One potential deal that very few ever talk about is the one that might have taken place between Washington and Vancouver.
To Washington: Pavel Bure
To Vancouver: Sergei Gonchar, Richard Zednik, 1st round pick
Had this happened, Bure would have become a Capital, and it is very unlikely Jaromir Jagr would have been traded there the following year.
Here's an excerpt from an insider update published by Pierre McGuire for Sports Illustrated on January 18, 1999, presumably written before the January 17, 1999 trade between Vancouver and Florida:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1014981/index.htm
It seems there were talks between the two teams, though few know for certain how far those negotiations went. For McGuire to make this assertion, though, means a significant amount of conversation must have occurred between the two organizations. Considering the date of publication is January
18, 1999, a day after the trade happened, one has to think the two teams were negotiating just prior to the actual Bure trade and that it fell through leading up to the trade with Florida. Perhaps Bure for Jovanovski in fact was a backup scenario, as it's quite clear the proposed deal between the Capitals and Canucks better serves the latter team than the pieces they received from Florida.
George McPhee had been the Capitals' general manager for two years by that point, and both he and Burke had previously worked for the Canucks under Pat Quinn, though not at the same time; McPhee replaced Burke as the team's assistant GM in 1992, and served as the team's assistant GM between 1992 and 1997, enough time to evaluate Bure and to know exactly what product he was to receive.
Of course, his relationship with Bure might have been questionable, as he was part of the management team the latter grew to despise. If this deal had taken place, perhaps their relationship would have started anew
or Bure would have headed to free agency. He did, after all, sign an extension with the Panthers a month after being traded to Florida. In any event, this exchange was apparently on the table.
It seems Pavel Bure could have been a Washington Capital. The deal appears to have been a possibility leading up to the actual trade between Florida and Vancouver. The eventual trade could very well have been their Plan B rather than their initial preference that day.
