Valeri Vladimirovich Bure (Russian:
Валерий Владимирович Буре; born June 13, 1974) is a Russian former
ice hockey right winger. He played 10 seasons in the
National Hockey League (NHL) for the
Montreal Canadiens,
Calgary Flames,
Florida Panthers,
St. Louis Blues and
Dallas Stars. A second round selection of the Canadiens, 33rd overall, at the
1992 NHL Entry Draft, Bure appeared in one
NHL All-Star Game, in
2000. He led the Flames in scoring with 35 goals and 75 points in
1999–2000, a season in which he and brother
Pavel combined to set an NHL record for goals by a pair of siblings with 93.
Bure left his home in the
Soviet Union in 1991 to play junior hockey in the
Western Hockey League (WHL) for the
Spokane Chiefs. A two-time WHL all-star, he was the first Russian player in the league's history. Internationally, he represented
Russia on numerous occasions. He was a member of the bronze medal-winning squad at the
1994 World Junior Championship and was a two-time medalist at the
Winter Olympics. Bure and the Russians won the silver medal in
1998 and bronze in
2002.
Back and hip injuries led to Bure's retirement from hockey in 2005. He now operates a
winery in California with his wife,
Candace Cameron. Bure paired with
Ekaterina Gordeeva in 2010 to win the second season of the
figure skating reality show
Battle of the Blades.
Early life
Valeri Bure was born June 13, 1974, in
Moscow, Soviet Union.
[1] He is the younger son of
Vladimir and Tatiana Bure.
[2] Vladimir, whose family originated from
Furna, Switzerland, was an
Olympic swimmer who won four medals for the Soviet Union at three Olympic Games between
1968 and
1976.
[3]
Nobility also ran in Bure's history: his ancestors made precious
watches for Russian tsars from 1815–1917 and as craftsmen of the
imperial family, were granted noble status.
[3]
Bure was around nine years old when his parents separated.
[2] In 1991, he joined his father and brother,
Pavel in moving to North America as his elder sibling embarked on a
National Hockey League (NHL) career with the
Vancouver Canucks. His mother arrived two months later.
[4] They settled initially in
Los Angeles where Vladimir continued to train and coach both Valeri and Pavel in hockey and physical conditioning.
[4]
However both ultimately became estranged from their father, along with
his second wife and their half-sister Katya, by 1998. Neither brother
explained a reason for the split.
[5]
Playing career
Junior
Bure played three games during the 1990–91 season with
HC CSKA Moscow of the
Soviet Championship League prior to leaving the Soviet Union.
[6] As a 17-year-old, Bure was eligible to play
junior hockey upon his arrival in North America, and joined the
Spokane Chiefs of the
Western Hockey League (WHL). In doing so, he became the first Russian in the league's history.
[7] He joined the team one year before the
Canadian Hockey League, of which the WHL is a member, instituted an import draft.
[8]
Bure recorded 49 points in 53 games in
1991–92 for the Chiefs, his first season in the WHL.
[6] The
Montreal Canadiens selected him with their second round pick, 33rd overall, at the
1992 NHL Entry Draft. The
NHL Central Scouting Bureau
praised Bure as being a good skater. In its assessment, the Bureau
added: "very smart around the net; good passer, playmaker. Good shot,
quick release. Will take a hit to make the play. Good competitor."
[9] He returned to Spokane for the
1992–93 season where Bure led his team and finished second overall in WHL scoring with 147 points.
[10] His 68 goals that season remains a Chiefs' franchise record.
[11] He was named to the WHL's West Division First All-Star Team.
[12] Bure attended Montreal's training camp prior to the
1993–94 season, but was again returned to junior.
[7] He recorded 102 points in his final season in the WHL and was named to the Second All-Star Team.
[6][13] In three seasons with Spokane, Bure recorded 298 points and stands fourth on the Chiefs' all-time scoring list.
[8]
Montreal Canadiens
Upon turning professional in
1994–95, Bure spent the majority of the season with Montreal's
American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the
Fredericton Canadiens. He had 23 goals and 48 points in 45 games for the club.
[6] Bure earned a recall to Montreal late in the season and made his NHL debut on February 28, 1995, against the
New York Islanders. His first goal came two weeks later, on March 15, against goaltender
Wendell Young of the
Pittsburgh Penguins.
[1] In 24 games with Montreal, Bure scored 3 goals and added an assist.
[6]
Playing in his brother's shadow – Pavel had become a superstar in
Vancouver – Valeri struggled to live up to the expectations placed on
him.
[14] He scored 22 goals and 42 points in his first full season in Montreal,
1995–96, but scored only 14 goals the
following season.
[15] He struggled with injuries that season as he suffered two concussions as well as a kidney injury.
[14]
At five feet, ten inches tall, Bure was a smaller player in the NHL. His
linemates Saku Koivu (five foot ten) and
Oleg Petrov (five foot nine) were similarly diminutive, and the trio were known in Montreal as the "
Smurf line".
[15] After playing 50 games for the Canadiens in
1997–98, Bure was traded. He was sent to the
Calgary Flames in a February 1, 1998, deal in exchange for
Jonas Höglund and
Zarley Zalapski.
[1]
The deal was welcomed by Bure, who appreciated both the ability to play
closer to his family on the west coast as well as increased opportunity
to play with a young Flames team.
[16] He recorded his first career
hat trick in one of his first games in Calgary, against the
Edmonton Oilers.
[1] Bure appeared in 16 games with the Flames that season and scored 38 points in 66 games combined between Montreal and Calgary.
[6]
Calgary Flames
Bure's offensive ability emerged in Calgary as he became one of the team's leading scorers.
[14] His totals of 26 goals and 53 points in
1998–99
were both third best on the team; at one point of the season, Bure
scored the game-winning goal in four consecutive victories for Calgary.
[1] The departure of Flames' star
Theoren Fleury provided additional opportunity for Bure in
1999–2000,
and he responded to become one of the NHL's early scoring leaders. He
used his speed and skating ability to good effect and was eighth in
league scoring by mid-December.
[17] Bure was named to the World team at the
2000 All-Star Game
where he played on a line with his brother. Pavel was named most
valuable player of the game by scoring three goals, two of them assisted
by Valeri, in a 9–4 victory over North America.
[18]
Bure completed the season as the Flames leader in goals (35) and points
(75, 14th overall in the NHL) and was the only player on the team to
appear in all 82 games.
[1] Pavel Bure scored 58 goals for Vancouver, and the brothers' combined total of 93 goals set an NHL record for a set of siblings.
[1]
Though his offensive production declined in
2000–01, Bure's 27 goals was second on the team to
Jarome Iginla's 31 and he finished third with 55 points.
[19] He became embroiled in a power struggle with his coaches, first
Don Hay who was dismissed mid-season, and then
Greg Gilbert,
as both wanted him play a more defensive-minded game. Bure struggled to
adapt and at one point was held out of the Flames lineup by Gilbert in
response.
[20] Bure was rumoured to have asked for a trade out of Calgary, and the
Florida Panthers (who had acquired Pavel),
Buffalo Sabres and
New York Rangers were among the teams who showed interest in his services.
[21] On June 24, 2001, the Flames traded Bure, along with
Jason Wiemer to the Panthers for
Rob Niedermayer and a second round draft pick.
[13]
Florida, St. Louis and Dallas
As his contract had expired, Bure was a
restricted free agent.
He did not sign until late September, a delay which resulted in his
being a brief hold-out from Florida's training camp in advance of the
2001–02 season.
[22]
Injury interrupted the start of Bure's Panthers career as a knee
ailment that began bothering him before the season worsened as he played
the first games of the campaign.
[23] Tests revealed damage to his right knee that required
arthroscopic surgery to repair; Bure missed 37 games while recovering.
[24]
A second knee injury ended Bure's season in mid-March as the Panthers
had fallen out of playoff contention. His brother had already been
traded by that point, and the Panthers were also making him available in
potential deals.
[20][25] He appeared in only 31 games and recorded 18 points.
[6]
Bure remained with the Panthers as the
2002–03 season began, but his year was marked by an offensive slump.
[20] He was also hampered by a hairline fracture to his wrist after
Keith Primeau slashed him during an early December game against the
Philadelphia Flyers.
[26] With only 5 goals and 26 points in 46 games for Florida,
[6] Bure was traded on March 11, 2003, to the
St. Louis Blues in exchange for defenceman
Mike Van Ryn.
[27] Another knee injury, this time a sprained ligament, kept Bure out of the Blues lineup for much of the remainder of the season.
[28] He recorded two assists each in five regular season and six post-season games for St. Louis.
[6] After the season, the Blues placed Bure on
waivers, and he returned to Florida upon being claimed by the Panthers.
[29]
Free of injury for the first time in two seasons, Bure was one of the Panthers' offensive leaders in
2003–04.
[30] He reached 20 goals for the fifth time in his NHL career,
[6] and as the season's trade deadline approached, was Florida's leading scorer with 45 points.
[31]
However, as the Panthers were out of playoff contention, they traded Bure to the
Dallas Stars on March 9, 2004, in exchange for
Drew Bagnall and a draft pick.
[31] Bure was placed on the Stars' top line with
Mike Modano and
Jere Lehtinen,
[32] and he recorded 7 points in 13 games to conclude the regular season. Bure added three assists in five playoff games.
[6]
An unrestricted free agent following the 2004 playoffs, Bure did not
play anywhere in 2004–05 as the entire NHL season was canceled due to a
labour dispute. He signed a one-year contract with the
Los Angeles Kings for the
2005–06 season when the league resumed operations.
[33]
He never played a regular season game for the Kings. A back injury
suffered during the pre-season, initially just described as "soreness",
kept him out of the regular lineup.
[34] The injury ultimately required surgery, and a second surgery on his hip caused Bure to miss the entire season.
[35] He opted to retire following the surgeries.
[36]
International
Bure made his debut internationally with the
Russian national junior team at the
1994 World Junior Championship.
[37]
He was the leading scorer of the bronze medal-winning Russians with
eight points in six games and was named to the tournament's All-Star
Team.
[1] That same year, Bure first played with the
senior team as he scored three goals in six contests at the
1994 World Championship in a fifth-place effort.
[37]
After appearing in one game at the inaugural
World Cup of Hockey in
1996,
[37] Bure made his first of two appearances at the
Olympic Games in
1998.
The tournament marked the first time he played with his brother Pavel
since they were briefly teammates with CSKA Moscow in 1991.
[16] Valeri scored one goal in the tournament,
[6] and Russia advanced to the gold medal game. They settled for the silver medal after being
shut out by
Dominik Hašek and the
Czech Republic.
[38] Bure returned for the
2002 Salt Lake Games. He scored a goal in the tournament as Russia won the bronze medal.
[37] Russia invited him to play at the
2004 World Cup of Hockey,
but as he was without an NHL contract at the time, Bure declined to
play due to a lack of proper insurance in the event of injury.
[39]
Personal life
Bure married actress
Candace Cameron in 1996. They were introduced by Cameron's
Full House cast mate
Dave Coulier at a charity hockey game.
[40] The couple has three children: daughter Natasha and sons Lev and Maksim.
[41]
Bure cited his family as the reason he retired from hockey. He felt he
could return from his surgeries, but wanted to spend time with his
children and allow his wife to return to acting.
[42] The family are devout
Christians.
[43]
In 2007, Bure and his wife opened a Florida restaurant called "The
Milk and Honey Café", but closed the business when the family moved to
California.
[36] They operate a
Napa Valley, California winery,
Bure Family Wines.
[42]
Bure developed an interest in wine early in his NHL career that he
described as growing into a passion: "I fell in love with the
behind-the-scenes work and being able to start from the vineyard and put
it into a bottle. It's an amazing process."
[36] Bure modified the Russian imperial seal his great-grandfather stamped on his watches to use as his company's label.
[42]
Bure returned to the ice in 2010 as a contestant on the
second season of the
Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation's
figure skating reality show
Battle of the Blades.
[44] The series is a competition that pairs a former professional hockey player with a figure skater. Bure's partner was
Ekaterina Gordeeva.
[45] The pair won the competition and shared a $100,000 prize donated to charities of their choice. Bure's donation was made to
Compassion Canada.
[46]
Career statistics
Canada
