The Vancouver Canucks might not have plans to retire Hall of Famer Pavel Bure’s jersey, but they should, according to three-time Stanley Cup winner and former teammate Igor Larionov.
“For his accomplishments here and for his dedication to the game in bringing so much fun and joy to the city in his playing days, I think he should be up there - no doubt,” said Larionov in a Vancouver Province report.
Bure spent his first seven NHL seasons with the Canucks. During his tenure with the franchise, he posted back-to-back 60 goal seasons and led the team to the Stanley Cup finals.
That being said, Bure only played in 428 with Vancouver, which isn’t enough to put him in the franchise’s top-10 list in that category. He does rank fifth in the franchise’s history with 254 goals and seventh with 478 points.
NHL legend Phil Esposito isn’t sure that’s enough to warrant Bure getting his jersey retired. Esposito also feels that having your jersey retired is the highest honor there is, above even getting into the Hall of Fame.
“The Hall of Fame is nice, but a lot of guys get into the Hall of Fame,” Esposito said.
Regardless of whether or Bure’s jersey end up getting retired, he was one of the greats.