The most exciting player in Canucks history was rubbing shoulders with one of the most powerful men on the planet.
Pavel Bure was pictured with Russian president Vladimir Putin, presumably before hitting the ice together. Here’s a picture that was posted to Instagram on Wednesday.
While we can’t confirm that is actually Pavel’s official Instagram account, the fact that it was reshared by his wife Alina gives reason to believe the photo is real. And why wouldn’t it?
Putin is well known for his love of hockey, and has been pictured with Russian NHL players many times before. In fact, he’s been seen with Bure before (although this may be the first time they’ve done the peace sign pose together).
#TeamRussia has a roster response to #TeamCzech adding Nedved…that's right, Vladimir Putin and Pavel Bure are in! pic.twitter.com/krTxG6kncb
— Brian P-C (@AlbertB_71) January 6, 2014
Bure and Putin pic.twitter.com/JP0UPmGEUY
— Indy Gill (@indyg77) May 10, 2017
The only player in the Hockey Hall of Fame primarily because of his play on the ice with the Vancouver Canucks, Bure now lives in Moscow with his wife and two kids. Bure, now 46, is the president of the World Legends Hockey League, a league comprised of former professional hockey players 45 years old and up that competes in seven different European countries.
The league includes legends such as Igor Larionov, Vyacheslav Fetisov, Esa Tikkanen, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Pavel himself.
С днём рождения, президент! https://t.co/Eo2MR1N0XP pic.twitter.com/occfHaEOGZ
— Hockey Legends (@WorldLegendsHL) March 31, 2017
It also includes a few other former Canucks you may have forgotten about, including Leif Rohlin, Frantisek Kucera, and Josef Beranek.