Valeri Vladimirovich "Val" Bure ( ; ; born June 13, 1974) is a Russian-American former professional ice hockey player. He was a right winger for 10 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers, St. Louis Blues, and Dallas Stars from 1995 to 2004. 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 ice 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 Bure Family Wines in St. Helena, California with his wife, actress Candace Cameron Bure, to whom he has been married since 1996.
Early life
Valeri Bure was born June 13, 1974, in Moscow, Soviet Union. He is the younger son of Vladimir and Tatiana Bure. 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. Bure's family had a noble history: his ancestors made precious watches for Russian tsars from 1815 to 1917 and as craftsmen of the imperial family, were granted noble status. They settled initially in Los Angeles where Vladimir continued to train and coach both Valeri and Pavel in hockey and physical conditioning. However, by 1998 both became estranged from their father, along with his second wife and their half-sister, Katya. Neither brother has given a reason for the split.
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. 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 player in the league's history. He joined the team one year before the Canadian Hockey League, of which the WHL is a member, instituted an import draft.
Bure recorded 49 points in 53 games in 1991–92 for the Chiefs, his first season in the WHL. He returned to Spokane for the 1992–93 season where Bure led his team and finished second overall in WHL scoring with 147 points. His 68 goals that season remains a Chiefs' franchise record. He was named to the WHL's West Division First All-Star Team. He scored 22 goals and 42 points in his first full season in Montreal, 1995–96, but scored only 14 goals the following season. He battled injuries that season; two concussions and a kidney injury limited him to 64 games, 13 fewer than the previous season. He recorded his first career hat trick in one of his first games in Calgary, against the Edmonton Oilers. 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. 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. 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. 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. On June 24, 2001, the Flames traded Bure, along with Jason Wiemer to the Panthers for Rob Niedermayer and a second round draft pick. 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. Tests revealed damage to his right knee that required arthroscopic surgery to repair; Bure missed 37 games while recovering. 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 Valeri available in potential deals. He appeared in only 31 games and recorded 18 points. With only 5 goals and 26 points in 46 games for Florida, Another knee injury, this time a sprained ligament, kept Bure out of the Blues lineup for much of the remainder of the season. He recorded two assists each in five regular season and six post-season games for St. Louis.
Free of injury for the first time in two seasons, Bure was one of the Panthers' offensive leaders in 2003–04. He reached 20 goals for the fifth time in his NHL career, 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. and he recorded 7 points in 13 games to conclude the regular season. Bure added three assists in five playoff games. 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. The injury ultimately required surgery, and a second surgery on his hip caused Bure to miss the entire season. At the age of 31, he opted to retire following the surgeries.
International
thumb|right|alt=Four men in suits, two middle-aged and two in their thirties, sit smiling around a glossy wood table. A photographer hovers in the background.|Bure (far right), brother [[Pavel Bure|Pavel (centre-right) meet with Russian Olympic Committee President Leonid Tyagachev and Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) in 2001.]]
Bure made his debut internationally with the Russian national junior team at the 1994 World Junior Championship. 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. Bure returned for the 2002 Salt Lake Games. He scored a goal in the tournament as Russia won the bronze medal.
Personal life
Bure married actress Candace Cameron on June 22, 1996. They were introduced by Cameron's Full House castmate Dave Coulier at a charity hockey game in 1994. The couple has three children: daughter Natasha (b. 1998) and sons Lev (b. 2000) and Maksim (b. 2002). Bure became an American citizen in December 2001. Bure and his family are Christians.
Both Valeri and his older brother Pavel became estranged from their father Vladimir Bure, along with his second wife, Julia, and their half-sister Katya, by 1998. Neither brother has explained a reason for the split. The series was a competition that paired a former professional hockey player with a figure skater. Bure's partner was Ekaterina Gordeeva. 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.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em;"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|Regular season
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|Playoffs
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Season
! Team
! League
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
|-
| 1990–91
| CSKA Moscow
| USSR
| 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1991–92
| Spokane Chiefs
| WHL
| 53 || 27 || 22 || 49 || 78
| 10 || 11 || 6 || 17 || 10
|-
| 1992–93
| Spokane Chiefs
| WHL
| 66 || 68 || 79 || 147 || 49
| 9 || 6 || 11 || 17 || 14
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1993–94
| Spokane Chiefs
| WHL
| 59 || 40 || 62 || 102 || 48
| 3 || 5 || 3 || 8 || 2
|-
| 1994–95
| Fredericton Canadiens
| AHL
| 45 || 23 || 25 || 48 || 32
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1994–95
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 24 || 3 || 1 || 4 || 6
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1995–96
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 77 || 22 || 20 || 42 || 28
| 6 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 6
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1996–97
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 64 || 14 || 21 || 35 || 6
| 5 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2
|-
| 1997–98
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 50 || 7 || 22 || 29 || 33
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1997–98
| Calgary Flames
| NHL
| 16 || 5 || 4 || 9 || 2
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1998–99
| Calgary Flames
| NHL
| 80 || 26 || 27 || 53 || 22
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1999–00
| Calgary Flames
| NHL
| 82 || 35 || 40 || 75 || 50
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 2000–01
| Calgary Flames
| NHL
| 78 || 27 || 28 || 55 || 26
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2001–02
| Florida Panthers
| NHL
| 31 || 8 || 10 || 18 || 12
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 2002–03
| Florida Panthers
| NHL
| 46 || 5 || 21 || 26 || 10
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2002–03
| St. Louis Blues
| NHL
| 5 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 0
| 6 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 8
|-
| 2003–04
| Florida Panthers
| NHL
| 55 || 20 || 25 || 45 || 20
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2003–04
| Dallas Stars
| NHL
| 13 || 2 || 5 || 7 || 6
| 5 || 0 || 3 || 3 || 0
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3"|NHL totals
! 621 !! 174 !! 226 !! 400 !! 221
! 22 !! 0 !! 7 !! 7 !! 16
|}
International
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" ID="Table3" style="text-align:center; width:40em;"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Year
! Team
! Event
! rowspan="102" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
|-
| 1994
| Russia
| WJC
| 7 || 5 || 3 || 8 || 4
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1994
| Russia
| WC
| 6 || 3 || 0 || 3 || 2
|-
| 1996
| Russia
| WCH
| 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1998
| Russia
| OLY
| 6 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0
|-
| 2002
| Russia
| OLY
| 6 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 2
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="4"|Junior totals
! 7 !! 5 !! 3 !! 8 !! 4
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="4"|Senior totals
! 19 !! 5 !! 0 !! 5 !! 6
|}
Awards and honors
{| class="wikitable"
|+ style="text-align:center; background:#e0e0e0" |Career
|-
! scope="col"|Award
! scope="col"|Year
! scope="col"|Ref
|-
| WHL West First All-Star Team
| 1992–93
|
|-
| WHL West Second All-Star Team
| 1993–94
|
|-
| World Junior All-Star Team
| 1994
|
|-
| Played in NHL All-Star Game
| 2000
|