News from January 1999

Bure scores in vain effort

SUNRISE, FLORIDA = - The Dallas Stars shut down Pavel Bure until late in the third period and got a pair of unassisted goals from Tony Hrkac en route to a 5-2 victory over the Florida Panthers.

League-leading Dallas nearly became the first team to keep Bure off the scoresheet in five games since he was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks. But his power-play goal capped the scoring with 2:46 remaining.

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Cats too reliant on Bure?

by DAVID J. NEAL -- Miami Herald

Tonight could be trouble for the Panthers, especially if they rely too much on the new guy, No. 10, Pavel Bure.

``I'm concerned about that,'' Panthers coach Terry Murray said. ``It's still a team game. Great players emerge and do some things differently, but you can never rely on just one player. It puts more responsibility on the rest of the team to play better.''

For evidence of what a great player can't do without much support, look at the early careers of the two players generally considered the most purely talented ever, Bobby Orr and Mario Lemieux.

Everybody knew Orr was destined for greatness three years before he hit the NHL. But, though he won the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year, Boston actually had a worse record his first season than the previous one. Lemieux had a Calder Trophy and a scoring title in his first four seasons. Pittsburgh didn't make the playoffs until his fifth.

Or, look at last year in Vancouver, where Bure had 90 points, third in the league, and 51 goals for a Canucks team that had the league's third-worst record.

``We've all made it clear that we can't be one dimensional, we can't be one guy,'' Panthers center Rob Niedermayer said. ``It takes everyone to win.''

If they've made it clear in word, they haven't in deed. Half of the 12 goals scored by the Panthers in the four games with Bure came off the right wing's stick.

Against Philadelphia and Montreal, there were times when other Panthers, Niedermayer especially, were simply too Bure conscious. Niedermayer often seemed to slow up on a rush to wait for Bure instead of using his own speed to create a scoring chance for himself or space for his wings.

``The first couple of times you play with him, you always have a tendency to look for him too much,'' Niedermayer said. ``You know the other team is going to pay attention to him, too.''

One of the reasons it's tempting to look for Bure is that, like most great goal scorers, he's always in, or moving toward, the places from which the best scoring opportunities can be generated.

``He's everywhere, that's why he gets so many passes,'' Panthers defenseman Robert Svehla said after the Philadelphia game.

But when Montreal gave Bure the shadow treatment Wednesday with Shayne Corson, the Panthers didn't take advantage of Bure using an old trick Wayne Gretzky says he used back in his 200-point days: find another opposing player and stick around him. That leaves your team playing four-on-three over the rest of the rink.

``You have to create space for your linemates,'' Bure said. ``Just drive to another guy, try to make confusion and just wait for your chances.''

Murray doesn't think Dallas will shadow Bure.

``Their system, the 1-2-2, neutral-zone trap, is effective,'' Murray said. ``With the big, blue-line corps they have -- Derian Hatcher, Richard Matvichuk, Sergei Zubov, Darryl Sydor, quality guys in the league -- I don't think they'll adjust for one guy. They'll worry about their game.''

Spending too much time looking for Bure could also affect the Florida power play; the Panthers' two power-play goals in the four games with Bure have been Bure tap-ins.

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Bure makes future bright for Panthers

by DAN LE BATARD -- Miami Herald

You could feel that music and that cheering and that good buzz from here. This was in the back of the building Wednesday night, after the lights had been turned off to lend proper drama to the player introductions approaching. Panthers president Bill Torrey leaned against a wall in the darkness, between a garbage can and a freight elevator, smiling about what was coming -- in the next few minutes and in the next few years. Torrey's view of the ice was completely blocked as he spoke, but he could see Florida's future clearly from here.

``Pavel won't just put fans in the seats,'' Torrey said. ``He'll pull fans out of them, too.''

The lights went on then -- for this night and for this franchise -- and the Florida Pavels were officially introduced to South Florida. Understand this: Our local hockey team matters again, friends, because Pavel Bure says so. Hockey hasn't felt as good as it did Wednesday night since this team waddled from the womb and into the Stanley Cup Finals. But, hey, this is what Florida owner Wayne Huizenga's dollars always seem to do, right? They gain interest.

And so it was, during this 2-1 victory over Montreal, that Bure's mere assist was met with a roar from a swaying, sold-out crowd and even his failed breakaway received a standing ovation. Panthers general manager Bryan Murray tried to explain Bure's gift before all of this, using words such as ``unheard of'' and ``different level'' and ``wow.'' He talked about how phones were ringing nonstop for season tickets this week, and how fans at the All-Star Game were congratulating him for pulling off the best trade in 10 years, and how big clusters of fans were waiting for Florida's team bus in cities where once there was just ``the same lady and four or five of her friends.'' Murray, not given to hyperbole, talked and talked and talked, but he didn't capture what Bure really meant until he described a skybox snapshot from the previous evening.

``I thought he was going to score every shift out there,'' Murray said, and then he leaned over, like a man looking out over the end of a cliff. ``I was on the edge of my seat. After one goal, I looked at Bill Torrey, and he had almost fallen out of his chair.''

Did you see that goal? That's what you'll be saying a lot over the next few years, and that's what Murray and Torrey, lifetime hockey men, were saying Tuesday night. It came against Philadelphia's John Vanbiesbrouck, only the game's hottest goalie the last three weeks, and it came at the end of a too-long shift. Bure went into this fight alone, parallel to Philadelphia's goal, facing an impossible angle -- or an impossible angle for someone handcuffed by less genius and confidence. Bure wound up and fired, wickedly and intentionally knocking the puck into the goal off the back of Vanbiesbrouck's shoulder -- the only place he could put it, really. The puck was rattling around in the net before Vanbiesbrouck literally knew what had hit him. Check Vanbiesbrouck's shoulder today if you want to see Bure leaving his mark.

This Florida team had no personality before Bure's arrival -- or, rather, maybe it had too many. Twelve ties? Never more than two games above or below .500? This was Team Sybil, up one night, down the next. But the Canadian, American and Romanian  press were in attendance Wednesday, making the Panthers interesting again in three languages. Why? Because Bure, coming off a nine-month layoff, had scored a completely absurd six goals in his first three Florida games, which is akin to Mark McGwire hitting six home runs in his first three games after missing an entire season. Consider this: The Panthers, as a team , had gone 10 three-game stretches this season without scoring six goals.

``And he's probably just at 70 percent,'' Torrey said giddily. ``Maybe less.''

Bure blurring in on a breakaway is like watching Michael Jordan float, Barry Bonds swing or Dan Marino throw, and that kind of thing comes with a major price tag. Bure will sign in the next few days for about $60 million, probably making him the game's highest-paid player, and the Panthers are going to have to make some budget adjustments elsewhere to afford him, selling more, seeking more sponsors, maybe raising ticket prices, too.

``It's like going to a fine Italian restaurant,'' Torrey said. ``No matter how good the meal is, no matter how much you enjoy it, eventually the bill is going to come.''

But Bure will pay for himself in many ways, too, as evidenced by how many fans have been calling the last few days, trying to buy season tickets for the remainder of the season. The Panthers explain that they can't have the same seats for all the remaining home games, that the fans will have to jump from seat to seat, but Torrey said, ``People don't care. They'll take anything.'' This is quite a leap for a franchise whose major moments seem to get overshadowed -- the expansion draft knocked off the sports stage by the Marlins trading for Gary Sheffield, Florida's first game in Chicago pushed aside by Jordan's first retirement, Florida's home opener after the lockout engulfed by a local Super Bowl. Bure? He's so big he can't be pushed away.

``He's not going to score every night,'' Panthers teammate Ray Whitney cautioned before amending. ``Well, he could  score every night.''

The red light that went on after Bure assisted the game-winner Wednesday night?

The thunderous cheering and that horn blasting?

The rock n' roll?

That's what Bure brings this franchise -- a life that includes light and noise and music.

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Bure hottest thing on ice right now

by Dave Doyle -- SportsLine Staff Writer

Florida Panthers right wing Pavel Bure has raised the bar very high for the 'Sizzlin' category in our first 1999 Sizzlin' and Fizzlin' report.

There was concern that the Russian Rocket would not be in playing shape after being traded from Vancouver to the Florida Panthers on Jan. 17.

Bure put those fears to rest in a hurry. He arrived from Moscow in truly sizzlin' fashion.

Bure put on the Florida uniform and promptly scored two goals in the Panthers' 5-2 win over the Islanders on Jan. 20. The next night, he scored a goal and assisted on the game-winner against the Rangers.

IN HIS FIRST GAME AFTER THE All-Star break, he scored a hat trick to single-handedly tie the usually unstoppable Flyers in their own house. And Wednesday, in his home debut, he assisted on the game-winner in Florida's 2-1 victory over Montreal.

That adds up to six goals and two assists in four games, while the Panthers have gone 3-0-1. Carolina is still a point ahead of the Panthers in the Southeast Division standings, but with the temperamental Russian superstar in the Panthers camp, that won't last for long.

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Pavel-mania in Florida

by STEVE SIMMONS -- Toronto Sun

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Outside the bus in Philadelphia the other night, Bryan Murray was introduced to the new existence of the Florida Panthers.

"Normally, the same lady and three or four of her friends are waiting for us outside the arena," said Murray, the general manager. "There had to be 75 people the other night. It was incredible."

Incredible is what Pavel Bure has been in his brief time with the Panthers.

During Super Bowl week, with the Dan Reeves-Mike Shanahan storm calming and John Elway out of smiles, it was Hockey Night in Sawgrass that had most of South Florida talking.

And that was even before Bure made his home debut last night at the shiny new National Car Rental arena. He had an assist in the Panthers' 2-1 win over Montreal.

"I'm really excited to be playing again," the difficult Bure said before the game.

Excited and exciting, Bure had scored six goals in his first three games since being traded from Vancouver to Florida, ending his self-imposed and mostly unexplained exile from the National Hockey League. Within a few days, he could have more goals than anyone on the Canadiens.

"You couldn't ask him to do more than he has done," said Murray, who is close to signing Bure to a lucrative long-term contract, having met yesterday with agent Mike Gillis. "This is going to help us so much."

And he isn't just talking about winning.

He is talking about selling tickets. He is talking about putting a face on a franchise in desperate need of one. He is talking about riding Bure' back into the playoffs, and financially basing the immediate future of the franchise around his rare and spectacular ability to excite.

"We're working on T-shirts, buttons, pins, all of it," said Jennifer Borell, who works in merchandising for the Panthers. "As soon as we heard about the trade, we got on the ball. Unfortunately, some things are out of our control."

The trade that sent Bure to Florida so stunned the hockey world that no less an authority than Glen Sather told Murray it was "the best trade in 10 years."

"You don't know this guy," Sather said. "He does things with the puck that don't happen very often. If you weren't on the West Coast, you didn't see all things he can do. This is one special player."

Already, the reaction to Bure in south Florida, a hockey place that once saw Brian Skrudland as a star, has been remarkable. On Neil Rogers' highly rated radio show on WQAM-AM, Rogers wanted to talk about U.S. President Bill Clinton and the impeachment process. He kept giving out the telephone numbers yesterday afternoon on his open-line show and the calls kept coming in: Almost every one asking about Pavel Bure.

"I went shopping for groceries this morning," Bure said. "People were already wishing me good luck."

In Vancouver, they were wishing him other things. For all Bure did for the Canucks, his story is as much about what he didn't do. He walked out on the Canucks, he lived something of a mysterious life, he was, too often, in some kind of difficulty.

Murray asked the appropriate questions before making the trade for Bure and has come away unconcerned about past difficulties.

"Things happen in athletes' lives," Murray said. "A lot happens when they're young. You put them aside. They never happen again. We just traded away someone who had a problem early in his career (Ed Jovanovski).

"If you deal straightforward with the athlete, tell him what you expect from him ... If he's treated right, there won't be a problem. I'm not worried about the past in any way."

Said Bure: "People can say what they want about me. People put their own thoughts in my mouth. If it's a lie, I just ignore it."

The one team that can't ignore the Panthers right now is the Carolina Hurricanes. After Murray made the deal for Bure, he ran into Carolina general manager Jimmy Rutherford at the NHL all-star game in Tampa.

"Now I have to make something happen," Rutherford told Murray. "He said more than that," Murray said. "But I can't repeat it." Last night, in a quiet and almost uneventful game against the Canadiens, Pavel Bure didn't score but made a quick pass to Oleg Kvasha, who then scored the game-winning goal. It wasn't the kind of home debut fans were looking for. But there were enough moments to know there will be better nights to come.

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Rocket fires up South Florida

-- SportsLine wire reports

SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Russian Rocket enjoyed a successful landing in his South Florida debut Wednesday night.

Pavel Bure set up Oleg Kvasha's game-winning goal at 6:18 of the third period to ignite the Panthers in a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

"It's great to play in front of fans that really support us," said Bure, who was showered with cheers from the fans at the sold-out National Car Rental Center every time he touched the puck. "First of all, I'm really happy we won."

Bure, who has six goals and one assist in four games since joining the Panthers Jan. 17, also hit the crossbar and failed to score on a breakaway.

"Pavel has the gift of being in the right place at the right time to really energize a building and energize our team sitting on the bench," said Panthers coach Terry Murray.

Florida is 3-0-1 with Bure and now trail first-place Carolina by one point in the Southeast Division. Bure couldn't imagine a better start with his new team.

"I think it couldn't get any better, especially since we keep winning," Bure said. "It's a great feeling and I missed it."

The game-winner came after a delayed penalty was called on the Canadiens. Bure backhanded a pass to Kvasha, whose wrist shot from the slot beat Montreal goaltender Jeff Hackett for his eighth goal with 13:42 left in the third period.

"We knew he would want to put on a display on a night with all the media attention he's been getting," said Montreal coach Alain Vigneault. "We tried to keep him out of the equation."

"Any team that does well has to have that kind of game-breaker," said Burke, who played with Bure at Vancouver early last season.

Bure seemed fatigued after playing more than 30 minutes in his three-goal game against the Flyers on Tuesday. He didn't have a shot on net until 18:26 of the second period when Hackett snared his point-blank blast.

The fans saved their loudest cheers for Bure's penalty-killing clearing passes during a two-man Canadiens advantage in the second period.

Bure came alive in the third, with a wrist shot beating Hackett but hitting off the crossbar. Bure then set up Kvasha for his first assist as a Panther, and later wowed the crowd on a breakaway that was stopped by a sprawled-out Hackett.

"I wasn't at all (frustrated)," Bure said. "The point is you win the game, so right now I'm happy."

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HOW HOT IS THE ROCKET?

Not many players can put an arena into the frenzy Bure can, especially a week before the game.

Panthers merchandisers have done everything possible to get Bure merchandise into the arena, but only Bure jerseys and pictures will be on sale during the Montreal game.

Merchandisers struggled just to get 100 jerseys in the arena for tonight, about 80 being replicas ($199) and 20 being authentic ($324).

"We're working on T-shirts, pucks, pins, all of it," said Jennifer Borell, who works in Panthers merchandising. "As soon as we heard about the trade we got on the ball. Unfortunately some things are out of our control.

"You don't know what strings we had to pull just to get the jerseys and pictures."

More media personnel will cover the game than any other home game this season, and by a large margin.

A typical Panther game has 20 to 30 people from the media, whereas 88 media credentials have been issued for tonight's game.

Of course many reporters are already in Miami for the Super Bowl, making a trip to Sunrise more economical. But they certainly wouldn't take time to cover a Bure-less Panther game.

"People know he's a superstar who brings energy and enthusiasm and helps everyone else play better," said coach Terry Murray. "I anticipate that everyone wants to take a look at him."

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Bure lives up to billing in home debut

The Russian Rocket enjoyed a successful landing in his South Florida debut Wednesday night.

Pavel Bure set up Oleg Kvasha's winning goal at 6:18 of the third period to give the Panthers a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

"It's great to play in front of fans that really support us," said Bure, who was showered with cheers from the fans at the sold-out National Car Rental Center every time he touched the puck. "First of all, I'm really happy we won."

Bure, who has six goals and one assist in four games since joining the Panthers on Jan. 17, also hit the crossbar and failed to score on a breakaway.

"Pavel has the gift of being in the right place at the right time to really energize a building and energize our team sitting on the bench," said Panthers coach Terry Murray.

Florida is 3-0-1 with Bure and now trails the Southeast Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes by one point. Bure couldn't imagine a better start with his new team.

"I think it couldn't get any better, especially since we keep winning," Bure said. "It's a great feeling and I missed it."

Kvasha's winner came after a delayed penalty was called on the Canadiens. Bure backhanded a pass to Kvasha, whose wrist shot from the slot beat goaltender Jeff Hackett for his eighth goal with 13:42 left in the third period.

"We knew he would want to put on a display on a night with all the media attention he's been getting," said Montreal coach Alain Vigneault. "We tried to keep him out of the equation."

Mark Parrish's 12th goal two minutes earlier tied the game 1-1 for the Panthers. Parrish, who was sent down last week to make room for Bure, was called up Tuesday when Scott Mellanby was placed on injured reserve.

"It's exciting to play alongside the guy," said Parrish, a rookie. "It's a dream to play with all the superstars."

Panthers goaltender Sean Burke, who made several spectacular saves, including a sliding glove save to foil Martin Rucinsky on a 2-on-1 breakaway with five minutes to play, finished with 29 saves.

"Any team that does well has to have that kind of game-breaker," said Burke, who played with Bure at Vancouver early last season.

After two scoreless periods, Patrick Brisebois long slapshot beat Burke for a 1-0 lead 50 seconds into the third period. Mark Recci set up Brisebois's second goal of the season.

"They showed us a lot of character after we got that first goal," Recci said. "You really have to be aware of what he (Bure) does.

"He's a superstar, but he's not the only good player they have."

Montreal had a goal disallowed in the second period when Scott Thornton kicked a puck in the net with his skate.

Bure seemed fatigued after playing more than 30 minutes in his three-goal game against the Flyers on Tuesday. He didn't have a shot on net until 18:26 of the second period when Hackett snared his point-blank blast.

The fans saved their loudest cheers for Bure's penalty-killing clearing passes during a two-man Canadiens advantage in the second period.

Bure came alive in the third, with a wrist shot beating Hackett but hitting off the crossbar. Bure then set up Kvasha for his first assist as a Panther, and later wowed the crowd on a breakaway that was stopped by a sprawled-out Hackett.

"I wasn't at all (frustrated)," Bure said. "The point is you win the game, so right now I'm happy.

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Pavel's hat-trick !

PHILADELPHIA -- Pavel Bure missed out on the All-Star Game but continued to show that he belongs there.

In just his third game with his new team, Bure notched a hat trick that gave the Florida Panthers a 3-3 tie with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Having sat out most of the season while in a contract dispute with the Vancouver Canucks, Bure was not going to be selected for the All-Star Game played Sunday. But since being traded eight days ago, Bure has been nothing less than an All-Star for the Panthers.

A two-time All-Star in seven seasons with Vancouver, Bure has collected six goals in three games since joining Florida, leading his new club to a 2-0-1 mark.

"It's a great feeling to know that when your team is playing well defensively, you'll have opportunities to score," Bure said. "I'm surprised because I'm still getting tired quickly. You can practice as much as you want, but it's different when you step on the ice and play an NHL game." "Right now, Pavel has come in and had three really good games," said Panthers coach Terry Murray. "When you bring in a superstar and an excellent defenseman in (Bret) Hedican, that is a tremendous commitment by your owner. The players read that stuff loud and clear, and it does something good for your confidence."

It was the 10th career hat trick for Bure and his first since December 15th, 1997 against Los Angeles.

An impressive individual effort by Bure allowed Florida to score the tying tally with 12 minutes left in regulation. He raced along the left wing into the Flyers zone and deked defenseman Dan McGillis. Upon reaching the goal line, Bure put on the brakes and lifted a shot that bounced off the shoulder of goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck and slipped inside the left goalpost.

"I didn't know what to do with the puck," Bure said of the tying goal. "I took the pass and I saw him (Vanbiesbrouck) slide a little bit to his left. That left an opening, so I shot the puck at him and hoped it would rebound in the net and it worked."

"I was caught cheating a little bit, toward the idea of making a pass," Vanbiesbrouck said. "Those are things you have to work on."

Despite blowing two one-goal leads, the Flyers still have lost only once in their last 19 outings, going 12-1-6. They sit two points in front of New Jersey and Toronto for first place in the Eastern Conference.

Philadelphia All-Star center Eric Lindros failed to score for the first time in eight games but assisted on Eric Desjardins' goal that made it 3-2 at 6:51 of the third period.

Playing against his former team, Vanbiesbrouck had to leave with 23 seconds left in regulation due to a bruised buttocks. Desjardins slid into Panthers center Rob Niedermayer, who in turn fell into Vanbiesbrouck, and the Flyers netminder rammed his backside into the post.

"He kind of carried me right up into the post," Vanbiesbrouck said. "My legs got up a little bit high. It was my rear end. That's what happens when you have a big rear end, I guess."

With the Panthers facing an early 2-0 deficit, Bure sparked a comeback with 8:07 left in the opening period. The "Russian Rocket" carried the puck into the left side of the Flyers' zone and passed to Ray Whitney at the top of the faceoff circle. His blast was stopped by Vanbiesbrouck, but the streaking Bure poked the rebound out of the air and into the left side of the net.

Following a scoreless second period, Bure's power-play tally at 5:39 of the third tied the game. From the left point, Robert Svehla found Bure at the right side of the crease and he one-timed a shot into the open net.

"Things have really been bouncing for him," Lindros said. "You've got to watch out for him. He'll sit and hide and then come through the middle for a breakaway. He is somebody that can really finish."

Bure is expected to receive a rousing welcome from the fans at the National Car Rental Center in Florida on Wednesday as he makes his Panthers' home debut against the Montreal Canadiens.

"It's no surprise, he's a great player," Desjardins said of Bure. "If you give him room, give him time to make plays, he is going to make things happen like tonight."

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Pavel Bure's arrival improves the Panthers' chances.

Pavel Bure's arrival improves the Panthers' chances.

The Panthers were stuck in the neutral zone, but that was BPB: Before Pavel Bure.

Until the Panthers brought perennial 50-goal scorer Bure to South Florida, they were a so-so team; they had a nice young defense, but not a single game-breaker on the other side of the ice. This week, GM Bryan Murray changed that when he went shopping in Vancouver and came home with the goods.

In his first two appearances in a Panthers sweater, Bure -- hardly in game shape -- netted three goals in limited playing time. His production also helped the Panthers earn two victories, which put them over the .500 mark and has them breathing down the necks of the Carolina Panthers in the Southeast Division.

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Simply Pavel-ous

It was last Sunday in Pavel Bure's home in Moscow. Every 10 or 15 minutes, the phone would ring and on the other end would be his agent, Mike Gillis, saying, "This is what's going on. We're getting close, but it's not done. I'll call you back in five."

Bure smiles as he recounts the day his five-month holdout with the Vancouver Canucks finally ended with a trade to the Panthers.

"Everybody was waiting, and when Mike finally said we got a deal done with the Panthers, my mom (Tanya) started to cry," Bure said, now with a look of profound seriousness.

"She knew how hard this was for me. Sitting out. Waiting for Vancouver to trade me. She knew this was the hardest five months of my life, and she was so happy for me. We went out with some close friends and celebrated."

And with that, the Panthers gained a superstar. It still sounds funny to say. Panthers ... superstar.

A week after the blockbuster deal, General Manager Bryan Murray continues to look smart. Not so much that he pulled off the trade that includes Bret Hedican and Brad Ference, but that he did so by essentially grouping a list of players (Ed Jovanovski, Dave Gagner, Kevin Weekes and Mike Brown) that if he were trying to make the same deal on Sega's NHL '99, the computer would have even said, 'Are you kidding me? No way."

There aren't many players in the NHL with the ability to change a game with the simple snap of his hockey stick, but Bure, a two-time 60-goal, 100-point scorer, isn't typical. He's explosive on the ice, yet unbelievably quiet off of it.

Mystery man

Strange rumors and reports follow him everywhere, yet he remains supremely secretive and quiet. Few players are as guarded about their personal lives.

Does he associate with the Russian mafia? Did he threaten to go home if he didn't get a new contract from the Canucks during the 1994 playoffs? What were the real reasons for throwing away an $8 million contract to play in Vancouver? Did he fake a whiplash injury two years ago? And, who was that woman he was married to seven years ago?

This is just a sampling. Murray was well aware that Bure carries baggage off the ice, but the Panthers aren't going to pay him close to $10 million a season for what he can do off the ice.

"Nothing like that bothers us at all," Murray said. "We started our relationship with him (Tuesday night) knowing full well his talent level, knowing what he's done in this league as well as back in Russia. But all the Russians I've had experience with in the past -- Sergei Fedorov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Slava Kozlov -- I've never had a problem at all."

Difficult days

In those days, it was difficult to get Soviet players out of the country, so everybody shied from taking the highly regarded Bure because it was believed the Soviets were not going to release him until after the 1994 world championships.

After the first three rounds passed, Bure wasn't an issue because teams were not permitted to select Europeans after the third round if the players had not played in at least 11 elite-level games.

Records showed that the 18-year-old Central Red Army right winger had played in five, so every other NHL team felt Bure should not have been available to the Canucks.

It created a furor when they took him three rounds later. Teams protested, and 11 months later then-NHL president John Ziegler ruled that Bure wasn't eligible, thus throwing him back into the 1990 draft.

Three weeks later, Ziegler reversed his decision because the Canucks uncovered documentation -- six more scoresheets -- that proved Bure played the minimum number of games in the Russian Elite League.

Surprise visit

The Red Army team wanted Pavel to sign a three-year deal, but he decided to follow the path of other defected Russians, such as Fedorov and future teammate Alexander Mogilny, his two linemates with the Red Army team three years prior.

Even before Bure headed to Vancouver, he was angry at Canucks management, the start of what would become a tumultuous relationship.

Nobody met him in Los Angeles when he arrived, and it wasn't until two weeks later that the team's vice president of hockey operations, Brian Burke, came down to L.A. for a quick lunch.

"It was really hard. I thought they'd be waiting for me when I got there but there was nobody," Bure told the Vancouver Province last week. "I'd heard all this about how badly they wanted me, and then I'm down there wondering what's going on."

The club had been waiting to settle a court case with the Red Army team, who had Bure under contract. The Canucks ended up buying his rights for $250,000 in October 1991, but Bure was so fed up with the ordeal that he chipped in $50,000 of his first contract to pay off the Russians.

More mystery

She was said to be a fashion model, the two having met at the Goodwill Games in Seattle. By training camp the following September, Bure was single again.

It was immediately alleged in newspaper reports that the marriage was merely an arrangement to stay in the country if things hadn't worked out with the Canucks, although Bure has always denied that.

Tough times

The first was when rumors arose during the 1994 playoffs that Bure threatened to sit out if the Canucks didn't sign him to a new contract. Then, when he signed a five-year, $25 million contract in the middle of the Stanley Cup Finals, the story was reported in the media.

Bure believes somebody from the Canucks' management planted the story and denies he ever threatened to sit out.

He then got into a feud during the lockout-shortened season in 1994-95 when the Canucks were going to prorate his salary over 48 games. Bure felt he was exempt because there was a clause in his contract that said he should be paid a full year's salary regardless of the amount of games he played.

He threatened to sit out the season, but then decided to report. But the issue wasn't resolved for three years, and he always resented having to wait before finally being paid the $1.7 million owed to him.

The last incident occurred during the 1996-97 season. After missing most of the previous year with a knee injury, Bure was back to his typical form at the start of the season.

In the first game, Bure was flying down the right wing at full stride when he was hit by Calgary's Todd Simpson. He slid into the boards head first, and his neck snapped backward. He sustained whiplash on the play and played most the season in pain before the injury forced him to end his season in March.

The Vancouver media began to allege that he was faking the injury, and Bure was upset that management didn't do enough to dispell the story.

Rumorville

In December 1993, it was reported that he was one of several prominent Russian players who were targets of extortion by the mafia.

In the reports, it was alleged that he had made payments to the mafia, supposedly shaken down a few times during extortion attempts. But he has always denied this, and Gillis has said in the past that every penny that Bure has ever earned has been accounted for.

But people have alleged he hangs out with well-known Russian mafiosos, and other people connected with the underworld.

Rumors sprung up again three years later. Bure's great-great-great grandfather, Pavel, started the family's watchmaking business during the 1800s. The company ceased after the 1917 Communist Revolution. A couple of years ago, Bure started up the company again.

In November 1996, ESPN reported allegations that Bure's Moscow business partner in the watch-making venture, Anzor Kikalichvilli, was a major player in organized crime and on a Central Intelligence Agency watch-list.

Bure denied any knowledge of this, claiming Kikalichvilli was nothing more than a business partner, a sports entrepreneur he knew has known since he was a teen-ager.

Superstar

After the season, Bure decided he would force a departure from the Canucks. After five years of trying to be traded, he knew the only way he could guarantee it happened was to withhold his services and hold out.

The Canucks' loss appears to be the Panthers' gain. In two games, Bure has three goals, and the Panthers seem on their way at overtaking division-leading Carolina, which would mean a top seed in the playoffs. The Panthers trail Carolina by two points.

Bure loves to work out, one reason he was in good enough shape to play 31 minutes in two exceptional games after a nine-month layoff. He kept in tremendous shape in Russia, working out with his old Red Army team twice a day.

But there are skeptics, including Carolina General Manager Jim Rutherford.

"He's a player who walked out on his team," said Rutherford, conveniently overlooking his October 1996 acquisition of Keith Primeau, who held out for three weeks until the Red Wings traded him.

"A guy like Bure is not going to disrupt anything, but I don't know if he's going to give (the Panthers) their money's worth."

There are people who think it's a tremendous trade.

"He seems to elevate everyone's game," said Buffalo captain Michael Peca, who played with Bure in Vancouver. "He's that kind of a player. You put a guy like that with (Viktor) Kozlov, which is what they seem to want to do, and that's going to make (Kozlov) that much better."

Added former Panthers assistant and current Sabres coach Lindy Ruff: "He could be just the push they need to put them in the playoffs."

Dominator

In the first two games with the Panthers, he showed what kind of scorer the Panthers will have for several seasons. Bure says he is looking forward to the challenge of helping turn the Panthers into a contender.

He got his first taste of South Florida this weekend, in town during the All-Star break searching for a home.

"I don't even have summer clothes," he said. "So I have to go shopping."

And if he has trouble picking some things out, his mother will be in town for a few days after stopping in Calgary to visit Valeri, whom Pavel calls his best friend.

"I just want to get adjusted to South Florida," Bure said. "I can't wait to get settled, and I can't wait to play in front of the fans."

And they can't wait, either, for Wednesday's game in a sold-out building against Montreal.

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Bure an instant hit

MIAMI (CP) -- Pavel Bure looks forward to a breather during the all-star break after a hectic first few days with the Florida Panthers.

"I am surprised big time in having three goals in two games," said Bure, acquired in a seven-player deal with Vancouver last Sunday. He eased back into action by playing 12 minutes in a win over the Islanders on Wednesday, when he scored two goals, and he played nearly 20 minutes and scored a breakaway goal in a win over the Rangers on Thursday.

"Miami fans are in for a treat," said Rangers star Wayne Gretzky. "He's an exceptional hockey player worth every penny he's paid."

Pavel Bure returned to NHL action last night. Bure was plus-1 in 12:09 of ice time (16 shifts). He had four shots on goal in the game -- three in the second and one in the third. Bure played on a line with countrymen Oleg Kvasha and Viktor Kozlov at even-strength and was on the power play with Ray Whitney and Rob Niedermayer. EuroReport was there for Bure's post-game press conference.

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There's no looking back, Bure's focus on Panthers

by Ike Kuhns -- Star Ledger

New York - - Pavel Bure skated onto the ice at Madison Square Gardens last night to a mixed reception from Rangers fans who no doubt lamented what might have been.

If things had worked out differently, the Russian Rocket might have been wearing the uniform of the Rangers. Istead, Bure was on the visitors' bench with the Florida Panthers, who aquired him in a deal earlier this week.

Bure made his presence felt, too. He scored a goal - his third in two games - helping the Panthers slip past the Rangers, 2-1.

Bure insisted he isn't thinking about what might have been, nor was he trying to send a message to the Rangers that they should have bid higher for his services.

"It's not my point to prove anything to anybody," Bure said. "I just wnat to go out and do the best I can. My home is in Miami now and I am happy."

Bure didn;t waste any time paying dividends for the Panthers, scoring two goals in his debut, a 5-2 victory over the Islanders on Wednesday night, But he warned that the long layoff and jet lag after the flight from Moscow are still factors.

"That game was so emotional," he said, "and we got a lead and everybody was playing so well. It is going to take a little time for me to begin to feel comfortable.

"It was different feelings in that first game. It was strange and I was happy and nervous and everything."

Bure doesn't want to discuss the protracted contract dispute with the Canucks.

"I really don't want to talk about it," he said. "It is in the past and I just want to forget about it and just move on with my new team."

Obviously, Bure didn't get to select the team that Vancouver traded him to buthe insisted he will be happy with the Panthers. He said he would enjoy playing in a big city (New York is the biggest) but said, "Miami is a big city, too."

It's not like I could choose where I could go or what I could do," Bure said, "but it happened and I ended up with the Panthers and that's great."

In fact, Bure said he and the Panthers already are discussing a long-term deal before the speedy winger becomes a free agent next year. He is expected to agree to a long-term pact that will average just under $10 million annually.

"It depends on how many years we sign for, but if everything goes well I could end my career with the Panthers.

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Russian Rocket is too much for Rangers

by Ike Kuhns -- Star Ledger

So who needs Pavel Bure? Well, the Rangers for one.

It was bad enough that the Rangers lost out in the Bure sweepstakes this week when the Russian Rocket was traded by the Vancouver Canucks to the Florida Panthers. But it was really rubbing salt in the wound when Bure, slowed by jet lag and rusty from being away from the game since last April, scored a goal as the Panthers edged the Rangers 2-1, last night at MSG.

And to make matters worse, the winning goal was scored by Bret Hedican, the other player to come to Florida in the deal with the Canucks, at 18:17 of the third period, dealing the Rangers their fourth staright defeat. Over that span they have scored just three goals.

The rangers, who have been seeking a big-time goal scorer all season, felt the asking price was too high on Bure. General Manager Neil Smith was upset that Cancuks GM Brian Burke failed to check back with him before finalizing the Bure deal and is probably even more mad today.

The Rangers' scoring woes continued last night when they were held to a third-period goal by Kevin Stevens. The Rangers should have had an edge last night beacuse the Panthers wre playing their second game in two nights after beating the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum Wednesday night, as Bure made his season debut scoring two goals.

But Florida had the lead on Bure's breakaway goal entering the third period. The Rangers got even at 7:47 when Stevens took a pass from Brent Fedyk and fired a shot from the right circle that beat Florida goal-tender Sean Burke to his far post.

It appeared the game was headed for overtime when Hedican intercepted a clearing attempt by Jon MacLean and fired a shot from just inside the blue line that got past Mike Richter.

Burke has a big game for the Panthers, but so did Richter, who robbed Bure on at least three other occasions. The Rangers outshot the Panthers, 28-26.

Understandably, Bure didn't get the ice time he normally will once he is in top form, but he made his presence felt nevertheless.

The Rangers had the first powerplay opportunity of the night when Oleg Kvasha of the Panthers was sent to the box for interference at 2:19. However, the Rangers managed only one shot on Burke.

Steve Wasburn of the Panthers was penalized for tripping at 8:19, and the Rangers nearly took the lead on the power play, but Wayne Gretzky's rebound attempt clanged off the post.

After several big hits, including one by Jeff Beukeboom on Florida's Bill Lindsay at center ice, Petr Nedved of the Rangers was sent to the box for high-sticking at 16:43 and durintg the ensuimg power paly, Richter had to come up big to rob Bure from point-blank range.

The period ended with the Rangers on another power play when Florida was assessed a bench major for too many men on the ice at 19:11, and within the first two minutes of the second period, the Rangers twice though they had taken the lead.

The first came at 1:03 when Nedved took a pass from Gretzky and flipped a shot that appeared to hit the roof of the net. However, a video replay revealed the puck had actually rebounded off the crossbar and did not go in. Thirty seconds later, Adam Graves put in a rebound off a scramble in front of Burke, but Paul Stewart, one of the two referees in the game, ruled he blew the whistle before the shot, and another review from TV backed him up.

With the teams skating four-on-four, the Panthers took the lead when Rangers defenseman Jan Mertiz lost the race to a loose puck to Rob Niedermayer, whose pass sent Bure in on a breakaway. The Russian Rocket showed he hasn't forgotten how to put the puck in the net when given that kind of opportunity, giving Richter no chance with his shot and the Panthers had the head at 6:35.

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Did Burke burn Smith in Bure trade dealings?

by L STRACHAN -- Toronto Sun

NEW YORK -- On the surface of the National Hockey League, all is calm. The Pavel Bure deal has been done and the last major uncertainty of the season is over.

But underneath the surface, the waters are boiling.

Did Rangers general manager Neil Smith back out of the bargaining for Bure at the last minute as Vancouver Canucks GM Brian Burke claims?

Or is Smith right when he tells everyone who asks him about it that Burke double-crossed him?

And if Burke did indeed do that, what was his reason? The conspiracy theorists suggest it was Burke's way of punishing Bure for causing him so much trouble. He knew Bure wanted to play in New York, so he shipped him to the first non-Manhattan team to make a reasonable offer.

Burke, naturally enough, denies any wrongdoing.

In Madison Square Garden last night -- as appears to be the case around the league whenever GMs talk to each other -- the Bure affair was front and centre.

Both Smith and Burke agree on the starting point. Last Thursday, Burke was closing in on a deal with Florida so he called Smith and asked whether Manny Malhotra was in or out of the Rangers offer. Smith said he was out, but that he was trying to make other arrangements to give Burke a different package.

So far, no problem. But at this point, the paths diverge.

According to Smith, Burke said he would call back later in the day to see if the Rangers had another offer to make. In fact, he says, it was Burke's assistant, Dave Nonis, who called. He told Smith that nothing had changed and that Burke would call on Friday.

Smith says he never talked to anyone from the Canucks again.
 Burke's story is that he did the deal on Friday. That night, Smith called and Burke told him the Florida deal was done.

At least four people who asked Smith about the trade's status on Saturday or Sunday morning were given the same answer. Smith told them he thought Burke again was drumming up publicity for a deal that didn't exist.

If Smith was lying, those people agreed, he deserved an Academy Award.

Meanwhile, by Friday, the Panthers thought the deal was off. Burke had called Florida GM Bryan Murray and left a message on his car phone. But Murray had been attending a function and hadn't checked that particular phone.

On Saturday morning, Murray called Burke to ask if the deal was still on and was told about the message. But it was at that point Burke asked for a first-round pick to be thrown into the mix. Obviously, therefore, the deal was not done on Friday.

Burke and Murray did the usual bartering and Florida ended up including a first-round pick but getting a third-rounder back.

Smith now is furious. He's under extreme pressure in New York, where the urgency to win is so great that the corporation he works for just hired a coach-assaulter to play for its basketball team.

Smith tried frantically to get Bure out of Vancouver for four months and it seemed so likely he would be successful that some pundits based their seasonal predictions on the premise Bure would become a Ranger.

Although Smith won't say anything publicly, it's common knowledge that he would have put Malhotra in the right Bure package -- Malhotra and Niklas Sundstrom for example -- but he wasn't going to add Malhotra to the offer he already had put on the table, which was Sundstrom, Dan Cloutier and a first-round pick.

B>FRUSTRATED

At various times, Smith had proposed different packages which included Mike Richter and the now departed Alexei Kovalev and he repeatedly had expressed his frustration with Burke who, according to Smith, refused to negotiate.

No matter how Burke personally felt about Bure, whom he occasionally threatened to sit out until the summer, he would not accept an inferior deal just to get back at him.

But if he saw the offers as equal, would he send him to Florida just to keep him off Broadway?

That's the kind of speculation that has the general managers talking. Until some more facts are released, this story simply does not add up.

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This time, Hedican is Cats' hero

by MICHAEL RUSSO -- Sun-Sentinel

NEW YORK -- Boy-oh-boy, that trade's looking better with each passing day.

Four days after the biggest trade in franchise history, and one night after the key fixture in the deal, Pavel Bure, stormed his way back into the NHL in heroic fashion, the forgotten man in the trade, Bret Hedican, turned hero.

Hedican scored his first goal as a Panther in dramatic fashion Thursday night by blasting the game-winner from the point with 1:43 remaining, allowing the Panthers to enter the All-Star break on a high note -- a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers.

With the atmosphere more positive than it's been all season, the Panthers closed within two points of the division-leading Carolina Hurricanes, who lost 4-1 to the Detroit Red Wings. It's the closest the Panthers have been since Nov. 14.

"It's just a huge two points -- very huge -- just a gigantic win for us," coach Terry Murray said. "We're going into the All-Star break with a great feeling."

It's the first time the Panthers have won two in a row since Dec. 26 and 28, the first time the Panthers (17-16-11) have been above .500 since Dec. 28, and the first time they've won on back-to-back nights since Nov. 26 and 27.

"I'm just happy to be able to contribute," Hedican said. "It's a good feeling to be playing for a team that wants you."

The goal was dramatic for two reasons.

The first: After Bure scored his third goal in two games (he's on pace for 60 goals -- his career high), Kevin Stevens tied the game 7:47 into the third, so the Panthers were staring at their 12th tie before Hedican scored.

The second: The last time the Panthers played in Madison Square Garden, it was not a happy one. Brian Leetch scored with less than a second left in regulation to tie it, and Adam Graves won it 2:10 into overtime.

"It's a lot better standing here than the last time we played the Rangers," Murray said. "The last time was a very disappointing game for us."

"But in a lot of ways, that loss has helped turn things around because we've played a lot better since then," added goalie Sean Burke, who made 27 saves. "I thought we played with the lead with a lot more confidence."

That's easy to do when you have a weapon like Bure. Bure, who scored two goals in his debut against the Islanders, scored yet another breakaway goal to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead 6:35 into the second.

"Miami fans are in for a treat," said hockey's greatest ever, Wayne Gretzky. "(Bure) will be worth every penny they're paying."

Bure is one of the best players in the NHL on a 4-on-4 because of the open ice and, being the cherry picker that he is, Bure's always in position for the breakout pass.

He got it again, this time from Rob Niedermayer, who beat Chris Tamer to a loose puck before being hit. Bure skated in alone on goalie Mike Richter, made a couple of moves, and popped it between Richter's legs.

"It was another great pass, just like yesterday," Bure said.

"I knew Pavel would have a free lane to the net, and all I had to do was poke it to him," Niedermayer said. "Pavel's pretty much automatic on the breakaway."

What made the win even more sweeter for Bure is that two minutes after Stevens tied the game, Bure thought he had the winner on his stick midway through the third. He had Richter in the perfect place -- out of position -- but he blasted Niedermayer's feed off the side of the net.

"I had an empty net, but it happens and it didn't matter because of (Hedican)," Bure said.

Bure is pleasing people. There's no doubt GM Bryan Murray's happy with the deal -- that was evident when he walked by the dressing room after the game. Bure walked out and Murray gave him a huge high-five, with a giant smile on his face.

"It's a huge two points for us," Bure said. "Two wins in two nights is great. There's a great feeling in the dressing room."

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Even before first game, Bure makes a difference

by DAVID J. NEAL -- Miami Herald

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The sign on the door to the small news conference room at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum encapsulated the tone of the hubbub while hinting at the reason for said hubbub:

``AFTER THE MORNING SKATE: BAGELS AND BURE.''

``Bure'' is not some hip new spread. Rather, it's the Panthers new right wing whose appearance changed everything about Wednesday's morning skate on Long Island.

To the usual six or seven newspaper reporters were added sports columnists and television crews from Canada, South Florida and, of course, New York. It didn't hurt that Bure's first games as a Panther would be against the two New York area teams who unsuccessfully bid for Bure's services.

``Looks like the Stanley Cup playoffs,'' observed Panthers coach Terry Murray as he took his turn in front of the media throng after Bure said he felt ``all right'' and would play that night.

``There was a small meeting with [Panthers coach] Bryan [Murray] and Terry,'' Bure said. ``They said it was up to me, and I have to start playing sometime, so it might as well be tonight.''

Monday, Bure said he doubted he would play Wednesday because he would be wiped out by the eight time-zone trek from Moscow to New York on a direct Aeroflot flight. To get himself on Eastern time zone sleep schedule, Bure stayed up until midnight, which made Tuesday a 25-hour day for him.

``He looked awful when he got off the plane,'' Bure's agent, Mike Gillis, said.

But after the stay-up, a well-known trick among time-zone jumpers, Bure slept until 9 a.m. Wednesday. Murray said he would use Bure only 12 minutes and on power plays but not penalty killing.

Wednesday was an optional morning skate, but every Panther took the ice aside from Ray Whitney, who was kept off because of a cold. And everybody on and off the ice was tracking Bure.

``You've got to be careful,'' Terry Murray said. ``You tend to stay too long. Everybody wants to show what they can do. You don't want them to leave their games on the ice.''

Left wing Bill Lindsay said the rest of the team was excited about Bure's appearance. After a while -- a smoking shot through the five-hole, a backhand breakaway goal, a perfect set up for Kirk Muller on a two-on-one tap-in -- it was evident the only people not completely enjoying the skate were the goalies.

That Panthers owner H. Wayne Huizenga said Bure must take the team to this year's playoffs didn't faze Bure.

``No, it's not pressure on me,'' Bure said. ``I know they want to make playoffs, and that's why we're here.''

``We're not looking for him to come in and be the savior,'' Terry Murray said. ``We're not looking for him to shoulder responsibility for the team. This is still a team game.''

How much of this team's money will be spent on Bure over the next several years was being kicked around by Gillis and Bryan Murray, who said an outline for a contract is done. Gillis and Murray will meet next week in South Florida, where Bure will remain and work out during the All-Star break.

Wednesday, Bure again deflected a question on why he was angry at Vancouver management, but in a private Tuesday meeting with two Canadian hockey columnists, he made accusations of mistreatment as far back as 1991 and says his trade demand dated to November 1993.

Other Bure bits:

Lindsay was the first teammate with whom Bure was seen speaking on the ice.

``He came over and asked me about the drill we were running,'' Lindsay said. ``He comes across as a shy kid. It'll take a while to feel comfortable with us. You've really got to help out and talk with all new players. With [fellow Russians] Viktor [Kozlov] and Oleg [Kvasha] there, it helps, because they can speak the native tongue.''

Bure's discomfort in the spotlight was evident in how he answered when asked if he enjoyed the media attention he draws as a superstar: ``Do I have a choice?''

Bure brought his own skates and, otherwise, there was nothing special about his equipment. Bure's only request of associate equipment manager Tim LeRoy concerned the length of his gloves.

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Newcomers carry Panthers past Rangers 2-1

SportsLine wire reports

NEW YORK -- Recently returned Pavel Bure made an impact for the second straight game, scoring a second-period goal as the Florida Panthers beat the New York Rangers 2-1 Thursday night.

Bure, who had two goals in his Panther debut in Wednesday night's 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders, broke a scoreless tie with one of his patented breakaway goals.

Bret Hedican, another player acquired by Florida in Sunday's seven-player trade with Vancouver, scored the winner with 1:43 left as the Panthers completed a two-game sweep of the NHL's two New York teams.

Sean Burke won a goaltending battle with Mike Richter, making 27 saves including a terrific glove save on Brent Fedyk's shot on his own rebound with a little more than six minutes gone in the third period. Burke then gave up the tying goal to Kevin Stevens before Hedican came through.

BURE GAVE THE PANTHERS a 1-0 lead when he scored on a breakaway at 6:35 of the second period. With the teams skating four aside, Bure received a breakout pass from Rob Niedermayer at the Ranger blue line, skated in and beat Richter between the pads.

It was almost a carbon copy of Bure's first goal in Wednesday night's game against the Islanders, when he was set up on a pass by Robert Svehla skating into the Islanders zone and beat Felix Potvin.

Bure, a season-long holdout at Vancouver, saw his first NHL action in 10 months Wednesday night and played 12 minutes against the Islanders. He had more playing time Thursday night, and made a great defensive play when he caught up with New York's Adam Graves on a breakaway and poke-checked the puck away from him.

WITH HIS THREE GOALS IN TWO GAMES, Bure had as many as the entire Rangers team in the past four.

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Bure buries another one

NEW YORK (AP) -- Pavel Bure is breaking out in a big way for the Florida Panthers.

Making an impact for the second straight game, Bure scored his third goal as the Panthers beat the New York Rangers 2-1 on Thursday night.

"Miami fans are in for a treat," the Rangers' Wayne Gretzky said. "He's an exceptional hockey player worth every penny he's paid."

Bure, who had two goals in his Panther debut in Wednesday night's 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders, broke a scoreless tie in the second period with one of his patented breakaway goals.

Bret Hedican, another player acquired in Sunday's seven-player trade with Vancouver, later scored the winner with 1:43 left as the Panthers completed a two-day sweep of the two downstate New York teams.

"I felt much better today than last night," Bure said.

Especially after scoring his big goal in the second period.

"It was a great pass from (Rob Niedemayer)," Bure said. "(Rangers goaltender Mike) Richter tried to get the puck with his stick and he opened the space between his legs, and I threw the puck there."

Sean Burke won a goaltending battle with Richter, making 27 saves including a terrific glove stop on Brent Fedyk's shot on his own rebound with a little more than six minutes gone in the third period. Burke then gave up the tying goal to Kevin Stevens before Hedican came through for the Panthers.

"I felt pretty solid," Burke said. "All the talk about the Rangers is that they've struggled to score. I knew they'd be hungry and that I had to bear down."

Bure gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead when he scored at 6:35 of the second period. With the teams skating four aside, Bure received a breakout pass from Niedermayer at the Ranger blue line, skated in and beat Richter between the pads.

It was almost a carbon copy of Bure's first goal in Wednesday night's game against the Islanders, when he was set up on a pass by Robert Svehla skating into the Islanders zone and beat Felix Potvin.

Bure, a season-long holdout at Vancouver, saw his first NHL action in 10 months Wednesday night and played 12 minutes against the Islanders. He saw more playing time Thursday night, and made a great defensive play when he caught up with New York's Adam Graves on a breakaway in the first and poke-checked the puck away from him.

With his three goals in two games, Bure had as many as the entire Rangers team in the last four.

Stevens tied it for New York with a shot from the lower right circle at 7:47 of the third period. The game appeared headed for overtime when Hedican scored on a shot from the deep slot.

Richter otherwise played a strong game, making 24 saves. The loss was the fourth straight for the Rangers.

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Russian Rocket just might lift Panthers into stratosphere

by Ian Browne -- SportsLine Staff Writer

Pavel Bure celebrates the first of
what will be many Panthers goals. (AP)

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- It didn't take long for Pavel Bure to turn the rust into dust.

Nor did it take much time for his critics -- of which there were many -- to ooohhh and aaaahhh along with everyone else over his magnificent Florida debut Wednesday night.

On the heels of a nine-month layoff, the Russian Rocket finally touched down on NHL ice and earned rave reviews. He also left people wondering just how good he can be once he gets into game shape.

Then again, potential has always been the issue with Bure. The man is built like some sort of hockey machine. Blazing speed, magnificent hands and the type of scoring touch you can't teach. It has always been his heart and dedication that came under question.

Never his skills.

There were a lot of dropped jaws at the Nassau Coliseum. And for once, it wasn't over how horrific the home team was.

ON THIS NIGHT, BURE SERVED AS a pleasant diversion for one of the most disenchanted fan bases in the league. And he provided endless hope for his new team, the Florida Panthers, who drilled the hapless Islanders 5-2.

What can you say about a man who takes the first three-plus months of the season off amid a nasty holdout, then hops a plane from Moscow to New York and scores two goals in his first game back?

"He's just an all-world player, marveled defenseman Gord Murphy, who is one of many Panthers thrilled to have Bure on his side. "You couldn't write a better script than what he did tonight.

"With all the media attention he got, and all the travel, and all the time he took off ... and then to do this is just amazing. For him to do what he did tonight just elevates and energizes everyone."

Everyone, that is, except for Bure. The man was whipped and understandably so.

He found out he had been traded from the hockey purgatory known as Vancouver to the young Panthers Sunday night. He spent Monday packing and spent Tuesday traveling. He saved just enough energy to destroy the Islanders on Wednesday.

"My timing wasn't there," Bure said. "But I know it will come back."

THE SAME COULDN'T BE SAID for his scoring touch, which came back in a big way.

With the game tied at 1-1 in the second period, Bure showed how he got his flashy moniker in the first place. He glided down the slot, then curled to the left before laying a beautiful shot past Islanders goaltender Felix Potvin.

"Bure's first goal, that's the kind of goal he is famous for," said Panthers coach Terry Murray, whose job suddenly seems a lot easier. "He finds a way to get open and he does so many things coming in on the goaltender. Most of the time, he's going to finish."

Bure, in essence, finished off the Islanders with his second goal, a short blast just outside the crease he didn't even get good wood on.

If anything, his Panther debut was a reminder of how easy things seem to come for the gifted right wing. He played just 12 minutes, took just four shots and still managed to have a field day.

The question now is whether his dark side resurfaces.

For all of the 27-year-old Bure's talent, there have been so many nights in his career he seemed disinterested and generally unwilling to pay the price it takes to succeed in the best hockey league in the world.

THUS FAR, HE HAS DEFINED the term "enigma." And he only soured his already large list of critics with his ill-timed holdout.

But now he seems intent on putting all that behind him and getting the Panthers (16-16-11) into the playoffs.

"I'm not talking about any of that other stuff. I'm leaving it all behind me," Bure said. "It's important just for me to play hockey after not doing it for nine months. It's important just for me to be a part of this team."

It's no mystery which part Bure will play. A supporting role just won't do. It's time he steps up and plays the leading man.

"When great players get into your lineup, it has a huge effect on the rest of the team," noted Murray, who coached stars like Eric Lindros and Peter Bondra earlier in his career.

However, Bure has been unable to elevate his teammates since willing the upstart Canucks into the Stanley Cup Finals in 1994.

Which makes you wonder if there was a method to Bure's madness. Perhaps he knew in his heart there was no end to the nightmare Vancouver had become under Mike Keenan's dictatorship.

SURE, THERE WERE MORE TACTFUL ways for Bure to get out of Vancouver. He could have demanded a trade and played until his wish was granted.

But he has no regrets. After all, the fresh start he yearned for is now right in front of him.

"It will be great," said Bure. "It's always sunny and warm (in South Florida)."

And so, too, suddenly, is the outlook for the Panthers.

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Press Conference

by Ezra Shaw/Allsport -- CNN

Question: Can you talk about how frustrating it was last season after getting off to such a great start with Florida with 13 goals and 11 games; then suffering the knee injury and being out for the year. How hard that was for you?

Pavel Bure: Well, injuries are a part of hockey and it is not what happens to you, it is how you react. Obviously, it was a big disappointment for me, but I just have to deal with it. I am really happy it is behind me.

Question: Is this the happiest you have been in a long time? You certainly seem to be playing like the old days when you were scoring 60 goals a year.

Pavel Bure: I am just really happy right now because things are going really well.

Question: I was wondering if you might be able to comment on all the speculation out there on what is going on between you and Sergei Fedorov and Anna Kournikova?

Pavel Bure: Well, you know, I thought we were going talk about hockey. My private life is mine so I will not talk about my private life.

Question: Can you just talk about what all you had to do to come back from the knee injury?

Pavel Bure: Well, it wasn't that easy. It was pretty hard time for me. I was kind of down, but I think I was just lucky because I have really good friends, really good family who was supporting me through this hard time. As I said, it is all behind me and now I have to move on.

Question: A lot of times when players come back from major injuries like that, they tend to be a little hesitant going into the thick of things. Did you find that was the case with you, and are you getting more confidence as the season is going on as far as the knee?

Pavel Bure: The more games you play, the more confidence you have in yourself.

Obviously when I stepped on the ice after my second surgery, I didn't have confidence. But, you just have to take one step at a time and the more you play, the more confidence you have.

Question: I was just wondering what do you feel about the media and the public being so interested in your personal life.

Pavel Bure: Well, I guess it comes with the territory and I understand people like hockey a lot and they want to know things. I am really open and I try to do the best what I can to let people know how I play and what I do.

Question: Your team has a nine-point lead, the largest lead of any division leader right now -- nine over Carolina that won it last year. What are the reasons that Florida has opened up such a big lead? Why have you gotten off to such a great start as a team?

Pavel Bure: I think we should give credit, first of all, to the management and the coaching staff who put a really good team together. And it is a great mix we have on the team. We have some guys, who played for a long time. We have some young guys who bring lots of energy.

Question: Considering what you went through last year before the trade with Vancouver, is it surprising to you that Nikolai Khabibulin in Phoenix and Keith Primeau here in Carolina are sitting out and they don't know if they will even take part in this season? Does it surprise you when that happens in light of what you went through?

Pavel Bure: Well, hockey, it's really big business right now and you have to do what you have to do. I didn't know -- I don't know what to tell you about that. I guess every player has to decide what he has to do for himself and for his team.

Question: Can you compare living in Vancouver to living in Miami, the differences and the similarities. Are you anonymous there in the south as compared to what you were in Vancouver?

Pavel Bure: Well, usually I don't really like to compare anything, but, you know, obviously Florida is different than Canada. I would say probably in Canada people concentrate more on the hockey than Florida because it is a pretty new sport for Florida and we are trying to get the sport popular here. We have a great support from the fans.

Question: Does it make it easier for you to play your game because you are not bothered as much and you can be relaxed more or be yourself a little bit more in Florida than you could have in Vancouver?

Pavel Bure: Well, it doesn't really matter where you play. You still have to go out on the ice and perform and you have to win the games and you have to score goals. So it doesn't really matter where you play.

Question: This week Scotty Bowman of the Red Wings and Jacques Martin, the coach for the Senators both said they thought interference was back in the league; a lot of clutching and grabbing. Have you noticed anything different?

Pavel Bure: Well, I would say so. In the game against Pittsburgh, lots of guys were holding me and I didn't know what to do. If I go down the ref will say I am diving and just turn my skates, there is no call. So it was kind of funny situation. I didn't know what to do. Obviously there is lots of grabbing and hooking.

Question: I have seen that the attendance in Florida at games is down this season from the past. I was wondering if you could perhaps talk about whether the Panthers are having trouble drawing fans; what the team could do and whether, as you have gone around the League, you have seen empty seats and whether you think this is a problem for the NHL?

Pavel Bure: Well, I don't think it is a problem for NHL. Obviously it is hard to compete with the Miami Dolphins because they are in town. And we have the Miami Heat and the Florida Marlins, so obviously, it is hard to compete with those teams. But if you go outside, you meet the people and the people are really staring to get interested in hockey, so it is a good sign. We only can control so much, so we just have to go out there and do the best we can to try to win some games and hopefully people will come.

Question: Do you follow the Russian elections at all?

Pavel Bure: Yes.

Question: What do you think happened on the vote the last couple of days - your interpretation?

Pavel Bure: I know who won the election for the mayor of Moscow. That is Mr. Luzhkov who was in there before and I don't think there was big surprises who got elected to Parliament; it was pretty much the same people.

Question: When you are talking about one of the ways you can draw fans is by the Panthers winning more, is there anything that the team is doing with you as their main superstar, public appearances you're making or things like that to try to sell the team more?

Pavel Bure: Well, yeah, we are trying to do the best we can. We go to the hospitals and we do some signing sessions. But, obviously, our main job is to go out on the ice and perform there. As I said before, I can feel more and more people giving to hockey because it is really a new game for South Florida. I think it is like California years ago, when nobody knew of hockey in California and look at it now. They have three teams and people just relate to hockey, so hopefully it is going to happen in Florida.

Question: I wanted to ask you about what impact Trevor Kidd had on the team before he got hurt and how much of a factor was he in the start your team had got off to?

Pavel Bure: He was playing really well for us and because of him we won lots of games. It is really a big deal when you have a great goalie and he is stopping lots of pucks. You get confidence about yourself when you know there is a guy who is helping you to save the puck and, you always know you just have to go and score and everything will be fine.

Question: What effect a veteran like Ray Sheppard has had since he has signed on with the team? How has he helped?

Pavel Bure: Obviously he is really good hockey player. He scored 50 goals and he has been around for so many years and he brought lots of experience to our club. Even when he is not playing, like right now, he is still a big presence on the team. He is talking to the young guys and is helping them and he is just giving lots of advice. So it is really nice to have him on the team.

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Pavel trade leaves Gino in stitches

Tony Gallagher -- The Province

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Gino Odjick hurts when he laughs but even with stitches from abdominal surgery Monday he chortles over the trade of his friend Pavel Bure.

"I talked to him this morning and he's pretty happy," said Odjick from Montreal where he had three tears repaired in his abdomen and is out of the New York Islanders lineup for the season. "He had some pretty good reasons for wanting to get traded.

"I suppose it's a good trade for both teams. They get Pavel and Vancouver finally gets some players, although not right away. Who knows? We certainly know what kind of player is going to Florida."

Odjick added some new info as well.

"When I got traded last year Pavel was pretty upset and called (the Canucks) and said, 'Trade me' again. I'm not surprised he didn't show up to start the season. He'd been asking a long time."

Meanwhile, Trevor Linden refused on-the-record comment about the Vancouver situation other than to smile and shake his head at some of the goings on.

"You have to remember it's a business," said Linden. "I didn't think they would go after me (in his contract dispute), but I almost missed part of the season the year I was holding out."

Linden was asked about his relationship with Bure, which some observers suspected was marked by resentment at the Rocket taking away his spotlight.

"That was not true at all, I'm not that way. Do you think I didn't realize we needed good players to get better? We weren't great friends. He went his way and I went mine. ... But we had some good laughs on the way to the (1993-94 Stanley Cup) final. And I remember our slow starts during the lockout season and how we joked, 'We were both still locked out.' "

Linden was asked about coach Mike Keenan but refused comment.

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Griffiths says it's a joke

by Terry Bell -- The Province

Ex-Canucks owner Arthur Griffiths says it's ludicrous to suggest he planted negative stories in the media about Pavel Bure.

Bure told Province columnist Tony Gallagher the main reason he wanted out of Vancouver was because "somebody from management" planted a story saying he threatened to leave the team during the 1994 playoffs if he didn't get a new contract.

"The reality of the whole situation is that I was not even aware that there was a story until after the playoffs that year," Griffiths said Wednesday. "A reporter asked me about it then and I said, 'That's ridiculous.' "

Pat Quinn, Canucks general manager at the time, eventually denied the story, but Bure feels the denial was so late it gave the appearance of a cover-up.

Then vice-president/assistant GM George McPhee is also a candidate to have leaked the story. Now the GM of the Washington Capitals, McPhee is on vacation and couldn't be reached Wednesday. A spokesman from the Caps' PR staff said McPhee didn't want to comment on the Bure situation.

The leaky front office tale is one that Griffiths, who conceded full ownership of the team to John McCaw in November 1996, still finds hard to fathom.

"Why would we create a story like that about our star player?" Griffiths said. "It's a joke. The idea that we'd do that in the middle of a huge series like that ... it's ridiculous."

Griffiths suggested Bure's bolt had more to do with Canadian taxes and the Canucks' difficult travel schedule.

"I spoke to him just after the end of last season," said Griffiths. "He told me prior to his (last) trade demand that his wanting to leave only had to do with taxes and travel.

"I told him that he'd just finished a long season. He'd gone to Japan (with the Canucks) and the Olympics (in Japan) and that it might be better to think about it during the summer."

Griffiths said the Canucks always treated Bure well.

"The Canucks looked after Pavel, his father (Vladimir Bure) and his agent (ex-agent Ron Salcer) very well."

Pavel, now represented by Mike Gillis, also said confusion over whether a '94 contract was in U.S. or Canadian dollars and a difference of opinion about his demand to be paid for the lockout year led to his trade demand.

In '94, Bure was set to sign a five-year, $14.7-million deal he assumed was in U.S. dollars. When he went to sign he saw the deal was in Canadian funds.

"That's correct," confirmed Griffiths. "Pavel thought it was U.S. funds. But it was in Canadian dollars and we negotiated that with his agent."

Griffiths also said Bure never had a clause in his contract offering compensation in the event of a lockout. The NHL locked out players prior to the start of the '94-95 season and Bure contended he should have been paid regardless.

"He had his contract guaranteed," said Griffiths. "That means in the event of an injury. In a labour disruption, you do not get paid.

"He did get some compensation, though."

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Rocket blasts off

by Tony Gallagher -- The Province

He had to rub it in.

He couldn't be content to just play his first game in a jet-lagged-induced stupor.

No, Pavel Bure had to flash his trademark form scoring his first goal in the growling uniform of the Florida Panthers in what had to remind Canucks fans of his series winner in Game 7 against Calgary in double overtime in 1994.

Then he added a second goal, right in front of Canucks general manager Brian Burke who had flown in for the occasion.

Taking a pass from Jeff Brown -- check that, Robert Svehla -- between two stunned New York Islanders defencemen, Bure split them with speed, broke in alone, deked right and then went left to his forehand to slide the puck past goaltender Felix Potvin to begin a new chapter. In only seven of the shortest shifts of his career, the Russian Rocket had launched into the hearts of South Florida fans and out of the lives of those who watch the Canucks.

"It was just like Calgary, wasn't it?" Bure said with a huge grin. "I didn't think about it at the time. I just saw space and went for the breakaway. I was using new equipment and I didn't feel too good out there. But I got a couple of great passes from the guys."

The goal gave his new team a 2-1 lead in what turned into a 5-2 win over the sad-sack Isles, who have quit on coach/GM Mike Milbury. Bure's second goal Wednesday came when he tipped in a pass by Ray Whitney with Florida on a two-man advantage.

In the first period it looked as though the Murray brothers, Bryan and Terry, of Florida management knew little about Rocket science when they gave Bure the call on whether or not to play after a seven-hour time change the previous day. When you have the player make the decision in the macho world of hockey, it's virtually an order to play. If a player bails, eyebrows get raised. So everyone convinces themselves it's a good idea and promises they'll limit his ice time. But this time it was a sound decision.

Using four lines because of tonight's game at Madison Square Garden and not using him to kill penalties, coach Terry Murray did limit his ice to 12:09. And even then their $47.5 million US investment began to look like money artistically spent.

Milbury was upset and appeared to be setting the stage for his departure, at least as coach. He made a quick statement to reporters and left before taking questions.

"It looked like they quit," Milbury said. "They were disorganized, so consequently we lost. There are no excuses for that. That was a stinker without much sign of effort. We've got to do something about that."

The fans made a recommendation when they chanted, "Mike must go!" in the third with the Isles looking as though they were the ones jet-lagged.

Bure has apparently come to the Panthers with considerable humility, downplaying his goals and talking about wanting to contribute. It's captured captain Scott Mellanby.

"I sat beside him and I was really impressed with him as a person," Mellanby said. "I'd always heard from other guys he was pretty good."

"Wait till he gets in shape," chortled Panthers president Bill Torrey, who hasn't had a smile that big since the last Isles' Stanley Cup win. "We had the Devils doctor come in and give him a physical late last night. He said, 'I've seen some athletes in my day, but this one is unreal.' Turns out (Bure's) been working out twice a day.

"The two Russians playing with him (Viktor Kozlov, Oleg Kvasha) are really excited. I guess I can see why."

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Pavel's no longer in exclusive club

by Steve Milton

You can slice the Pavel Bure trade just about any way you want, and all the pieces would make some sense.

- Florida Panthers win because they get the best player in the swap.

- Vancouver Canucks get Ed Jovanovski, whose premature matriculation helped carry Florida to the Stanley Cup final three years ago, and suddenly the left coasters have the best young defence in the National Hockey League.

- Brian Burke's reputation rests on the longterm outcome of this swap.

- The NHL Players' Association wins in the long run because three elite players -- Felix Potvin, Sandis Ozolinsh and Bure -- could sit out a significant stretch but still come out way ahead financially, even when missed wages are taken into account. Ergo, not reporting works, if you're good enough.

- Teams in jurisdictions with the best tax deals have a distinct advantage when trying to land a player whose signability is an issue. Florida, it should be noted, has no state income tax.

All of the above are valid comments on the trade which la-la-landers had anticipated, or feared. And, as one Florida columnist put it, the Canucks may have waited nearly 200 days to deal Bure, but the Panthers have waited for 1,929 days for a skater worth watching.

But there is another way of looking at this trade. It kicks the Russian Rocket out of one of the most exclusive circles in hockey:

Fifty-goal scorers who have not been traded.

During the 1990s, there have been 32 different players who have managed 50 goals or more in a season. Until Sunday, only 10 of them had been on the same team for all of their careers. Now there are nine and the list will shrink by at least one because the Flames will lose Theoren Fleury sometime this year.

The nine one-teamers: Fleury, Steve Yzerman, Mario Lemieux, Adam Graves, Jaromir Jagr, Petr Bondra, Joe Sakic, Keith Tkaczuk and Paul Kariya. That means 23 players who scored 50 goals -- considered the benchmark of a brilliant offensive season -- in a single season this decade have played on more than one team in their careers. While you might expect that kind of instability of, say, 45-homer guys in baseball, hockey isn't subjected to the same kind of liberal free agency. If it were, Keith Tkaczuk would be a Blackhawk, instead of still being with his original franchise (although that franchise was traded from Winnipeg to Phoenix).

Nope, this isn't about free agency. Almost all of these 23 guys were traded.

Understand that not all were traded after they scored 50. Some were traded before they hit the plateau. But isn't that, in a way, more telling? An organization scouts and develops a guy, then moves him somewhere else to score 50? How dumb is that? Stand up you Vancouver Canucks, in your legendary misread of Cam Neely.

In case you think this is a recent development, skewed by the nomadic nineties, consider the first four 50-goal scorers: Rocket Richard, Bernie Geoffrion, Bobby Hull and Phil Esposito. Only Richard played for just one team in the NHL.

Bure, who notched his first of three 50th goals at Copps Coliseum in a 1993 neutral-site game, has a lot of company, although it's rare for a player to score 50, and be dealt the very next season as he was. Usually, as in the cases of Ray Sheppard, Brendan Shanahan and Luc Robitaille, there is a decency period of one full season before the trigger is pulled.

Bure falls into a recently founded lodge of 50-goalers who are dealt or allowed to walk: snipers who can no longer bear the management of their team. Also included in that club are the likes of Alexander Mogilny, Pat LaFontaine, Jeremy Roenick and president-for-life Brett Hull. BR>
Other categories into which traded 50-goalers of the '90s fall:

Teammates Made Him Look Better Than He Was: Kevin Stevens, Luc Robitaille.

Original Team Didn't Know What It Had: Cam Neely, John LeClair, Mark Recchi (Pittsburgh).

Bait for Bigger Fish: Ray Sheppard (traded for Igor Larionov), Mark Recchi (traded by Philadelphia for LeClair), Peter Forsberg (part of the Eric Lindros deal), Pierre Turgeon (once for Pat LaFontaine, once for Kirk Muller and Mathieu Schneider).

Economic Expediency: Teemu Selanne, Brian Bellows, Dave Andreychuk, Brendan Shanahan (with Theoren Fleury joining soon).

Who knows how many of the nine 50-goalers from the '90s who are still with their original teams will stay there. You'd figure that Yzerman, Kariya and maybe Sakic are the kind you'd want on your team forever, no matter the cost.

But some of the others could be traded in the final year of their contract, if their current teams risk losing them to free agency.

That means that the 'Economic Expediency' category is in for some rapid expansion.

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Griffiths denies spreading Bure rumours

by JIM MORRIS -- Canadian Press

VANCOUVER -- The former owner of the Vancouver Canucks denies planting false rumours that Pavel Bure threatened to withdraw his services during the Canucks' 1994 run to the NHL Stanley Cup final.

"I'm shocked, stunned, that there's any insinuation that me, or ownership or my family didn't treat Pavel with anything other than first class," Arthur Griffiths said Wednesday.

Bure, who refused to play for the Canucks this season to back up his demand for a trade, said in an interview "someone from management planted that story" he had threatened not to play during the 1994 playoffs to force a new contract.

Bure called the story a lie. He said he didn't know who spread the rumour but local media has speculated it could be either Griffiths, then owner of the team, or George McPhee, then acting assistant general manager.

Griffiths flatly denied any part in a smear campaign and questioned why management would alienate its star player at such a key time.

"That I would, in any way, shape or form, at that time plant a story about Pavel in a negative fashion, is a joke," Griffiths said.

"He never, ever requested of me a trade. Period. End of discussion."

McPhee now is vice-president and general manager of the Washington Capitals. A spokesman for the Capitals said McPhee was on holidays with his family and "wishes not to comment at this time."

Bure was traded to the Florida Panthers on Sunday in a seven-player deal.

Bure said he asked to be traded as early at 1993.

He said he also was frustrated that when he first came to North America he spent two weeks in Los Angeles without anyone from Vancouver management contacting him and that after negotiating a new contract, the Canucks tried to pay him in Canadian dollars instead of U.S. funds.

Ron Salcer, Bure's former agent, refused comment on Bure's allegations.

"I'm not in the picture anymore," Salcer said. "He can say what he wants to say. I don't want to get involved in any kind of a situation."

Griffiths, who owned the Canucks before the team was purchased by Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment, said he was surprised by Bure's comments.

"I'm disappointed that's his view of things," he said.

"The reality is ... Pavel knows exactly how hard we tried in the initial steps to get him here, what we did to resolve his problems. I thought we treated him with the utmost respect and tried to do the right thing for him. Quite honestly, we bent over backwards."

Griffiths said he had lunch with Bure last spring. At the time, Bure said he wanted to be traded but gave his reasons as Canada's tax structure and the Canucks' gruelling travel schedule.

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Bure scores twice in Panthers debut

-- Reuters

UNIONDALE, New York, Jan 20 - Superstar Pavel Bure shot just four times in his Florida Panthers debut on Wednesday. But the Russian Rocket scored twice, including the most spectacular play of the game for the go-ahead goal.

Bure, who sat out the first half of the 1998-99 NHL season rather than play for the Vancouver Canucks and earn a guaranteed $5.6 million, led his new team to a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders, playing just a little over 12 minutes.

"I wouldn't want to play more than that yet," the blond, 189-pound (86 kg), 5-foot-9 (1.75 metres) right wing said with a smile. "I'm not nearly there yet. Sometimes you play well and don't score. My conditioning is nowhere near 100 percent. I'll be skating again tomorrow morning."

The 27-year-old Russian was obtained Sunday in a seven-player trade with Vancouver, for whom the Russian had played seven season scoring 254 goals and 224 assists in just 428 games. Twice he reached the 60-goal plateau. Last season he scored 51 goals, second in the NHL.

The Panthers got him for goal-scoring punch, and he delivered, playing on an all-Russian line with center Viktor Kozlov and left wing Oleg Kvasha.

The best play of the night came when Florida defenseman Robert Svelha of the Czech Republic fed Bure a breakaway pass behind the Islander defense at 7:39 of the second period.

Bure skated in alone on Islander goalie Felix Potvin and faked him left, then tapped the puck into the open side of the net to the goalie's right. That broke a 1-1 tie and enabled Florida to take charge.

"Great players make great plays," said Panthers coach Terry Murray. "Bure played instinctively. He'll get a lot more ice time in the future."

Added Murray: "Bure is a great player and great players make the other players on their teams better. The other guys feel right about things and try to be more creative and o more with the puck."

"I got two goals but the best part of this was the feeling of playing again," said Bure. "I'm happy to be with the Florida Panthers. When the call came to me in Moscow, I was fed up with just practicing and couldn't wait to get to Florida. I was really very very happy."

Bure added: "Florida wants me to score goals. Tonight they went in. But the biggest thing was the welcome the guys on the team gave me. We can win here in Florida. But one man alone cannot do it. It takes teamwork."

He would not say anything about his long battle with the Canucks. " I don't want to talk about anything in Vancouver," Bure said. "I'm in Florida and I think we can make things interesting jhere in the East."

Vancouver general manager Brian Burke, who let Bure dangle in the wind without playing half the season before completing the trade, happened to be at the game scouting, and did not try very hard to hide his continuing anger at Bure and the trade.

"Time will tell who got the best of this," said Burke. "We are happy with our players. Bure didn't want to play for Vancouver but I had to get full value for him, although some people think I should have gotten more. The first player that asks me for it can have Bure's old number."

Bure, who led Russia to the silver medal at the Nagano Olympics and topped all Olympic scorers with nine goals in just six games, has played financial hardball before.

In 1994 he threatened to sit out Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the New York Rangers unless his present contract was signed in the afternoon of that game. It was.

Bure is negotiating a multi-year contract extension with the Panthers expected to go five years and exceed $50 million.

Murray, whose brother Bryan is the Florida general manager and made the trade, said: "We think we have the man we need, a great player who can mean great things for the Florida Panthers."

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Bure makes immediate impact

Bure's new duds.

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- The "Russian Rocket" came back with a bang.

Just acquired in a blockbuster trade, Pavel Bure scored twice Wednesday night to lead the Florida Panthers to a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders.

"It was good to play," Bure said. "I had great passes from the guys. The puck was there for me."

And Bure knew what to do with it, as he usually does.

Bure's first goal of the night broke a 1-1 tie in the second period and was a classic. He zoomed in on goaltender Felix Potvin after taking a breakout pass at the blue line from Robert Svehla.

Bure steamed down the center of the ice, split defenders Zdeno Chara and Scott Lachance, showed Potvin a backhander that put him down before beating him with a forehand at 7:39 to break a 1-1 tie.

"It was a great pass from Robert and I just went in on a breakaway," Bure said. "I lost the puck before I wanted to shoot. That's why I went to the backhand first."

Potvin said he made a mistake on the play.

"I probably committed too early."

Bure added a power-play goal as the Panthers broke open the game with three goals in the third period as Florida extended the Islanders' winless streak to 11 games (0-10-1).

That's just what the goal-starved Panthers hoped to see from the explosive right wing, who forced his trade from Vancouver with a season-long holdout. The Canucks finally traded Bure to the Panthers on Sunday in a seven-player deal, hoping to pump more life into an anemic offense that was rated 21st in the 27-team NHL prior to Wednesday's games. Bure had scored 60 goals twice and 51 goals another season for the Canucks.

Bure made himself immediately available to the Panthers, flying from Moscow to New York on Tuesday. He stayed up until midnight to adjust to the time difference, slept until 9 a.m. Wednesday and reported in time for the morning skate.

Skating on an all-Russian line with Viktor Kozlov and Oleg Kvasha, except for power plays, Bure went out on 16 shifts for a total time of about 12 minutes. He scored on his second shot after Potvin stopped him on his first 3:24 into the second period. His power-play goal at 11:17 of the third came with the Panthers skating with a two-man advantage.

"Pavel had an impact right away," Panthers coach Terry Murray said. "Everyone knows who he is and what he can do."

Bure's first appearance of the season sparked a turnout from the media at the Nassau Coliseum that was about triple the normal amount.

The night also featured the Islanders' debut of Craig Janney, recently acquired from Tampa Bay.

Robert Reichel gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead when he beat Sean Burke with a shot from the high slot at 6:42 of the first period. Johan Garpenlov tied it for Florida when he poked in a rebound at 7:11 that Potvin lost in the crease. Following Bure's dramatic goal in the second, Scott Mellanby, Bure and Radek Dvorak scored for the Panthers in the third. Ted Crowley added a power-play goal for the Islanders, the first of his NHL career.

"I was not surprised by Pavel," said Islanders captain Trevor Linden, a former teammate of Bure's at Vancouver. "He's a goal scorer."

The Panthers improved to 3-1-0 against the Islanders this season.

Pavel skated in his usual #10 on his jersey.

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Bure backed by Russian linemates

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (CP) - The Florida Panthers, wanting to make Pavel Bure feel at home, surrounded him with Russians on Wednesday.

Coach Terry Murray put Bure on right wing with centre Viktor Kozlov and winger Oleg Kvasha in a makeshift line at his first practice.

"The chemistry could be pretty good there right away," Murray said prior to Wednesday night's game against the Islanders. "The fact that both speak the same language will make him feel more comfortable at the start."

But that will likely change as soon as Bure works himself back into game shape according to Murray.

"In the big picture he is going to play with all the different centreman. When you have that calibre of a player you are going to look to double-shift him," said Murray.

But Murray is not ready to annoint Bure the saviour of a team that would miss the playoffs if the season ended Wednesday.

"I am not looking for him to come in and shoulder the responsbility of the whole team. It is still a team game. It is going to take everybody else to be better," said Murray.

"(I want him to) just come in and be the best that you can be. That is all you are looking for from him, from any great player. With that the rest of the team gets better."

Murray doesn't thnk it will take that long for Bure to be going at full speed.

"When you have elite athletes like that, they play with a lot of pride. They are going to keep themselves in great condition physically, mentally they are sharp," said Murray.

"I don't think it is going to take him really that long. Putting a number on it, four, five, six games, that is hard to do but he is certainly close."

Bure had arrived in New York on Tuesday after a 10-hour flight from Moscow and managed to sleep through most of the night.

Murray made the decision to start Bure after the team's 30-minute morning skate at the Nassau Coliseum.

"The conversation was basically let's get the thing started, I am not going to use you 30 minutes tonight, but let's get a dozen minutes in and get your feet under yourself," Murray said.

Murray didn't really need much convincing to pencil Bure into the lineup or put him on the wing on the power play against the cellar-dwelling Islanders.

"He is a true superstar in the league. He is certainly in the top four, five in the league," Murray said of Bure, who has twice scored 60 goals in the NHL and had 51 last season for Vancouver.

"He is creative, he has great speed, can do everything at top speed."

The Panthers acquired Bure from Vancouver in a seven-player trade last Sunday. Bure had been sitting out the season at home in Moscow in a bitter feud with Canucks management.

But that is all behind him now said the soft-spoken Bure.

"I have a brand new start," said Bure. "I was missing hockey a lot, finally it is over and I'm glad so now I can play hockey."

During his layoff Bure had been practising with the Red Army team. But the 27-year-old admitted going up against NHL competition would be completely different.

"You can't compare practice with the real hockey game especially the level of the NHL," said Bure, who was given No. 10.

Bure has one year left on his existing contract and was to make $8 million this season. A contract extension is in the works according to GM Bryan Murray and talks are ongoing.

"We have had an outline of a deal and there was one before we made the trade. We were not going to make this kind of trade if we didn't know that we could get a deal done," said Murray.

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Rocket blasts off

In an exclusive interview, Pavel Bure says management's chintziness doomed relations
with Canucks from the start

by AL STRACHAN -- TORONTO SUN

Pavel Bure has always maintained he loves the Vancouver fans.

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. -- Pavel Bure did not leave the Vancouver Canucks because the relationship turned bad. He left because the relationship always was bad.

Take the first North American meeting for example. Penniless and unsure of his status, he had left the Soviet Union and told the Canucks he was off to Los Angeles and would be staying at his agent's house.

"Then it took two weeks before somebody showed up," he said.

Ever since Bure walked out on the Canucks before training camp, there has been speculation about his reasons. Yesterday, in a Long Island hotel room with only two reporters present --Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Province was the other -- Bure finally gave his explanation.

But before he started he insisted on a provision. He wanted it made clear he loved Vancouver and he loved the fans. His problem, he said, was neither with his teammates nor with coach Mike Keenan.

He hopes not to be perceived as a complainer. He merely wants to set the record straight and move on to his new life as a Florida Panther. The Vancouver fans, he said, treated him well and deserve to know the truth -- that he got sick of the way the Canucks organization made his life difficult at every turn.

He got sick of it so quickly that he first asked for a trade in 1993. General manager Pat Quinn agreed, he said, but it was 1999 before the deal was done.

Let's go back to 1991. Bure had just arrived in North America. He had no equipment and no money to buy any.

"It was really hard," he said. "I thought they would be waiting for me when I got there. But there was nobody."

Finally, Brian Burke, then Quinn's assistant and now the team's GM, arrived. "We just had a quick lunch and I didn't see them again for another 10 days," Bure said. "I was nervous. I was young."

Burke subsequently arranged a court hearing in Detroit to get Bure's release from Red Army. The cost of that release was $250,000. The club paid $200,000. Bure had to pay the other $50,000.

The day before the court judgment, Bure agreed to a contract worth $600,000 annually. But there was an understanding, he said, that if he proved he was a solid NHL player, a new deal would be written.

He scored 34 goals that season and won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's best rookie, even though he didn't break in until late November. So he asked about the new deal.

"They said, 'Hold on, you have to play a little bit more. You have to prove it to us,' " Bure said with a chuckle.

Pavel Bure was never happy with the Canucks. He was mad at team management even before he arrived in Vancouver, when no one was in Los Angeles to greet him.

So he played another year. This time he scored 60 goals. "They said, 'Okay, let us think about it.' "

They thought about it during the summer and finally made an offer -- $14.7 million over five years. "I said, 'Great! I'm happy,' " Bure said. "I was ready to accept it. I was really happy." It was in line with the salaries being paid to two compatriots, Alex Mogilny and Sergei Fedorov.

When he went to sign the deal, there seemed to be a mistake. "They said, 'Sorry, it's Canadian,' " Bure recalled.

NHL stars are not paid in Canadian dollars. Fedorov and Mogilny weren't and Bure certainly wasn't about to set the precedent. He refused to sign.

"Ronnie (agent Ron Salcer) said, 'Okay, start to play and we'll figure it out over training camp. It was a mistake obviously.' "

But Bure got off to a slow start and two months into the season, someone from the team, probably assistant GM George McPhee, told Salcer the Canucks were having second thoughts.

"I asked for a trade in '93," Bure said, "because they said, 'Well you can't play any more. You got 60 goals, but you just got lucky. You'll be lucky to get 30 goals again.'

"I said, 'Okay. You don't trust me. Then trade me.' "

Shortly afterward, he started to roll, racking up another 60-goal season and by spring, the Canucks were heading into the Stanley Cup final against the New York Rangers. By that time, Salcer had hammered out a new contract, but Bure didn't want it. "I said, 'Listen, I asked for a trade. Don't sign me. Just trade me.' "

But it was an extremely lucrative deal, eventually costing the Canucks more than twice the one Bure cheerfully would have signed eight months earlier. Now, the average was in the $5-million range US. Also, there were astonishing bonus clauses that gave him an extra $3.5 million last year.

"Ronnie said to sign the contract, but I asked for a trade before that," Bure said.

He acceded to Salcer's wishes, but when the time came to sign the deal, Bure said, Quinn wanted no part of such a precedent-setting contract, which had been forced upon him by ownership. However, Bure refused to put pen to paper until Quinn was summoned to the room and shook his hand.

By that time the allegation already had been leaked that Bure had threatened to quit the team unless he got his deal. "That really pissed me off," he said. "That's a lie."

He's certain someone in the organization spread the story but doesn't know who, "and I don't want to say what I don't know," he said. "But I know one thing. I was promised to be traded."

That contract carried a signing bonus to be paid immediately. It was not until September that Bure got it.

Then came the lockout. Having realized a labour disruption was likely, Salcer had insisted on iron-clad guarantees that Bure would be paid whether the league operated or not. But the Canucks refused to pay.

It was not until October 1997 that Bure got his payment for that part of the 1994-95 season. And even then, it was a settlement. To save legal fees -- not to mention the acrimony caused by suing the club for which he played -- he settled for $1 million of the $1.7 million he was owed.

In the meantime, Bure was getting injured with some frequency. "So at the end of 1996-97, I went to see Pat and I said, 'I'm getting too many injuries with my knee and my back. It's time to move me on. Maybe if I go somewhere else, I'm going to play with more emotion and it's going to stretch me out and maybe I'll play better.'

"He said, 'If you really want that, we'll trade you. I understand that's what you want.' That was '97. Then I waited all of '97 and '98."

When he still hadn't been moved by the start of training camp this season, Bure walked out. Ever since, people have been asking why he did it. During his news conference on Sunday, Burke professed not to know the reasons.

Now, he does. And so does everyone else.

Upon reflection, Bure says Iron Mike Keenan was the only Canucks boss whom Pavel really liked.

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Panthers excited about keeping up with Bure

by JEFF SHAIN -- AP Sports Writer

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) - Florida Panthers defenseman Rhett Warrener almost can't wait to be victimized by Pavel Bure now.

``It's going to be nice to be embarrassed in practice instead of games. He just keeps you backing up and hoping he'll shoot wide of the net,'' said Warrener, who gains Bure as a teammate when the high-scoring Russian joins the Panthers today.

Bure ended his five-month holdout Sunday when the Vancouver Canucks sent him to Florida as part of a seven-player trade, giving the Panthers their first true offensive star.

No Florida player has scored more than 32 goals in the franchise's six-year history. Bure has topped 50 goals three times in his seven NHL seasons, bringing a combination of speed and explosiveness that is virtually unmatched.

``Everybody can do things at top speed. His top speed is just faster,'' said Ray Whitney, Florida's leading scorer with 14 goals. ``It's noticeable. The things he can do at top speed is different.''

Rob Niedermayer called Bure's acquisition ``a dream come true.''

``To get a chance to play with a guy like that - any centerman in the league would relish that,'' Niedermayer said. ``It certainly gets me excited.''

Bure spent Monday finalizing travel to New York, where the Panthers play Wednesday against the Islanders and Thursday against the Rangers. A decision on whether Bure would play Wednesday was put off until he had a chance to meet with team officials.

``I was really happy when my agent called me and said I was going to the Florida Panthers,'' Bure said Monday from his home in Moscow. ``I know it's a young team. I hope we can do something good for the franchise.''

A history of confrontations with former general manager Pat Quinn apparently soured Bure on the Canucks, leading him to demand a trade last summer and vow he would not return to Vancouver.

In 1994, Bure threatened to sit out the Stanley Cup finals if the team didn't move to finalize a five-year contract that had been negotiated. When that was done, he said management didn't back him strongly enough.

Two years later, he made similar complaints after major knee surgery and back spasms limited him to just 23 goals in 63 games.

Bure would not discuss his relationship with the Canucks when asked Monday. But he disputed a statement by Canucks president Brian Burke that he had wearied of living in a fishbowl atmosphere in Vancouver.

``That's so funny. I never said that,'' Bure said. ``People were really nice to me there. I have a lot of friends there.''

Since returning to Russia, Bure has been working out twice a day with CSKA Moscow, the former Red Army team where he spent his first four years as a professional.

He said the workouts have left him in good shape, but not playing in games became a grind.

``It was really frustrating for me,'' he said. ``I was missing hockey a lot and was missing the fans. It's really hard - day after day going to practice and no games, not knowing when I'd start to play. I'm really happy it's over.

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Messier ends silence on trade

by Iain MacIntyre -- The Vancouver Sun

DALLAS -- One day after declining to comment on the biggest trade in Vancouver Canuck history, team captain Mark Messier on Monday endorsed general manager Brian Burke's trade of Pavel Bure.

Messier, who has rarely shirked his responsibility as the Canucks' leader, explained Monday that defenceman Bret Hedic