed with young players such as rookies Martin Skoula and Alex Tanguay, along with second-year players Chris Drury, and Milan Hedjuk, as well as young goalie Marc Denis.

The key to the deal was likely center Sami Pahlsson, playing in the Swedish Elite League. The Bruins wanted that sort of young potential, and while the Flyers could not part with Simon Gagne, their one terrific young player, the Avalanche have a harvest of developing talent.

It was also that pool of young talent which allowed them to get Theo Fleury last year from Calgary for Robyn Regehr.

Boston general manager Harry Sinden created a wild day of leapfrog among several NHL teams, taking offers throughout the day Monday as the Bruins attempted to get the best deal for Bourque.

According to a source within the Bruins organization, the St. Louis Blues made an attractive offer, along with the two main suitors, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Detroit Red Wings.

"Harry (Sinden) is playing this thing perfect," said one Western Conference GM. "There isn't even any guarantee Bourque will go to some of these places, and he's getting offers -- and then he'll go back and get upgrades from Philly and Detroit. And all the while, Colorado was in the picture."

The Flyers remained silent on any of their offers, as did the Red Wings, but sources close to the dealings indicate that the Flyers' initial offer was Sandy McCarthy and minor-league defenseman Mark Eaton, while the Red Wings were mulling over Boston's desire for Tomas Holmstrom.

When it was all over, the Colorado Avalanche again became Cup contenders, while the Flyers and Red Wings will have to shop elsewhere over the next week.

Al Morganti covers the NHL for ESPN.