Would You Like to See Pavel Bure Lace Up the Skates One Final Time?

[lawrence]

Gino's outfit...no words. He looks like stand-in for Sly Stallone in the original Rocky.

2 years ago, the 94 Canucks had a autograph signing at the River Rock Casino, whats funny, every Canuck showed up in a dress shirt and dress pants.

Gino Showed up with sweats.

 

[stickside]

Vancouver retiring his number is a complete joke. Sure he was exciting, yes he helped lead the Canucks to a SCF, yes he scored a lot of goals. Then the team started to suck, he sat in the press box and refused to play for the team.

I remember I was 9 and asking my dad why Bure wasn't playing. I dont remember what he told me, but from that instant I hated him. He was selfish, childish and left Vancouver on the worst possible note.

To draw comparisons to a modern player, think Dany Heatley and Ottawa. Ask yourself, will his #15 ever be in the rafters? He did the same as Bure for Ottawa, and had it been early 90s his totals would have been similar.

On top of which GM MG made it clear that on ice accomplishments as well as off ice matter the same. Stan, Trevor and Markus have been figures since they started playing here, and still haven't stopped. When Naslund's family went to Hawaii last year, he made sure to lay over in Van long enough to go the Children's.

So if they put his number in the rafters I will gladly sell my seasons ticket to some desperate person stuck in 94, and is clearly a fool. When I saw him in the press box against the Oilers it felt all to familiar. At most they should retire a press box for him, since that's what his legacy will forever be.

i think you might be a little misinformed about why he left town. even aquilini said bure had a problem with management, not the fans. but that's your opinion and you're entitled to it.

it's about time current management rebuilt the bridges they burned with bure; management needed to make the first move and i'm glad they did.

retiring bure's number is about more than scoring alot of goals and helping get us to the finals; it represents a time and place in canucks history when for the first time we had arguably the best player in the game! i've never felt more pride in having a player wear the canucks colors than i did when bure was wearing #10...not stan, not trevor, not markus, not anybody. nobody really comes close to the on-ice impact bure had on this marketplace.

it sucks he left the way he did, and it can be argued that being from another far-away country contributed to his off-ice management and financial dealings, but i'm not here to argue that. it's whatever for me.

they call bure the russian rocket...but the truth is, he was more like a comet that flashed brightly in vancity for a time and then disappeared.

but even 20+ years later, fans still talk about the times bure lit this town up.

(end of passionate/cheezy post)

 

[erik19]

Bure was great, and I won't complain if his number 10 goes up to the rafters. His goal in game 7 vs Calgary is arguably the greatest Canucks' memory of my childhood.

BUT

For all the people who hate on Naslund, once Naslund got awesome, the Canucks have were EXPECTED to be a elite and expected to be a conteder.

Not making the playoffs was a failure once Naslund got good and made the team good, the Canucks have been considered contenders and deservedly so. Naslund made the Canucks winners in the regular season and raised the bar for them in the playoffs even if they didn't reach that bar. The current team still has the expectations that Naslund gave them and fans are spoiled because of it.

Bure was great, was great in 94 even if people only remember Linden and others, but Naslund started the team on the road of an elite franchise with great expectations...

 

[Hal 9000*]

i think you might be a little misinformed about why he left town. even aquilini said bure had a problem with management, not the fans. but that's your opinion and you're entitled to it.

it's about time current management rebuilt the bridges they burned with bure; management needed to make the first move and i'm glad they did.

retiring bure's number is about more than scoring alot of goals and helping get us to the finals; it represents a time and place in canucks history when for the first time we had arguably the best player in the game! i've never felt more pride in having a player wear the canucks colors than i did when bure was wearing #10...not stan, not trevor, not markus, not anybody. nobody really comes close to the on-ice impact bure had on this marketplace.

it sucks he left the way he did, and it can be argued that being from another far-away country contributed to his off-ice management and financial dealings, but i'm not here to argue that. it's whatever for me.

they call bure the russian rocket...but the truth is, he was more like a comet that flashed brightly in vancity for a time and then disappeared.

but even 20+ years later, fans still talk about the times bure lit this town up.

(end of passionate/cheezy post)

But didn't we have different management groups from the time Bure started his issues to the time he eventually demanded a trade? And< if you think it was all Quinn and Burke, why not ask any one from Florida or NYR (players, management, fans) what they thought of Bure.

But, you are right, it's been 20 years and that helps Bure's case a great deal. Many of his biggest fans, remember him from the eyes of a small child or simply by youtube highlights. Most of us that wont forgive him, were fans that lived the drama day in, day out for years. We watched Linden get driven out of town for Bure, we saw the Messier fiasco because of Bure etc. etc.

 

[stickside]

But didn't we have different management groups from the time Bure started his issues to the time he eventually demanded a trade? And< if you think it was all Quinn and Burke, why not ask any one from Florida or NYR (players, management, fans) what they thought of Bure.

But, you are right, it's been 20 years and that helps Bure's case a great deal. Many of his biggest fans, remember him from the eyes of a small child or simply by youtube highlights. Most of us that wont forgive him, were fans that lived the drama day in, day out for years. We watched Linden get driven out of town for Bure, we saw the Messier fiasco because of Bure etc. etc.

i don't need youtubue highlights to remember bure. i'm 42 yrs old and i was at his first game. i lived the drama day in and day out too. i remember burkie going on sportstalk promising to tell the story of the bure fiasco but never really getting an answer. i remember seeing bure cruise around town in his black stealth. trust me, i lived it.

it was frustrating as a fan for sure when he left. but i'm over it. i'd argue most of us are. those who took the poll on the vancouver sun voted overwhelmingly in favor of retiring his number.

dude is a legend in this town.

 

[Hal 9000*]

i don't need youtubue highlights to remember bure. i'm 42 yrs old and i was at his first game. i lived the drama day in and day out too. i remember burkie going on sportstalk promising to tell the story of the bure fiasco but never really getting an answer. i remember seeing bure cruise around town in his black stealth. trust me, i lived it.

it was frustrating as a fan for sure when he left. but i'm over it. i'd argue most of us are. those who took the poll on the vancouver sun voted overwhelmingly in favor of retiring his number.

dude is a legend in this town.

Yep, fair enough! People are free to feel any way they want. Nobody's right or wrong, they just have an opinion. Personally, I have never been one to accept that celebrities are able to act and treat people poorly because of whatever given talent they have.

A lot have people have forgiven over the years, but the fact is; We knew we'd retire #16, we knew Naslunds #19 had a very good chance they day he left, we already talk of retiring the Sedins numbers. If we weren't willing to retire Bure's number when he left, that should tell you a whole lot about his time here. Fundamentally, nothing has actually changed.

 

[stickside]

Yep, fair enough! People are free to feel any way they want. Nobody's right or wrong, they just have an opinion. Personally, I have never been one to accept that celebrities are able to act and treat people poorly because of whatever given talent they have.

A lot have people have forgiven over the years, but the fact is; We knew we'd retire #16, we knew Naslunds #19 had a very good chance they day he left, we already talk of retiring the Sedins numbers. If we weren't willing to retire Bure's number when he left, that should tell you a whole lot about his time here. Fundamentally, nothing has actually changed.

ownership never had to extend an olive branch to any of the above players. they had to with bure, and he accepted. that should tell you something about the current ownership group versus what bure went through.

 

[Hal 9000*]

ownership never had to extend an olive branch to any of the above players. they had to with bure, and he accepted. that should tell you something about the current ownership group versus what bure went through.

What I'm saying is that in 1998, the fans would've voted against it. I don't see that anything has changed except that many people here never really lived through that era (as an adult). In other words, nobody under the age of 35 will see it as it really was. You are 42 and see it differently than me, that's fine, but I'd suggest that most posters here and most people that actually take the time and effort to vote in polls are under 35.

P.S - I was a huge Bure fan until about "95/"96, had the jersey, the autographed rookie card and all, was devastated when he got injured. The day he was traded, I was so relieved that I didn't even care who we got back.

 

[stickside]

What I'm saying is that in 1998, the fans would've voted against it. I don't see that anything has changed except that many people here never really lived through that era (as an adult). In other words, nobody under the age of 35 will see it as it really was. You are 42 and see it differently than me, that's fine, but I'd suggest that most posters here and most people that actually take the time and effort to vote in polls are under 35.

P.S - I was a huge Bure fan until about "95/"96, had the jersey, the autographed rookie card and all, was devastated when he got injured. The day he was traded, I was so relieved that I didn't even care who we got back.

ya, i agree with you about the 1998 point. i guess that's why they say time heals all wounds. or most of them anyways.

but ya, we agree to disagree. it's all good. bure is definitely a polarizing figure.

 

[Totes Magotes]

Would love if this were to happen. A Bob Gainey like celebration would be just fantastic. Obviously Bure isn't capable of playing competitively in the NHL, but to seem him don a Canucks uniform and do a few laps or maybe participate in the warm up would be absolutely epic.

 

[Eddy Punch Clock]

Would love if this were to happen. A Bob Gainey like celebration would be just fantastic. Obviously Bure isn't capable of playing competitively in the NHL, but to seem him don a Canucks uniform and do a few laps or maybe participate in the warm up would be absolutely epic.

The whole team should be wearing the black, yellow and red on the night of his jersey retirement.

Auction sweaters off for Canucks Place after the game.

 

[Hal 9000*]

The whole team should be wearing the black, yellow and red on the night of his jersey retirement.

Auction sweaters off for Canucks Place after the game.

That's a good idea. I wonder how much of a cut Bure would want though.

 

[malcolmedge]

Bure was great, and I won't complain if his number 10 goes up to the rafters. His goal in game 7 vs Calgary is arguably the greatest Canucks' memory of my childhood.

BUT

For all the people who hate on Naslund, once Naslund got awesome, the Canucks have were EXPECTED to be a elite and expected to be a conteder.

Not making the playoffs was a failure once Naslund got good and made the team good, the Canucks have been considered contenders and deservedly so. Naslund made the Canucks winners in the regular season and raised the bar for them in the playoffs even if they didn't reach that bar. The current team still has the expectations that Naslund gave them and fans are spoiled because of it.

Bure was great, was great in 94 even if people only remember Linden and others, but Naslund started the team on the road of an elite franchise with great expectations...

Yet Alex Burrows now hold the biggest goal in Canucks history. Anyone who argues against that is ignorant. After all the drama with the Hawks going up 3-0 then letting it get all the way to Game 7 OT. That game was the best I have ever been to, and probably ever will be. I was around for the Bure goal too, believe me the Burrows one was way more emotional for the team and the fan base.

As for what you said about Naslund . Hasn't ever been said better. Not to mention he was the guy who told Burke to kill a small baby to get the Sedin's if he had to.

He set a winning attitude in Vancouver and helped mentor their first ever Elite level players, to be drafted, developed and presumably retire as Canucks. Naslund is one of the greatest men in hockey, so humble and honest.