Today In NHL History - Pavel Bure

On March 31st in 1971, Pavel Vladimirovich Bure was born in Moscow, Russia. Sneakily selected 113th in the 1989 NHL Draft, a year before age eligibility owing to international games played, the Red Army right winger electrified NHL audiences for 12 seasons (VAN 7, FLA 3.5, NYR 1.5) with his speed and scoring prowess.

After collecting the Calder (1991), the Russian Rocket posted five 50 goal seasons (1993, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2001) and two 60 goal stints (1993, 1994), thrice leading the league in goals (1994, 2000, 2001). He currently sits 5th overall in goals per game ahead of Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky and Brett Hull.
Pavel was voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012 alongside Joe Sakic, Adam Oates and Mats Sundin.  On November 2, 2013, 22 years after his 1st NHL game, the Vancouver Canucks retired Bure's #10 joining Stan Smyl, Trevor Linden and Markus Naslund in the Rogers Arena rafters, in a controversial gesture to their most exciting player. 
Off the ice, Pavel counts enforcer Gino Odjick and mobster Anzor Kikalishvili among his closest friends, Bob Saget's TV daughter DJ as his sister-in-law, and Anna Kournikova as his one-time fiance.

That's today in NHL history.