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Pavel Bure Press Conference from December 21, 1999
Posted: Thursday December 30, 1999 12:50 PM
Question: Can you talk about how frustrating it was last season after getting off to such a great start with Florida with 13 goals and 11 games; then suffering the knee injury and being out for the year. How hard that was for you? Pavel Bure: Well, injuries are a part of hockey and it is not what happens to you, it is how you react. Obviously, it was a big disappointment for me, but I just have to deal with it. I am really happy it is behind me. Question: Is this the happiest you have been in a long time? You certainly seem to be playing like the old days when you were scoring 60 goals a year. Pavel Bure: I am just really happy right now because things are going really well. Question: I was wondering if you might be able to comment on all the speculation out there on what is going on between you and Sergei Fedorov and Anna Kournikova? Pavel Bure: Well, you know, I thought we were going talk about hockey. My private life is mine so I will not talk about my private life. Question: Can you just talk about what all you had to do to come back from the knee injury? Pavel Bure: Well, it wasn't that easy. It was pretty hard time for me. I was kind of down, but I think I was just lucky because I have really good friends, really good family who was supporting me through this hard time. As I said, it is all behind me and now I have to move on. Question: A lot of times when players come back from major injuries like that, they tend to be a little hesitant going into the thick of things. Did you find that was the case with you, and are you getting more confidence as the season is going on as far as the knee? Pavel Bure: The more games you play, the more confidence you have in yourself. Obviously when I stepped on the ice after my second surgery, I didn't have confidence. But, you just have to take one step at a time and the more you play, the more confidence you have. Question: I was just wondering what do you feel about the media and the public being so interested in your personal life. Pavel Bure: Well, I guess it comes with the territory and I understand people like hockey a lot and they want to know things. I am really open and I try to do the best what I can to let people know how I play and what I do. Question: Your team has a nine-point lead, the largest lead of any division leader right now -- nine over Carolina that won it last year. What are the reasons that Florida has opened up such a big lead? Why have you gotten off to such a great start as a team? Pavel Bure: I think we should give credit, first of all, to the management and the coaching staff who put a really good team together. And it is a great mix we have on the team. We have some guys, who played for a long time. We have some young guys who bring lots of energy. Question: Considering what you went through last year before the trade with Vancouver, is it surprising to you that Nikolai Khabibulin in Phoenix and Keith Primeau here in Carolina are sitting out and they don't know if they will even take part in this season? Does it surprise you when that happens in light of what you went through? Pavel Bure: Well, hockey, it's really big business right now and you have to do what you have to do. I didn't know -- I don't know what to tell you about that. I guess every player has to decide what he has to do for himself and for his team. Question: Can you compare living in Vancouver to living in Miami, the differences and the similarities. Are you anonymous there in the south as compared to what you were in Vancouver? Pavel Bure: Well, usually I don't really like to compare anything, but, you know, obviously Florida is different than Canada. I would say probably in Canada people concentrate more on the hockey than Florida because it is a pretty new sport for Florida and we are trying to get the sport popular here. We have a great support from the fans. Question: Does it make it easier for you to play your game because you are not bothered as much and you can be relaxed more or be yourself a little bit more in Florida than you could have in Vancouver? Pavel Bure: Well, it doesn't really matter where you play. You still have to go out on the ice and perform and you have to win the games and you have to score goals. So it doesn't really matter where you play. Question: This week Scotty Bowman of the Red Wings and Jacques Martin, the coach for the Senators both said they thought interference was back in the league; a lot of clutching and grabbing. Have you noticed anything different? Pavel Bure: Well, I would say so. In the game against Pittsburgh, lots of guys were holding me and I didn't know what to do. If I go down the ref will say I am diving and just turn my skates, there is no call. So it was kind of funny situation. I didn't know what to do. Obviously there is lots of grabbing and hooking. Question: I have seen that the attendance in Florida at games is down this season from the past. I was wondering if you could perhaps talk about whether the Panthers are having trouble drawing fans; what the team could do and whether, as you have gone around the League, you have seen empty seats and whether you think this is a problem for the NHL? Pavel Bure: Well, I don't think it is a problem for NHL. Obviously it is hard to compete with the Miami Dolphins because they are in town. And we have the Miami Heat and the Florida Marlins, so obviously, it is hard to compete with those teams. But if you go outside, you meet the people and the people are really staring to get interested in hockey, so it is a good sign. We only can control so much, so we just have to go out there and do the best we can to try to win some games and hopefully people will come. Question: Do you follow the Russian elections at all? Pavel Bure: Yes. Question: What do you think happened on the vote the last couple of days - your interpretation? Pavel Bure: I know who won the election for the mayor of Moscow. That is Mr. Luzhkov who was in there before and I don't think there was big surprises who got elected to Parliament; it was pretty much the same people. Question: When you are talking about one of the ways you can draw fans is by the Panthers winning more, is there anything that the team is doing with you as their main superstar, public appearances you're making or things like that to try to sell the team more? Pavel Bure: Well, yeah, we are trying to do the best we can. We go to the hospitals and we do some signing sessions. But, obviously, our main job is to go out on the ice and perform there. As I said before, I can feel more and more people giving to hockey because it is really a new game for South Florida. I think it is like California years ago, when nobody knew of hockey in California and look at it now. They have three teams and people just relate to hockey, so hopefully it is going to happen in Florida. Question: I wanted to ask you about what impact Trevor Kidd had on the team before he got hurt and how much of a factor was he in the start your team had got off to? Pavel Bure: He was playing really well for us and because of him we won lots of games. It is really a big deal when you have a great goalie and he is stopping lots of pucks. You get confidence about yourself when you know there is a guy who is helping you to save the puck and, you always know you just have to go and score and everything will be fine. Question: What effect a veteran like Ray Sheppard has had since he has signed on with the team? How has he helped? Pavel Bure: Obviously he is really good hockey player. He scored 50 goals and he has been around for so many years and he brought lots of experience to our club. Even when he is not playing, like right now, he is still a big presence on the team. He is talking to the young guys and is helping them and he is just giving lots of advice. So it is really nice to have him on the team.
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