Valeri Vladimirovich "Val" Bure (/ˈvɑːləri bʊˈreɪ/ VAH-lə-ree buu-RAY; Russian: Валерий Владимирович Буре, IPA: [vɐˈlʲerʲɪj bʊˈrɛ]; born June 13, 1974) is a Russian–American[1] former professional ice hockey right winger.

He played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers, St. Louis Blues, and Dallas Stars from 1995 to 2004.

[3] In 1991, he joined his father and brother, Pavel, in moving to North America as his elder sibling embarked on a National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Vancouver Canucks.

[5] They settled initially in Los Angeles where Vladimir continued to train and coach both Valeri and Pavel in hockey and physical conditioning.

[10] Upon turning professional in 1994–95, Bure spent the majority of the season with Montreal's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Fredericton Canadiens.

[8] Bure earned a recall to Montreal late in the season and made his NHL debut on February 28, 1995, against the New York Islanders.

[2] The deal was welcomed by Bure, who appreciated both the ability to play closer to his family on the west coast as well as increased opportunity by joining a young Flames team.

Pavel was named most valuable player of the game by scoring three goals, two of them assisted by Valeri, in a 9–4 victory over North America.

[20] Bure completed the season as the Flames leader in goals (35) and points (75, 14th overall in the NHL) and was the only player on the team to appear in all 82 games.

[21] He became embroiled in a power struggle with his coaches, first Don Hay who was dismissed mid-season, and then Greg Gilbert, as both wanted him play a more defensive-minded game.

[22] Bure was rumoured to have asked for a trade out of Calgary, and the Florida Panthers (who had acquired Pavel), Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers were among the teams who showed interest in his services.

[23] On June 24, 2001, the Flames traded Bure, along with Jason Wiemer to the Panthers for Rob Niedermayer and a second round draft pick.

[24] Injury interrupted the start of Bure's Panthers career as a knee ailment that began bothering him before the season worsened as he played the first games of the campaign.

[25] Tests revealed damage to his right knee that required arthroscopic surgery to repair; Bure missed 37 games while recovering.

[22] He was also hampered by a hairline fracture to his wrist after Keith Primeau slashed him during an early December game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

[28] With only 5 goals and 26 points in 46 games for Florida,[8] Bure was traded on March 11, 2003, to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for defenceman Mike Van Ryn.

[32] He reached 20 goals for the fifth time in his NHL career,[8] and as the season's trade deadline approached, was Florida's leading scorer with 45 points.

[33] However, as the Panthers were out of playoff contention, they traded Bure to the Dallas Stars on March 9, 2004, in exchange for Drew Bagnall and a draft pick.

[33] Bure was placed on the Stars' top line with Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen,[34] and he recorded 7 points in 13 games to conclude the regular season.

[8] An unrestricted free agent following the 2004 playoffs, Bure did not play anywhere in 2004–05 as the entire NHL season was canceled due to a labour dispute.

[2] That same year, Bure first played with the senior team as he scored three goals in six contests at the 1994 World Championship in a fifth-place effort.

[45] Both Valeri and his older brother Pavel became estranged from their father Vladimir Bure, along with his second wife, Julia, and their half-sister Katya,[46] by 1998.

[7] In 2007, Bure and his wife opened a Florida restaurant called The Milk and Honey Café, but closed the business when the family moved to California.

[44] Bure developed an interest in wine early in his NHL career that he described as growing into a passion: "I fell in love with the behind-the-scenes work and being able to start from the vineyard and put it into a bottle.

[44] Bure returned to the ice in 2010 as a contestant on the second season of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's figure skating reality show Battle of the Blades.