HOCKEY.ONTHEWEB MENU

Your browser is not Java capable or Java has been disabled.


This website is protected by copyright. Any use of the materials contained herein without the consent of Hockey.Ontheweb is strictly prohibited.

Google

The top site for Hockey.Ontheweb

http://www.hockey-ontheweb.com
http://www.hockeyontheweb.com

The Top Site for Hockey.Ontheweb!

THE PAVEL BURE SWEEPSTAKES
Originally December 13, 1998: Volume 1, Number 7

The Pavel Bure Sweepstakes has never been that at all. Few teams in the NHL can afford the Russian Rocket's $8 million per year price tag. Even among those teams, few can assemble the package of talent Vancouver is asking in return for him.

That's why it has always been no more than two teams in the running for the Canuck superstar: the New York Rangers and the Los Angeles Kings. Both teams have the financial means to retain Bure, and both are capable of providing players in return. The Kings, soon to move into a new arena, need a marquis player to fill seats and luxury boxes. They have not had such a player since Wayne Gretzky was dispatched to St. Louis. The Rangers, on the other hand, are intent upon following in the free spending footsteps of their baseball brethren, the Yankees and the Mets. They initiated that process with the acquisition of Petr Nedved.

Will Bure join Leetch?
Bure
With Alexander Mogilny out of the Vancouver lineup and the Canucks in somewhat of a tailspin, one might be forgiven for assuming that Canuck GM Brian Burke feels compelled to act quickly to salvage this season. Burke, however, has worn a mask of patience even as his own coach Mike Keenan urges that a Bure deal be cut. Burke is being forced to trade Bure as a result of the superstar's curious and unexplained desire to leave Vancouver for some place where he might feel "inconspicuous". He has taken a firm position that he will not be rushed into making a trade, and he will not trade Pavel simply to accommodate the Russian star. A deal must be one in which the Canucks receive fair value in return. What permits Burke to be able to take his time is that public sentiment in Vancouver is squarely behind him and not Bure; and the Canucks do not have to pay Bure his salary, since he is holding out despite a valid contract.

The Rangers have been offering a package that includes young goaltender Dan Cloutier, winger Niklas Sundstrom and one of the Rangers prospects (though likely not Manny Malhotra). Sundstrom's season has mirrored that of the Rangers; it started horribly but has improved after being joined by Petr Nedved. Cloutier would ostensibly provide a solution to Vancouver's goaltending concerns, though he has not yet received a lengthy test at the NHL level. The Kings have been offering a package that includes Jozef Stumpel, Glen Murray, and possibly one of the Kings' many goaltenders -- Stephane Fiset or Manny Legace, but likely not Jamie Storr. It does not appear that either club has placed anything firmly on the table.

Bure's leaving town
Pavel
There has been talk that a deal involving Bure might be settled prior to the Christmas trade freeze (December 19 to December 27). But other than pointing to the existence of the deadline, no one has offered any serious evidence that such a trade is imminent. Certainly, there do not appear to be the swirl of rumours that preceded the trade and signing of Petr Nedved last month. Moreover, it does not seem to be consistent with Burke's approach that he should impose upon himself such an artificial trading deadline. The Rangers are playing well right now, and the Kings aren't moving out of the Fabulous Forum for a little while, so time is not yet of the essence. Of course, a deal may happen tomorrow or this week, but it seems more likely that a trade of this magnitude will have to wait a little longer.

NOTES -- On other fronts, it appears that some progress is being made in the Sandis Ozolinsh situation. Ozolinsh's agent Paul Theofanous met with Colorado GM Pierre Lacroix on Friday. Ozolinsh is a restricted free agent... Nothing new respecting Zigmund Palffy or Donald Audette, also restricted free agents... With Mikael Renberg moving to Philadelphia, it appears unlikely that a Felix Potvin trade will happen before Christmas.

[Photos courtesy of the Neutral Zone Hockey (formerly the Hockey Image Archive.]