Had he not suffered that knee injury early in his career, and three surgeries in total (which ultimately shortened his career), he would have been considered an all-time great in the manner of Ovechkin. As fast as Bure was, the knee injuries robbed him of some of his speed, if you can imagine.
@@beyond_thebench I also remember the exact reason for his knee injury, and it's a defensemen who used to play for the Edmonton Oilers named Brian Marchment who did an Ulf Samuellsen on Cam Neely style knee lock on Bure. I was watching the game on TV when it happened and knew right away that was going to ruin the Russian Rocket's Career. It did. That's something that needs to be talked about when talking about Bure's knee problems, as they were not a birth defect or an innocent injury from bad luck, but the malicious or reckless act of a player who made a conscious decision to go knee hunting.
Bure was faster and more skilled than Ovechkin. Ovie has a better shot and is bigger, stronger, and more physical. Which is why Ovie's still playing while Bure was targetted by the NHL's cheap-shot artists and slowed down and eventually knocked out of the league by injuries.
@@Seriously_Unserious Yeah. This was a very common thing during the 80s and 90s. And it's why Lemieux called the NHL a 'garage league' for all the cheap shots he would take. The Oilers did the smart thing and kept a true goon (Semenko/McSorley) on Gretzky's wing at all times.
@@philojudaeusofalexandria9556 You might want to ask Shayne Churla how "weak" Bure was after he KO'ed the retired Star's Strongman with what Don Cherry described as "The Mother of All Elbows" and that "Gordie Howe would be proud." in the 94 playoffs. Bure was not known for his strength and physical play, but he could bench press an impressive amount and was a lot stronger then people who didn't see him play every day knew. He was injured because a dirty player targeted him with a dirty hit, plain and dimple. No different then how Eric Lindros was taken out by a dirty Scott Stevens blindside hit to the head, and Eric Lindors was one of the biggest and most talented power forwards to ever lace up skates. And Bruins star Cam Neely was no weakling either, but he too was taken out at the knees by an Ulf Samuelsson knee lock. There's a reason why those hits are penalties. They end careers and ruin lives. I guarantee you if Ovi had been brain bashed by Scott Stevens or had his knees Mafiaed by Brian Marchment or Ulf Samuelssen, he'd have been retired by now and scored only half the goals he has. Don't conflate being taken out by injurious cheap shots with a guy being "weak".
every time he was on the ice i was on the edge of my seat because he either scored or had a scoring chance. from a stand still in 3 strides he was going full speed which was faster than anybody else in the league. absolutely the most exciting player i've ever seen.
He did that even before 96 on a breakaway against the Kings I saw on another video although the goalie poke checked him. I honestly watched everything I could back in the day, which was around 20 or so games a season, and the rest was radio. It was basically torture lol. I tried to stay up and watch the extremely limited highlights when I could.
There is this great highlight where he picks up the puck in his zone and flies down the wing crossing over a couple times and blows right past Nick Lidstrom to score, that's my favourite Bure highlight but I only see it in long compilations.
I was lucky to see him 40x during the 90s in his prime in Vancouver including the skate to stick goal against the Bruins. Everybody on the ice new he wanted to force breakaways and he would still get like 2-3 a game, incredible first few steps with silky fast mits to boot.
As a Leafs fan in the '94 conference finals, he made my bowels want to empty every time he got the puck with some open ice ahead. No other opposing player has ever made me feel that way.
You got a big part wrong. Other teams didn't skip him in the draft because they thought he wouldn't play, they thought he was ineligible for the draft. How the Canucks discovered and proved his eligibility is one of the best parts of his hockey story.
Mogilny not being in the HoF is criminal. He's one of the most gifted players ever. Everyone on the ice seemed to stop playing when he touched the puck. He put everyone in a trance.
Almo (his nick name) had some mental health (depression) issues - rough childhood can do this - and this manifested in a very binary/asperger/autistic trait which did not bode well with the HoF team.
@@nathanadrian7797 Actually I did think about Tanti, and he was a great player in his own right, but he wasn’t in that top echelon superstar level (not to put him down) where people (both home and away) would pay just to watch him play.
I had the pleasure of watching Bure's entire career in Vancouver. Because of blackout restrictions and Zoning I didn't get to see much of the games on any of the other teams unless we played them. That man was the purest goal scorer I ever had the pleasure of watching live two separate occasions. As far as I was concerned and still am today he's one of the most underrated for his era. He could score goal make plays and boy did he love making body checks.
I just recently got an authentic white skate jersey with Bure's name and number. Its so beautiful and my favorite jersey. I get so many compliments on it.
Thanks for the great video! It brings me so much memory as I was growing up seeing Bure and Mogilny played in Vancouver! When you mentioned Pavel was playing along the NHL superstars in Russia, I was hoping you would also mention Alex as a superstar though lol
Aside from my comments on why he got his knee injuries, I have to say my fondest memories of Bure were the 94 playoffs when he absolutely dominated everyone! Thanks to him, I got to see Game 6 live in the Pacific Coliseum. That was out of this world being there in the building for some Stanley Cup hockey!
I gotta say, given the intensity, that may have been his best hockey. But, statistically, he may have been at his best with Florida. The one thing about that though, was the lack of television with them. It's difficult to know exactly what he was like, other than goals and extremely limited highlights. I mean highlights of chances or moved then were very limited. When you watch the 97-98 season, with a pretty shady Canucks team, he was arguably at his best. If he was on Detroit or Colorado then, he could have been untouchable.
The 94 Canucks team was the most incredible in team history (IMHO). They were underdogs from the get go. The famous pic of Trevor Linden and Kirk McLean after they lost told the whole story of the entire team.
Pavel Bure is one of the few players where when you watch old clips, he looks like he is plucked straight from modern hockey and dropped in his era. His speed, shooting, fast hands, and silky dekes were waaaaay ahead of the time. No hate to Gretzky or Lemieux, but I don't think they could even play on the 3rd line with the current talent in the NHL, but when you watch Bure play - I think he would still be a superstar today.
Watching him live was a whole different story. I know so many people who had seen all the greats play, but nobody was like Bure. He was like THE ROCK of the league. The most electrifying player ever, and is a legend even with a short prime
Stylistically, Pavel Bure was McDavid but three decades ahead of schedule. Watching him back then looked like a player from the future, but it turns out he actually was. On pure entertainment value, I don't think he has any peers. Unfortunately he would have had a much bigger impact in this era because back then there weren't many safeguards to encourage and protect his style of play. Other than having to do a few flying elbows of his own to get a point across. But in the end he had to play recklessly it demolished both knees and the future of one of the best ever. Hard to overstate how special he was.
@@yeon723 yes he is. in terms of pure entertainment and explosiveness. He is not however the playmaker that Mcdavid is. Bear in mind the difference in the way the games was played then compard ton today and extrapolate how Bure could have dominated today"s game.
The Red Wings nearly drafted him in the 5th round, but were told that he was ineligible. That same draft, the Wings selected Lidstrom, Fedorov, Konstantinov, Dallas Drake, Mike Sillinger, Bob Boughner, and others.
bure was the player that got me interested in hockey in the 90's when i came over from europe. no player electrified the whole building like the russian rocket in that era. he and gino odjick were best buds, gino always made sure nobody messes with pavel on the ice. rip gino.
Except the one time we needed our favorite Algonquin, that time Brian Marchment went knee on knee, directly causing Bure's chronic knee problems. If only Gino could have been available to protect his buddy that day!
Bure was the most talented player I saw live. He could do things at high speed that Gretzky couldn’t even do. Sure, he would have benefited playing with an elite passer, but he really didn’t need one. He was a one man highlight reel. He could take the puck, blow past people and have the puck in the back of the net in seconds before anyone, including his teammates, knew what was happening. With Gretzky, you could appreciate his ability to slow the game down and think things through, but with Pavel, you’d have to wait for the replay to see how he’d done it. In his early years, he was also physical and gritty. At 5’10 185, he wasn’t to be messed with. Unfortunately, he suffered the Bobby Orr Treatment and his knees went. I’ll be honest. I became less of a hockey fan after that because no talented player should have to go out like that because some goof with no skill injured them. I love physical hockey, but targeting the knees shouldn’t be part of it. Trevor Linden threw big hits but he never injured anyone.
I saw only bits and pieces, but Bure was one the fastest skaters. He'd practically skate through the end boards. He would get a shot off and then run straight into the end boards, the coach had teach him how control all that speed he possessed. I think he's one of the greats. Even though Don Cherry would bully him via videotape (Rock 'em,Sock 'em hockey) he was always on those tapes.
@@Mulder-ScullyI've watched Bure play in person. Their has been nobody that can "stop and go" they way Bure could. Not even McDavid. Their was a reason why Bure was called The Russian Rocket. 🚀
It was such a shame that the Canucks were unable to keep Larionov on the team beyond the 91-92:season. Igor had refused on principle to extend any contract that would let the corrupt Soviet Union hockey federation extort money from players. I don’t know if people remember the way Igor, Pavel , and Greg Adams would on occasion completely dismantled teams during that one season together as line. They just owned the puck and made it look way too easy. They didn’t just beat teams. They humbled them. Igor was a great personal influence on Pavel too as a mentor and friend which the young star really needed. Who knows what could have been had Igor stuck around. Watching him have great years in San Jose after his trade, and then later in Detroit really underlined the point.
If Pavel Bure had never suffered any injuries throughout his career, here’s a simulation of what his career might have looked like: Vancouver Canucks (1991-1998): Explosive Start: Bure would have continued to dominate the NHL with seasons of 60 goals or more, as he did during his peak years with the Canucks. Playoff Contributions: With his consistent presence, the Canucks might have enjoyed more playoff success, potentially reaching the Stanley Cup Final more than once in the 1990s. Florida Panthers (1999-2003): Sustained Performance: Without injuries, Bure would have continued to be a top performer, potentially increasing his offensive statistics each season. Team Impact: The Panthers could have seen more playoff success with Bure leading the offensive charge. New York Rangers (2002-2003): Extended Career: Bure would have continued to play with the Rangers, bringing his scoring talent and experience to the team. Trophy Potential: With an extended career and fewer injuries, Bure would have had a better chance at winning individual awards like the Maurice Richard Trophy (leading goal scorer) and the Hart Trophy (most valuable player). Retirement: Career Statistics: Bure would likely have reached or exceeded 600 goals and 1,200 points in his career. Recognition: He would have had a stronger case for early induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame and would be considered one of the greatest players of all time. Without injuries, Bure's career would have been even more remarkable, with a longer duration and continued impact on the game. His records and influence on hockey would have been even more significant.
I loved him as a Canuck, but his time at Florida isn't talked about enough. Not only did he have 58 goals in 74 games in 99-2000, but in 2000-01,he led the team by 55 points! His 92 compared to the next highest, 37. Unreal how he put those numbers on some seriously piss poor Panthers teams.
I was born in 1997, so I don't ever remember seeing Bure in real time. My Dad told me about Bure, and I've watched many highlights. I can't believe he's not more appreciated and well known. Imagine he played with some serious talent in his early days. Not to take anything away from the likes of Linden, Ronning or even Moginly, but imagine he played with a bonafide playmaking center, like Oates, Lafontaine or obviously Fedorov. If I could pick a center for Bure, it would be Sakic or Forsberg though. I'm picking players from Bure's timeline, and I know the obvious picks would be Lemieux or Gretzky, but I'd still go with Sakic or Forsberg, they were just too good in the mid to late 90's.
"The Russian Rocket" Pavel Bure vs. "The Finnish Flash" Teemu Selanne! Incredible what draft steals both the Canucks and the Jets did as both men was passed by the Top 5 selections in there drafts of 1988 & 1989, and Bure a freakin 113th overall pick (But there was nasty politics that made that happen). Both was incredible speedy goal scorers.
Amazing player, simply electrifying. He along with McDavid are the two most edge of your seat exciting hockey players I have ever seen in 50 + years of watching NHL hockey (I was about 5 years too young to see Orr at his best). Watched a lot of Gretzky and Lemieux though. As great as those two legends where they were not as bring you out of your seat exciting as Bure or McDavid.
As a canucks fan, Bure is the 1 player, besides Gretzky, that I wish I got to watch play live. From what I’ve seen, Connor McDavid is arguably a modern Bure, contrary to being compared to the great one. When you look at their speed combined with stick skills, Bure and Mcdavid are similar. Mcdavid is of course a much better passer as well, and career numbers will far surpass bure- that being said. It’s kind of crazy to think, mcdavid went first overall and Bure went in the 6th round. from the old games i’ve watched Bure was one of the fastest and best goal scorers to play the game.
Pavel Bure was the best Russian goal scorer of the 1990's. He was blazin' fast and had a ridiculous pair of hands. He could deke goalies out of their jockstrap and had an incredible touch around the net. He could even go end-to-end or coast-to-coast and blow by defenders like they were pylons. If he caught you flat-footed, good night, it's all over!
@beyond_thebench They didn't call him the "Russian Rocket" for nothing! He was more exciting than OV, in my opinion. During the late 80's, for the Soviet Union, Bure played with Alexander Mogilny and Sergei Fedorov.
2:03 Picking Bure was risky because there were questions about his draft eligibility that year, not because of whether or not he'd come to North America.
The big ‘what if’ you failed to mention was the dead puck era he played in. Place Bure in the 1980s or even in the modern NHL and these numbers could look drastically different.
You didn't go into any detail about the trials and tribulations of getting Pavel to North America to begin with. Drafting Pavel wasn't just risky because of uncertainty about whether he would choose to go play in the NHL, but the Soviet Union still wasn't just allowing their players to come play here either without serving/playing a certain amount of time with the Red Army team, and it wasn't clear how much time Pavel had already played in their org. Soviet authorities were blocking NHL teams from speaking to Pavel, and there were implied threats that if Pavel defected it could impact his younger brother who still lived in Russia. Eventually, after the Canucks drafted Pavel in the 6th round and while Soviet authorities were interfering with his entry, Pavel's father, brother and him left to go to Los Angeles, and there with the Canucks they negotiated a cash settlement with the Red Army to give him his release. The whole ordeal was very difficult and high stress apparently.
Those "what if" stats don't even take into account the fact that Bure lost some of his blazing speed from the knee injuries, which had to have slowed his scoring pace down a bit. I'd estimate he probably lost about 5-10% of his goals per season post injury. I'll also remind people who may have forgotten exactly why Bure had chronic knee problems, Brian Marchment then of the Edmonton Oilers took Bure out with a knee lock (same type of dirty hit that Ulf Samuelssen used to take out Cam Neely, another who could have been one of the best goal scorers of all time). That part of why Bure's knees bothered him for much of his career is lost to most people because for some odd reason, it's never talked about. I saw that hit as I was watching the game it took place in and knew right away it was bad news. The refs didn't even bother to call a penalty on what should have been a 5 minute match penalty and automatic game misconduct, nor did the NHL head office issue ANY supplementary discipline after the fact. To this day, I can't think of any good reason for the head office not to suspect Marchment a long, long time for that hit, as it deprived the league of what could have been its biggest draw of the dead puck era and just helped to make the dead puck era more dead by taking out the one guy who could have dominated that era if possessed of his full speed and his full ability to blow past guys and make dead pucking The Russian Rocket impossible. You can't make the puck dead when it's on the stick of one of the fastest guys to lace up skates and who could dangle into his skates with full control at those speeds, where most guys would be just shoveling the puck ahead to avoid overskating it!
Your wrong about the reason he wasn't drafted until the 6th round. He wasn't drafted because nobody thought he was eligible. Because of the lack of game footage of that time they needed game sheets to prove he was eligible to draft .
I remember just moving up to whistler in 96 and went for a walk down to the village for some beers and the most gorgeous blond I have ever seen was walking down the path towards me. It was Anna Kournikova and I didn't realize until they were right beside me the guy she was walking with was Pavel Bure grinning from ear to ear watching us checking out his girlfriend.
The reason he was drafted so late is because there was some discrepency as to whether he was even elidgible for the draft. The Canucks.had travelled to Russia and confirmed that he qualified ans beat the market to what was without a doubt a top 5 talent.
And as for "prime Bure" I would actually argue that the 2 full(ish) years he played in Florida were his best. He scored 58 & 59 respectively in what was still the dead scoring era and was 3rd MVP and believe 5th those years. Before his last knee blowout, which ended his career, really. I mean he played abit more for Rangers, showed amazing talent scoring 12 in 12 games to start that period but the Rangers were horrible then.
It wasn't that the Canucks took a risk on him, the Canucks were the only team that knew he was eligible. Other teams filed protests but the Canucks ended up being able to keep him.
You are correct, sir. The Canucks selection of Bure in the 6th round of the 1989 NHL draft was controversial. At 18, he could have been selected by any one of the teams, but every team passed on him, fearing he would stay in the Soviet Union and would be a "wasted" pick. After the third round, an 18 year old could NOT be drafted, unless they had played a minimum number of games each year for the previous two years. At least one team sought clarification from the NHL and were told he was ineligible. However, the Canucks European scouting team and Mike Penny, who was the head scout of the Canucks, had compiled clear evidence he WAS eligible, and really pushed for Canuck management to select Bure. There was an outcry from the other teams, and they initially succeeded in having the NHL void the selection. However, the Canucks appealed, provided their clear evidence and eventually prevailed just before the NHL draft of 1990. Whatever they were paying their scouting staff, it was money extremely well spent. Best damned selection in team history, IMHO. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavel_Bure
and he did it during a period when guys like Scott Stevens and Chris Pronger were patrolling the blue line with free reign from the league to separate a guy's head from his body
Pavel was the best hockey player I've ever seen live. 94 Pat Quin said they were robbed by BS mark messier stepping on Linden's stick blade OT game 7 should never be called. They were Stanley Cup Champions in 94. The BS league says otherwise. Pavel and Gino were magic out there.
Huh? Today's NHL is more defensive and lower scoring than when he played. And the goalies have way bigger gear now. Not sure what you are talking about.
Not true. Bure had 59 and 58 goals as well as another 50 goal season during the DPE (Dead Puck Era). 4 of his 5 50 + goals seasons came in years where scoring was lower than today. Plus goalies have restrictions on equipment size, during Bure's time no such rules existed. Not to mention all the clutching and grabbing. Bure, Jagr, Forsberg, Kariya and Lemieux would feast on today's league.
Bure played in the dead puck era where the defense can grab and head hunt any guys without penalties being called. As I said, he would have feasted on today's defensemen goalies and easily scores 100 per season.
@@jags6868 selanne scored his 50+ goals from 96-98. Not trap era. I missed those for Jagr and iginla. Not many players scored 50 then. Bure scored 58 and 59 during those times which no one else reached.
Loved Bure. Definitly one of the most exciting player to see. But there are A LOT of IFs in your analysis. IF every other player had this long career and IF they weren't injured either and IF this and IF that, maybe he would be even lower than 18th. You can't just throw in a bunch of IF and then compare if without levelling the field for everyone else too...
Remembering that he had to come back from 3 horrific knee surgeries in the stats you showed, whi h is so difficult!! If not for those his gpg Ave would be quite higher, correct? So, 700+ would have been an easy number for him.
It wasn't that the Canucks took a chance. The Canucks were the only team that knew Bure was eligible for the draft, having played a game on Christmas Day. The Canucks scout was the only person, other than the players, in the arena. It was a total fluke and we (Canucks fans) benefited from it big time.
Nice vid but the stuff about what if he played more and scored more , how high would he be in all time scoring lists was dumb. Yea if he scored 1000 goals hed be number 1 . Or 850 goals hed be number two ect. Its not like all the best goals scorers never had injuries . So its just a dumb thing to speculate about . Also his style of play was using speed and agility. That goes down with age so his scoring wouldve been way worse in his later years if he even got a spot on any roster
@@beyond_thebench I could see this in Jim when he played for SKA in the KHL.You have to play him with a playmaking center and a forechecker/scorer.Remember the killer line Lindholm,Tkachuk,Gaudreau?The same thing with Kuzmenko,he is a scorer/playmaker,Calgary would be fools to move him.
@@edpottinger849Solid strategy! I just dont think Kuz will ever be a game breaker in the NHL like Bure was… Sure he could score 40 goals but he’s not taking over games. And he’s already 28…
@beyond_thebench I think your wrong,he was the potential,you must not have watched him in the KHL or his first season in Vancouver.Why,because they played his right.
@@beyond_thebench i think so too, especially since he pioneered that kind of play style and would have had better training regiments and coaches to boost his performance today
Top #whatif video of a century. What if he had a longer stick? What if he had sharper skates? What if he originated from Mars? That would total extra 207.6 goals per season. What if seasons were three times longer, ah? And wider!🤦
