Above the 49: Canucks must honor Hockey Hall of Famer Bure

For many, Bure’s induction serves somewhat as vindication for a franchise that
is about to enter its 42nd year in the league and is still searching for its
first Stanley Cup championship and, up until the last couple of seasons, has
had very little to celebrate in terms of team or individual success.

Although Bure is not the first former Canuck to enter the Hockey Hall of Fame,
he is the first to do so having made his greatest impact as an NHL player while
donning a Vancouver uniform and was – and arguably still is – the biggest
superstar ever produced by the organization. He’s still regarded as the most
exciting player to ever play for the team.

Drafted in the sixth round (113th overall) by the Canucks in the 1989 NHL Entry
Draft, Bure joined the team during the 1991-92 season and subsequently became
the first Canuck to earn a major NHL award after capturing the Calder Trophy as
the NHL’s rookie of the year.

He went on to lead the team in goals in five of his seven seasons in Vancouver
– he reached the 60-goal mark twice which still stands as a single-season team
record – and in points in four of his seven seasons.

He was also an instrumental figure in the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals
in 1994, which ended in a Game 7 loss to the New York Rangers. That trip to the
Cup Finals was the only one of Bure’s NHL career – a career which came to an
end following the 2002-03 season, coincidentally with those same Rangers after
his chronically injured knee forced him out of the game.

Despite the fact Bure’s tenure in Vancouver was often marred by injuries and
unsubstantiated rumors, including one in which he allegedly threatened to sit
out a game during the 1994 playoffs because of a contract dispute, the “Russian
Rocket” remained a popular figure among the fan base even after he forced a
trade to the Florida Panthers by sitting out the first half of the 1998-99
season.

Today, Bure paraphernalia remains popular at Canucks games with jerseys and T-
shirts bearing his name not out of place among the popular contemporaries such
as the Sedin twins and Ryan Kesler.

Now that Bure has been recognized with hockey’s highest honor, the big question
now is what, if anything, the club intends to do to recognize Bure in their own
right – something that has been a contentious issue for years among the fans,
but seemingly even more so among the various management and ownership groups
the team has had since Bure’s departure.

Bure continues to be a significant part of the club’s marketing and branding.
His infamous double overtime goal against Calgary’s Mike Vernon in Game 7 of
the 1994 Western Conference quarterfinals is a scene that is replayed countless
times as part of the game presentation.

Beyond that, however, the club has failed to recognize Bure in any significant
fashion.

Bure’s popular No. 10 – which has been worn by several journeyman players since
his departure including current Rogers Sportsnet hockey analyst Brad May – does
not hang from the rafters at Rogers Arena nor does his name adorn the Ring of
Honour, which was put in place at the start of the 2010-11 season and currently
features four members, including the team’s original captain, Orland
Kurtenbach.

But if the fans in Vancouver have long since forgotten and forgiven and are
more than ready to embrace Bure especially now in light of his Hockey Hall of
Fame induction, it seems appropriate that the club do the same ideally by
having his No. 10 join go up alongside Stan Smyl’s No. 12, Trevor Linden’s No.
16 and Markus Naslund’s No. 19.

After all, Bure is the one who truly put the Canucks on the map first when he
broke into the NHL back in the early 1990s and he’s doing it all over again two
decades later in the Hockey Hall of Fame.