Bure needs centre to prosper; Russian Rocket flies solo; Commentary: [Final Edition]
ARCHIE MCDONALD Vancouver Sun. Edmonton Journal [Edmonton, Alta] 02 Apr 1993: F2.
Let's play a name association game. I say Kurri. You say Gretzky. I say Richard. You say Lach and Blake. Get the idea?. Bossy? Trottier. Lafleur? Lemaire. Howe? Lindsay and Abel. Dionne? Simmer and Taylor. Mogilny? LaFontaine.
The point is, productive forwards in the NHL invariably run as an entry, often a three-horse entry. One great talent drags others along in his slipstream or two or three players complement each other so completely as to form a single dominating personality.
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All this serves as a roundabout introduction to the place of Pavel Bure in hockey's dating game. Mention his name and who else comes to mind? I can't think of anyone. He is a gifted soloist but he could make sweeter music if he had someone to sing along with him. His 55 goals and 97 points are far ahead of Geoff Courtnall and Cliff Ronning, skilled players whose talents haven't magically meshed with those of the Russian Rocket.
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Bure worked well in his freshman season with cagey countryman Igor Larionov and Greg Adams, and earlier this season he co-ordinated smoothly with Adams and Anatoli Semenov, another Russian. But Semenov has been ground down by the rigors of a travel mad 84-game schedule and Adams has sat out 27 games with injuries. So Bure logs a lot of solo flights. He has scored in only one of his last 11 games - a two-goal effort against the disorganized L.A. Kings - which leads to several conclusions. One of which is that he misses Adams, who is large, fast, and goes to the net, more than anyone would have guessed.
Where would Alexander Mogilny be without Pat LaFontaine in Buffalo? Brett Hull hasn't been quite the same since Adam Oates was sent to Boston. Teemu Selanne is brilliant in Winnipeg but he is glowing even more since Soviet Alexei Zhamnov is back making his sly moves. Sometimes Zhamnov looks even better than the Finnish Flash, but he lacks consistency. It doesn't hurt Selanne having Phil Housley on the blue-line either, creating acres of open ice with his lyrical skating. Toronto's Doug Gilmour has been on a Hart Trophy pace most of the year but he's picked up a step now that he's got towering Dave Andreychuk parked in front of the net. In Los Angeles, Luc Robitaille is scorching the opposition now that Gretzky is back in vintage form.
Pat Quinn said on trading deadline that he probably will continue to search "for that big, talented centre until the day I die."
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Mike Bossy once described the chemistry which existed between him and Bryan Trottier. "It's instinct," he said. "There aren't any little signals. The thing between us is in the communication we have. We're not afraid to tell each other that we should have done this, or we should have done that. As much as Bryan helps me, I've helped him." The Canucks definitely need someone to help Bure. Get well soon, Greg Adams.