The Career of Sergei Fedorov

By request, here is a profile of a hall of fame talent who won three Cups with the Wings.

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[roaringfork]

The fact that #91 isn't hanging in the rafters of Little Caesars Arena is a travesty.

[kolptroop]

Detroit guy here. Most dynamic, explosive skater I’ve ever seen- even faster watching him in person. Wings need to put all internal politics aside and put his number in the rafters.

[mitchellskene]

I would argue he was the best two way player to have ever played the game. He was so good as a defensemen that he could have won a Norris or two.

[LivinLifeLifeless]

He was the reason I as a young kid became a Red Wings fan growing up in Sweden

[masonrahal]

He was a dominant player. He dominated every shift. Criminally underrated, in my opinion.

[AV]

Federov was just... as a Blues fan, it seemed like we could never shut down Yzerman and Federov in the same night. And it usually seemed like Federov got us. It was so frustrating, but looking back on it now I’m honored to have watched the way he played. The guy was maybe a slight notch behind Jagr in terms of the puck skills, but seemed to have the wisdom of Yzerman to see open players or slide into a passing lane that was about to open up for an easy goal. I’m not sure if we’ll ever see another one like him, again. Oh, and I hear his mother wears red army boots.

[ivannovikov]

Played golf with him once here in Moscow, a great guy all round, and an absolute beast of a hockey player. Not too bad at golf either..

[jackl]

The reason he only played 21 games in 1997-98 was due to a contract dispute.

[allsystemsgo]

Legend. One of the all time greats. My all time favorite non-Islander.

[vmi]

He was a franchise player. A generational talent. You can even say he changed the way hockey was played(possession game). You can even say he put hockey on the map commercially. His contract with Nike put his face everywhere. His skates where the hottest thing in hockey., everybody wanted a pair. At the end of the day this is how I always think of Federov: if someone gave you a machine to create your perfect 1c it would look just like Federov. An identical copy. He is literally the prefect 1C. Damn shame how he left Detroit. Had he stayed he would have been the most popular athlete in Detroit today(yes bigger than Stevie). Just an all-world type of guy. Amen.

[TheFruitsnacks]

He wasn't actually injured during the 97-98 season. He was a restricted free agent and was holding out.

From Wikipedia:

"After a lengthy holdout to start the 1997–98 season, Fedorov, a restricted free agent, signed an offer sheet with the Carolina Hurricanes worth up to $38 million, including bonuses. The Red Wings matched the offer on February 26, 1998, ending Fedorov's holdout. The offer included $14 million for signing and $2 million for 21 regular season games. However, the most controversial part of the contract was a $12 million bonus payable immediately if Fedorov's team reached the 1998 conference finals—at the time, Detroit was already a Stanley Cup contender while Carolina was almost certain to miss the playoffs, so the clause was criticized for creating an unfair disadvantage for Detroit. Nevertheless, the Red Wings matched the offer and paid the bonus. The $28 million Detroit paid Fedorov for 43 total games in 1997–98 remains the largest single season amount paid to an NHL player"

[ChronicleMercy]

Underrated, and underappreciated Russian legend of a hockey player that is Sergei Fedorov.

[EnforcerStevieB]

Thank you so much for making a video about my favorite player

[philly_sports]

Really helped to break down the door for Russian hockey players in the NHL.

[sgthartman]

That 93-94 year Stevie missed about 25-30 games so Fedorov just took over. 120 pts a Hart, Pearson, and a Selke, man he was a monster that year. Also to note that 97 98 year Fedorov sat out due to a contract dispute.

[evanthorpe]

One of my favorite players of all time; one of the greatest hockey players of all time. Thanks for making this, Shannon!

[meganhigley]

My favorite player, athlete, ever. Love him. So underappreciated.

[UncleAnaesthesia]

A center who played the entire 180 feet of the rink and had the silkiest stride & mitts. Once he donned Nike skates, I just had to get a pair.

[simonneal]

Ovie actually said that Fedorov was the one player who influenced him the most and he called him the best center to play alongside him. Such a high praise from one of the brightest NHL stars says a lot. The best defensive star-caliber center to me and red wings better retire his number as soon as possible

[BioHizzle.]

Fedorov is still one of the greatest players I've ever seen play the game of hockey, and I may also be a little biased because he is my favorite player ever, and the reason why I was a Detroit fan up until we ended up getting a team here in Columbus. Having him here in Columbus was awesome even though he wasn't the offensive powerhouse of the past. He still scored big goals for us, and you never had to worry about him defensively which was a lot of help considering how talent starved the team was back then. The fact that he also played a lot of D during that last playoff run with the Caps was also quite impressive at his older age.