VANCOUVER (CP) -- It's been over two years since he was traded but Pavel Bure will play his first NHL game in Vancouver as a Florida Panther on Tuesday night. 

"So many things happen in your life," the former Vancouver Canuck told a news conference Monday. 

"I remember all the good stuff here. How excited I was." 

The good times weren't enough to keep Bure in Vancouver and he demanded to be traded in the summer of 1998. He backed up his ultimatum by refusing to play for the Canucks and was eventually dealt to the Panthers in a seven-player deal on Jan. 17, 1999 that brought defenceman Ed Jovanovski to Vancouver. 

It's a deal that benefited both teams, said Canuck general manager Brian Burke. 

"I think both teams would do it again," he said. 

"They got what they wanted, a marquee played for their team and we got what we wanted. We think we have one of the best young defencemen in the NHL." 

Jovanvoski said playing Bure will be nothing special for him when the 2-3-0-0 Canucks host the 1-4-0-0 Panthers. 

"I'm just going to approach it like any other game," shrugged Jovanvoski. 

"He's a great player and has a lot of speed. You have to know where he is at all times. If I have a chance to bump him, yes I'm going to bump him because if I don't he's going to beat me." 

Bure scored his first goal of the season in Saturday night's 5-2 loss to Philadelphia, then was benched for two shifts for taking a foolish slashing penalty. 

The Panthers have visited Vancouver once since the trade, a Nov. 6, 1999, game that Bure missed with a broken little finger. 

In talking to reporters Monday, Bure smiled a lot but said little. His answers were clipped and unrevealing. 

-- Asked if the trade was the right decision. 

"I'm happy with my life," he said. 

-- About playing with his younger brother Valeri, who the Panthers obtained in a trade with Calgary during the June draft. 

"It's my 11th year and the first time we've had a chance to play together." 

-- On the possibility of terrorist attacks at the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. 

"Do I think it's a big target for the terrorists, yes. As athletes we just have to go there and participate." 

-- On the scrutiny he received playing in Vancouver. 

"It's like two sides of the medal," he said. 

"If you play well, it's good to play in this city. If you're not playing well, you can't even go outside, so it's tough." 

One question Bure wouldn't answer, even two years later, was why he wanted to be traded. 

"There's lots of reasons but I don't remember the bad stuff," he said. 

"I only remember the good stuff." 

During his seven years in Vancouver, Bure was the team's most exciting player and its most enigmatic. His boyish good looks, speed and goal-scoring ability made him a fan darling, but he was often withdrawn from his teammates. 

He was the NHL's top rookie in 1991-92, then scored 60 goals in each of the next two seasons. It was Bure's overtime goal in Game 7 against Calgary that started the Canucks on the road to the 1994 Stanley Cup final, which they lost in seven games to the New York Rangers. 

Even in his last season in Vancouver, when he was desperately unhappy, Bure still managed to score 51 goals and collect 39 assists.