Ironically enough, the thing that kept Jean Ratelle from earning his rightful place with his No. 19 sweater up in the rafters of the Garden for such a long time was loyalty.
But it was a loyalty to the Bruins, the organization that employed Ratelle for 26 years, starting with that infamous trade from the Rangers in November 1975. Many thought that deal, the one that sent Ratelle and Brad Park to Boston and brought back Phil Esposito, was a reason for bitterness. It broke up the famed GAG (goal-a-game) line, with Rod Gilbert and Vic Hadfield, and was the first of six years Ratelle spent in Boston as a player before adding four as an assistant coach and 16 as a scout.