Earlier today, the Detroit Red Wings announced that they’d be lifting Sergei Fedorov’s No.91 to the rafters in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes in mid-January of the upcoming campaign. As much as Fedorov has earned the honor, it marked a significant shift in attitude from the organization toward the former Russian star.
Fedorov’s story with the Red Wings began in the 1989 NHL Draft after being selected with the 74th overall pick, which fell in the fourth round at the time. Under the leadership of General Manager Jim Devellano, Detroit became one of the first clubs to target Russian players in the draft. At the time, most of the league viewed this strategy as a fool’s errand due to the significant challenges players faced in defecting from the Soviet Union.
Thanks to the efforts of writer Keith Grave and Jim Lites, who was Detroit’s Executive Vice President at the time, the team encouraged Fedorov to defect from the Soviet Union and leave his CSKA Moscow club. Ultimately, Fedorov did both things, leaving the 1990 Goodwill Games with Lites on a plane to Detroit.
Fedorov started playing for the Red Wings in the 1990-91 NHL season and never looked back. He drew praise from around the league almost immediately, scoring 31 goals and 79 points in 77 games during his rookie campaign. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to win the Calder Trophy that season, but Fedorov quickly became one of, if not the most talented, players in the league.
His talent reached its peak during the 1993-94 season, when Fedorov scored 56 goals and 120 points in 82 games, en route to winning the Hart Memorial Trophy, Frank J. Selke Trophy, and Lester B. Pearson Award (later renamed the Ted Lindsay Award). This season serves as the last time a player for the Red Wings has been crowned as the league’s MVP.
His dominance continued for the next two years, helping Detroit reach its first Stanley Cup Final in nearly three decades. The Red Wings weren’t able to top the summit, but they had now cemented themselves as a force to be reckoned with throughout the NHL world.
They wouldn’t have to wait long for that championship. During the 1996-97 season, consequently, the first and only year of the famed ’Russian Five’ made up of Fedorov, Igor Larionov, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Viacheslav Fetisov, and Vladimir Konstantinov, the Red Wings won their first Stanley Cup since 1955 against the Philadelphia Flyers. Unfortunately, this was the informal beginning of the end of…
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