News from April 1999

Pavel Bure clock for sale

Click on it to get the bigger picture

This clock was created in February 1886 for the Tsar of Russia by Pavel Bure.
This clock is in Israel. You can contact us by: E-MAIL
Price is $us50,000

----Back to Headline List----

Last game of the season

Saturday night was Fan Appreciation Night at National Car Rental Center, with the Panthers showing their appreciation by signing autographs before the game and giving their jerseys away after it.

Injured winger Pavel Bure spent Saturday's game in a luxary suite with Vladimir Konstantinov, who sustained a career-ending injury in a limo accident two summers ago in Detroit.

----Back to Headline List----

Bure up and about without crutches

SUNRISE -- A little more than two weeks after his second knee reconstruction, Panthers star Pavel Bure is walking without crutches.

Though only several days into what he knows will be a long and grueling rehabilitation process, Bure said Thursday he is optimistic he will be healthy enough to return at the start of September's training camp.

"All I can do now is get ready for a brand new season," Bure said. "I want to be back in time for training camp and the exhibition games."

With most of his time these days spent at the Cleveland Clinic in Fort Lauderdale trying to get the range of motion back in his knee and strength back in his leg, Bure's appearance during Wednesday night's win over Montreal was the first time he watched the Panthers since his surgery March 29.

Bure also limped his way onto the ice Thursday to pose with his teammates for the team picture.

"I feel a lot better,"said Bure, who can't fully bend his leg yet. "I don't take as many pills and pain killers as I did, so that's obviously a big improvement for me."

Bure sustained his second knee injury with the Panthers on March 3 and underwent arthroscopic surgery two days later. During the surgery, team doctor David Attarian discovered that Bure's original anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction was no longer functional.

Bure said the experience of having the first surgery four years ago has been helping him this time.

"You know what to expect," Bure said. "I knew that it would usually be sore the first couple of weeks, but it's gotten better. Right now, I'm trying to get the muscle back because you don't use your leg the first couple of weeks.

"It's really hard, but injuries are part of hockey. You just have to deal with it."

James Andrews, the knee specialist from Birmingham, Ala. who performed the second surgery, used a third of Bure's patella tendon to reconstruct the ACL. Bure said he must wait for the new ligament to heal before he can begin skating, which he said should take three months.

"They said it should be stronger," Bure said.

Bure said he has no doubt that he can return to full strength. A lot has been made of Bure's struggles in the season after his first reconstruction, when he scored 23 goals in 63 games, but Bure pointed out he played that entire season with a neck injury that effected his game.

"You just have to have confidence about yourself and what you can do," Bure said.

----Back to Headline List----

Bure hpes to return for September camp

A little more than two weeks after his second knee reconstruction, Panthers star Pavel Bure is walking without crutches and is several days into what he knows will be a long and grueling rehabilitation process.

But Bure said Thursday that he is optimistic he will be healthy enough to return at the start of September's training camp

----Back to Headline List----

Lindros, Bure and Kariya

Eric Lindros has never been one of my favourite players, but he is one of the true stars in the NHL. Unfortunately for the NHL, Gary Bettman, and hockey fans everywhere, it appears as if he is going to be a very brittle player. Perhaps this should not surprise us given his style of play, but still it does, mostly because he looks so invincible cruising around the ice.

Over his career he has missed 106 of a possible 539 regular-season games up until he suffered the collapsed lung last week. How good is Lindros? The Flyers are 219-145-67 with him in the lineup, 45-48-13 without him. The injury was a very serious one, and it seems probable that he will not return to play this year. Without him, the Flyers hopes of a Stanley Cup are slim and none.

(This may be a blessing in disguise for Bobby Clarke, however. I don't think they had a great chance anyway, and at least this year, nobody will expect anything.)

Hockey is a very physical, very dangerous game. The legendary Bobby Orr only managed 12 seasons and the last three hardly count since he couldn't skate any more. Mike Bossy gave us nine wonderful years and then his body broke. .

Unfortunately for the NHL, Gary Bettman and hockey fans everywhere, Lindros is not the only great player whose career over the long term is threatened with injury. News about Eric followed only days after we learned that Pavel Bure blew out his right knee again. We all know that sports medicine has made great strides since Bobby Orr had his career shortened by repeated knee injuries. We all know that Pavel snapped back from the first knee reconstruction. A second one? The knee will probably be a problem for the rest of his career

In the past four years, Bure has managed to play in only 171 of 328 games, although his holdout this year is partly to blame. It does not really matter to the NHL. What matters is that one of the League's marquee players doesn't sell tickets if he can't play.

And then there is Paul Kariya, who has been healthy this year (knock on wood) but has suffered four concussions. of the problem. In the past three years, Paul has managed to make an appearance in about two thirds of the Anaheim games. (A holdout was involved here, too.) Again, the NHL needs Paul Kariya.

All three players have had repetitive injuries. This is a very bad sign for a hockey player. Kariya and Lindros are much more likely to have another concussion than the average player. Bure is much more likely to have another knee injury than the next fellow. And for all three, the next injury could end the career.

The NHL and Gary Bettman and hockey fans everywhere have their fingers crossed.Bure said Thursday that he is optimistic he will be healthy enough to return at the start of September's training camp

----Back to Headline List----

Pavel article in local magazine

Photograph by Klynt Hay

Pavel Bure, a.k.a. the Russian Rocket,has been a much-needed shot in the arm for the Florida Panthers. Even though the former Vancouver Canucks star was sidelined by injury for several weeks, Bure's contributions to the hockey team --both mentally and physically --have been enormous, and a step in the right direction toward the coveted Stanley Cup. And although the Cats may not make it that far this year, this 27 year old is signed with the team until the 2003-04 season, certainly enough time to rack up some trophies. "There are so many good teams out there," he says. "If you ask anyone, 'Who will win the Stanley Cup?', nobody will be able to tell you, because it's unpredictable. You have to work hard and play well, and you need luck."

Competition, apparently, is in the Bure family blood. Not only did Pavel's father, Vladimir, participate in three Olympics as a swimmer, but Pavel's younger brother, Valeri, who is married to Candace Cameron, plays hockey for the Calgary Flames. In fact, the siblings took home the silver for Russia at the Nagano Olympics in '98. Winning for his country was a bonus for this Muscovite, a skating heartthrob for whom Moscow will always be home --although he has been spending at least ten months a year in North America. "It's a pretty difficult situation in Russia right now," he explains. While in South Florida, though, Pavel is adjusting to playing hockey in 80-degree weather and fitting in with this new community: "Hockey is a big part of my life, but it's not the only thing. I want to live a normal life and hang out with my friends. Hockey is my job: a job that I love and will always love."  

--Jacquelynn D. Powers

----Back to Headline List----

Canadian Sportscard Collector

April 1999 issue, Volume 9, No.7

Pavel Bure arrives in South Florida with a bang and suddenly the Panthers are playoff contenders again.

To the folks in Miami, Pavel Bure is the most talked about Russian Rocket since the Cuban Missile Crisis.

In a week when Broncos fans and Falcons fans turned the city into one big tailgate party; in a week when Dennis Rodman and other celebrities arrived to see who could outparty who; in a week when the NFL's most celebrated player-citizen offered a cop-posing-as-s-hooker $40 for a Lewisnsky-esque pre-game session, Pavel Bure did the impossible.

The man known as the Russian Rocket managed to divert enough attention away from Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami to sell out his first game at home in a Panther uniform and steal the headlines on the sports pages. The sell-out crowd at the Jan.27th game against the Montreal Canadiens was decked out in Panther jerseys with Bure's name and number 10 on the back. In fact, the only reason the entire crowd was not wearing Bure jerseys is that manufacturers could not keep up with the demand.

As the game was about to begin, the jumbotron led the countdown from 10. It was hokey, but it fired up the home crowd as they welcomed their new star.

"10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. We have lift off! The Russian Rocket has landed!"

Every time Pavel stepped on the ice, the crowd was focused on him. Every time he had the puck, there was a sense of electric anticipation.

The crowd was well aware of what Pavel Bure had done inhis first three games as a Panther. On the road, he scored twice against Felix Potvin and the Islanders., added another against Mike Richter and the Rangers, then shelled former Panther John Vanbiesbrouck for three against the Flyers. In just three games, Bure had scored six goals - more than 14 od his Panther teammates had scored all year. Bure did not score in the much-anticipated home opener, but he did set up rookie Oleg Kvasha for the winning goal as the Panthers edged the Habs 1-1. He also drilled a shot off the goalpost, and he had a breakaway but was stopped. Bure did not score, but he certainly created chances.

Bure, for the first time in years, seems happy. He is enjoyinh hockey again, he loves being in Miami, and he is excited to be the cornerstone of a building franchise. He said that playin in Vancouver was like "being in a fishbowl," and that he was blamed when he didn't score and called selfish when he did score.

"I am happy to be playing again and I really like it here in Miami," said Bure after that home opener. "I had a good break from hockey and I am ready to be back.

"This is like a vacation place for me - not like Vancouver was. I like it in Miami. I have already made some friends at the grocery store. Nice people. maybe they will come and cheer for us."

Bure is rarely talkative and is always guarded with what he says, but he is obviously happy to have found a new home and have a fresh start after a nine-month sabbatical from hockey. If he is happy, his teammates are ecstatic.

"We have to watch that we don't stand around watching Pavel," Kirk Muller commented after Bure's performance in his home debut. "I've been in this league 15 years, and even I've had to catch myself once or twice watching him. If we are going to be successful, we have to feed off his excitement, not stand there in awe.

"The other thing is that Pavel is not going to instantly make us a Stanley Cup contender," added Muller, who has won a Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993. "You have to have star credibility, and you have to have it down the bench. It's like a relay race. You have to pass the baton to the next guy. If someone drops it down the line, you lose."

Another Panther excited about Bure's arrival is goalie Sean Burke, who played with Bure in Vancouver. Burke says tht the Panthers have gone from a team that reached the finals on hard work, character, and hot goaltending by John Vanbiesbrouck to a team that is rebuilding to get back to the top. Bure, to him, is the player they must build around.

"Pavel Bure will bring these fans out of their seats like nobody they have ever seen," Burke said. "They won't have to throw plastic rats on theice to get excited."

Along with adding a new level of excitement, Bure is also forcing opponents of the Panthers to alter their game plans. The Canadiens, for example, used Shayne Corson to shadow Bure all night. Despite Corson's strong defensive play, Bure still had a breakaway and then set up the game winning goal. Mark Recchi comented after the game that great players will find a way to win a game no matter who is on them. He compared Bure to Mark McGwire, saying that teams have to pitch around him beacuse you know he will hit a home run. In hockey terms," said Recchi, "Bure is a McGwire. Give him a chance and he'll beat you."

That run for the Cup may not be soon, but it maybe sooner than you think.

Bure and the hobby

Despite a pair of 60-goal seasons and a 51-goal campaign last year, Bure has slid of the hot lists at most shops and shows.

He is still a consistently popular card, but he is often overshaowed by polayers like Paul Kariya, Peter forsberg, Eric Lindros, several rrokies, not to match Wayne Gratzkey and Patrick Roy. Bure cards always always respectableor even high value, but they were a tough sell but that were a tough sell in Canada outside of British Columbia.

His quick start in Florida and his hockey rebirth have changed that, however. In January, Bure cards hit the hobby map for the first time in years.

"People love exciting players," added Burke. "Pavel Bure is the most exciting player in the game. The things he can do with the puck at full speed are incredible."

Pavel Bure may not be to hockey in Florida what Wayne Gretzky was to hockey in California, but he will certainly add a new dimension of excitement nobody there has ever seen - no offense to previous stars Scott Mellanby or Ray Whitney.

Now, it's up to GM Terry Murray to field a team that can keep up with Bure.

----Back to Headline List----

Cats' doctor responds to criticism

Attarian denies he called Bure injury-prone after January trade

Attarian also thinks he has suffered near slander from WQAM's talk radio hosts over his treatment of Bure, who underwent his second anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery Monday at the Alabama Sports Medicine Clinic and is out for the rest of the season.

A story in Wednesday's editions of The Palm Beach Post, based mostly on an interview with Attarian, said Attarian thought Bure's right knee was ``destined for a `series of injuries.' ''

Only the ``series of injuries'' phrase was a direct Attarian quote.

Attarian said, ``I think it's an inflammatory article that takes a lot of things out of context, and is specifically to make someone in the Panthers organization or me as a physician look bad for whatever reason.''

``I never said he was `destined to have a series of injuries,' '' Attarian said.

Palm Beach Post sports editor Tim Burke stood by the article, written by Brian Biggane.

``Brian quoted him correctly,'' Burke said.

Attarian's original analysis of Bure's injury and his role in Bure being lost for the season have been popular topics the past two days on WQAM's ``The First Team'' show and ``The Neil Rogers Show.''

``Some of the statements were bordering on libel,'' Attarian said.

Joe Rose of ``The First Team,'' who is accused of making some of the harshest comments against Attarian, declined to comment.

Attarian did confirm what Panthers coach Terry Murray said Monday, that Bure's knee wasn't as tight as when he reported to the Panthers. Bure had the same ACL reconstructed after tearing it up in November 1995 while with Vancouver.

``His knee was slightly loose, which a lot of reconstructions are,'' Attarian said. ``He was three years out. He had played perfectly well that way for a couple of seasons. He was declared fit to play by me and also [New Jersey team orthopedist Dr. Barry Fisher].

``I thought his risk of injury was the same as any other player in the NHL at that point,'' Attarian said.

Attarian, who spotted the ACL tear during an arthroscopic surgery for torn cartilage in the same knee, said he wasn't sure when the tear happened. Based on Bure's recovery time after the first knee injury, Feb. 5 against Pittsburgh, and his play upon returning, Attarian guessed it was the March 3 Colorado game.

He also claimed the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) wasn't much of a help in this situation.

``MRIs are equivocal when assessing reconstructions,'' Attarian said. ``They're very good at looking at normal ACLs.

``The MRI did not change from the first injury in Pittsburgh to the second injury against Colorado,'' he said. ``Because he was doing worse clinically after Colorado that's when we said we better scope him and find out why he's not doing better.''

Bure also went to Denver last week to seek a second opinion from Dr. Ross Davidson, the Vancouver team doctor that did the first surgery. Davidson and Attarian agreed Bure ought to see an expert in the knee surgery field, which is when the decision was made to send Bure to Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala.

----Back to Headline List----