burevaulted

Welcome to "Vaulted," a new series in which we take a look back a moments that are worthy of being enshrined within the Florida Panthers Virtual Vault, which is presented by Baptist Health.

Pavel Bure spent parts of only four seasons with the Florida Panthers, but there's no question that the man deservingly dubbed "The Russian Rocket" made a massive mark on the franchise.

Originally selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the sixth round (113th overall) of the 1989 NHL Draft, Bure was dealt to the Panthers in a mega-deal on January 17, 1999. What came after that were two of the best individual seasons that South Florida has ever seen from an athlete in any sport.

After scoring 13 goals in 11 games while battling through injuries following the trade, Bure burst onto the scene during his first full season with the Panthers in 1990-00. Lighting the lamp in four of the first five games to start the season, he went on to lead the NHL with a whopping 58 goals.

In doing so, he was captured the first of his two consecutive Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophies, a new award that had only been handed out to the league's top goal-scorer starting in 1999-00.

The award was created in honor of Montreal Canadiens legend Maurice Richard, who was the first player in the NHL to score 50 goals in 50 games, 50 goals in a season and 500 in a career.

Bure was given his nickname, "The Russian Rocket," in homage to Richard.

That same season, bolstered by his goal total, Bure also finished with 94 points, which stood as franchise record for nearly two decades before Aleksander Barkov bested it with 96 in 2018-19.

"It was a long time ago, but I remember we had a great bunch of guys," Bure told Panthers broadcaster Randy Moller when asked about the 1999-00 season, a year Florida also qualified for the playoffs. "We played very well and had some fun. The fans were really supportive of us."

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      Inside The Panthers At Home: Pavel Bure

      As a follow-up performance, Bure was somehow even better - even by just a little - during the 2000-01 campaign. Breaking his own franchise record, he posted a league-leading 59 goals - five more than Colorado Avalanche star Joe Sakic, who tallied 54 to finish in his second place.

      Once again, his name was etched onto the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy.

      After officially retiring from the NHL in 2005, Bure was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012. In 702 games split between Vancouver, Florida and the New York Rangers, he racked up 779 points (437 goals, 342 assists). Of his 437 career goals, 152 came in a Panthers sweater.

      Over his 12 seasons in the NHL, he led his team in goal-scoring on seven different occasions.

      "It's probably the biggest honor you can get as a player, to be a member of the Hall of Fame," Bure told Moller. "It's really hard to get there. It's a huge honor for me. I was really happy."

      Want to explore the Panthers Virtual Vault? Click Video: Inside The Panthers At Home: Pavel Bure to visit!