He was a right winger and played in the National Hockey League (NHL), as well as for the Soviet Union and Russia internationally. Presently, he serves a managerial role with Russia's olympic team where the team finished 4th in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The highlight of the tournament for the team was beating Canada 2 - 0 in the quarterfinal. He won a bronze medal in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and a silver medal in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.

Pavel was named after his great-grandfather, a watchmaker to Tsar Alexander III. Bure's family made precious watches for the tsars from 1815-1917. The dynasty's founder, a Swiss watchmaker named Eduard Bure, is said to have been the first to attach a tiny strap to a watch so that it could be worn on the wrist[citation needed]. In 1996, Bure presented 3 of the 50 gold replicas of the company's last model to then-Russian President Boris Yeltsin, Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov.

Bure comes from an athletic family; his father, Vladimir Bure, was an Olympic swimmer who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1968, 1972, and 1976 Olympic Games. In the '72 Games he won the bronze medal (100m), and lost the gold by half a second to American swimming legend Mark Spitz. Pavel Bure's younger brother, Valeri Bure, also plays in the NHL.

Bure began his hockey career at 16, playing for the Soviet Red Army team.

Bure has had a relationship with tennis player Anna Kournikova, which ended in a broken engagement.

Bure did the first ever Sports Live Chat on the Internet in Canada in 1995 with Bob Kerstein, CIO of the Vancouver Canucks.

Nicknamed The Russian Rocket for his blinding speed, Bure was picked 113th overall in the 6th round of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks out of the Central Red Army. However, he did not start playing for the Canucks until the 1991-92 NHL season. Bure was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year for 1991-92. He was an integral part of the Vancouver Canucks' scoring department for many years to come, helping them all the way to the Stanely Cup Finals in 1994. Considered one of the best playoff series in NHL history, Bure's blazing rushes up the ice was one of the highlights.

On January 17, 1999, he was traded to the Florida Panthers with Bret Hedican, Brad Ference and Vancouver's 3rd round choice in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft for Ed Jovanovski, Dave Gagner, Mike Brown, Kevin Weekes and Florida's first round draft choice in the 2000 draft. On March 18, 2002, Bure was acquired by the New York Rangers along with Florida's 2nd round pick in the 2002 draft for Igor Ulanov, Filip Novak and the Rangers' 1st and 2nd round choices in the draft and a 4th round choice in the 2003 draft. Plagued by injuries throughout his career, he did not play in the 2003-04 NHL season due to a lingering knee injury even after two operations. On November 1, 2005, Bure announced his retirement from professional hockey due to complications with his injured knee (injury sustained in 2003).[1]. At the same time, it was announced that Bure would be the general manager of Russia's ice hockey team at the 2006 Winter Olympics.