Make no mistake, as a hockey player Pavel Bure was a freak of nature, lightning fast, exciting to watch, and a five time 50 goal scorer (twice reaching 60). There is no question that he was an extraordinary talent, the second best player in Vancouver Canucks history after Henrik Sedin (Pavel never won the Hart Trophy). Yet when the 'Russian Rocket' was selected into the Hockey Hall of Fame yesterday over Brendan Shanahan, something felt wrong. Bure never won a Stanley Cup, Brendan was a major contributor on 3 championship teams. Shanahan outscored Bure 1354 to 779 over their careers. Brendan scored nearly as many playoff goals as Pavel played playoff games.
The highlight of Bure's career (and arguably the greatest moment in Canucks history) came in the 1st round of the playoffs. Shanny had 2 goals in the Stanley Cup winning game of 2002, including the game winner. He scored a Stanley Cup winning goal!!! In the last 8 years of his career, Pavel played 4 playoff games. Shanahan even once rocked Patrick Roy at the blue line, making the world a better place. When you look at it, Pavel Bure lacked the accomplishment that many of us require of this supposedly sacred institution. Compared to the career of Brendan Shanahan, it is not even close.
I'm sorry Canuck fans, but Pavel Bure is not Hall of Fame worthy. If being "exciting" is a major selection criteria, where are Petr Klima and Al Iafrate? If Bure is in the Hall of Fame, Eric Lindros sure as shit belongs there, arguably more so. Why not Zigmund Palffy? He was fun to watch and had comparable personal accomplishments to Bure. I'm officially starting a campaign to put Petr Klima in the Hall.
The Big question is, did Shanahan's year as the unpopular police officer of NHL player safety actually affect Hall of Fame voters? It's a theory, but note that only a few days ago at the NHL awards, Shanny was made the object of ridicule...
Interesting read. I agree, Shannahan should be in the Hall before Bure, but Bure deserves to be in there at some point. I remember watching Pavel play a lot more than I remember Shanny. It would be the same if Ovechkin had his career cut short without winning a Cup. At his current pace, he would still have an argument for being in the HHOF.
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