Before Alexander Ovechkin captivated hockey fans with his high-speed, hard-shooting style of play, there was another Russian who could do it all: Sergei Fedorov, the best hockey player of the 1990s.

A “wasted” 4th round draft pick by the Detroit Red Wings would prove to be one of the best players in NHL history — able to outplay Hall of Famers on offense and defense, while playing any position on the ice. The Wings drafted a 19-year-old Fedorov in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft as teams started to probe the talent of the crumbling Soviet Union. Fedorov was already a star in Russia, playing for CSKA Moscow on an insanely talented line with future NHL stars, Pavel Bure and Alex Mogilny. This was probably the fastest line of forwards ever assembled.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGadxMwNFPc

During the 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle, Fedorov slipped out of his hotel room and boarded a flight for Detroit, where he would play until 2003. While he lost the 1991 Calder Trophy to Ed Belfour, Fedorov’s 79 points in 77 games as a rookie was the start of an illustrious offensive career.

His skating ability caught the eye of the Red Wings’ captain, Steve Yzerman, who described Fedorov as the “best skater I’ve ever seen.” And he proved his skating ability as the league’s fastest player in 1992 and 1994. Scotty Bowman, the coach of the Red Wings from 1993-2001, explained that “when he first came up, he was noted for unusually strong defensive play for a European player,” but as we’ll see, it didn’t take long for Fedorov to start dominating in all three zones.

By the 1993-94 season, his 4th season in the league, Fedorov was challenging the untouchable 33-year-old Wayne Gretzky for the Art Ross Trophy. They finished with 120 and 130 points respectively, but the rivalry cemented Fedorov’s talent in the eyes of Gretzky and the rest of the world.

Fedorov would prove to be one of the few players who could outplay the Great One. In Gretzky’s own words, “I have never seen a player dominate the game the way Sergei did.”

Fedorov had it all. The heavy shot, the speed, the power and of course, the dekes that tortured defensemen. According to Bowman, “He was such a great skater. He was an amazing player. He had a heck of a shot, too. He was a wonderful player to have on a team. He could do it all.” And he used Fedorov to his fullest, playing him on defense when injuries hurt the Wings blue line, “He was the best defenseman in the league for a six-week period.” High praise from a man with 9 Stanley Cups and 1,467 wins as a coach.

In Oct. 1995, Fedorov’s 6th season, the Red Wings unveiled their secret weapon, a unit of five Russian players, nicknamed the Russian Five. They would change hockey forever. Fedorov, along with Vyacheslav Kozlov, Igor Larionov, Vladimir Konstantinov and Viacheslav Fetisov, formed a five-man line that tormented opponents with their synchronized, fluid style of play where they often controlled the puck for two-minutes or more. At the time, Bowman’s decision to create a five-player unit (a classic Russian strategy) proved very successful and innovative in North America, and the chemistry it created helped the Wings win their first Stanley Cup in 42 years.

Fedorov’s goal scoring helped the Wings win two more Stanley Cups and he became the first Russian player to reach 1,000 points in the NHL, a lot of which came in the playoffs (the mark of a true goal-scorer). “He [had] a big impact in the playoffs,” Bowman told ESPN. “I doubt we could have won the second Cup in a row if he wouldn’t have rejoined us.”

Oh, and he scored 5 goals in one game against the Washington Capitals.

I think it’s important to note that, unlike Gretzky, who played a large portion of his career against stand-up goalies with tiny pads, Fedorov’s prime came during the most talented period of hockey in history. The number of Hall of Famers in the league when Fedorov played makes his dominance even more impressive, and these guys were still playing a tough, interference-prone style that didn’t lend itself to skill players like Fedorov. Rivals and teammates alike attest to Fedorov’s greatness,

“He was one of the better skaters I faced. He did everything really well — skate, pass, shoot. He had great intelligence. Great face-off guy. Played every position on the ice. He was a rare breed that could do everything really well.” “You could never push him off the puck. His leg strength was so above everybody’s else, and that made him impossible to get off-balance.”

“I’ve only seen two other players that can dominate a game like Sergei, and that’s Wayne and Mario… in my opinion, he’s the best player in the League. He is different than Wayne and Mario because he dominates with his speed, and unbelievable one-on-one moves.”

“I have never seen a player dominate the game the way Sergei did.”

The man even wore white Nike skates… possibly to let everyone know what was coming (and then skating right past them). Innovator.

In 2003, Fedorov decided to move on from the Red Wings. Attracted to the SoCal vibe, he decided to play for Anaheim, which didn’t go very well, and marked the beginning of the end for Fedorov’s career. His choice to bail on the Wings left a bad impression in Detroit, where he was booed relentlessly for the rest of his career, despite the fact he helped them win 3 Stanley Cups. Bowman told the Detroit Free Press,

“I think people in Detroit appreciated how good a player he was, but fans didn’t like that he left Detroit. That was a tough time for him. Down deep, it didn’t help his career, not at the end. He had a terrific career, with the Wings. Just look at that part of it, it was tremendous. He won the Hart. He won Selke. He challenged Gretzky for scoring.”

Fedorov’s ungraceful split with Detroit is the main reason he isn’t worshipped like Modano, Jagr, Sakic, Forsberg, Yzerman, Messier and the other greats of the decade. In a lot of Detroit fans’ minds, Fedorov will always be seen as a selfish player who bailed on a championship franchise (to go to a shitty team) in search of more money. Leaving the Wings for greener pastures is always viewed as the wrong decision in Detroit, but leaving to play for a series of terrible teams instead of finishing his career with the Wings makes Fedorov all the more hated.

It’s a real shame, but thankfully, some Detroit fans are starting to forgive Fedorov. Without his own team’s fans’ support, Fedorov hasn’t done well in conversations about great players, often ignored for more popular players. Even Red Wings like Lidstrom and Yzerman get more love than Fedorov because of his split with the franchise. Not to diminish anyone else’s accomplishments, but none of those players possessed the total package that Fedorov had.

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