MOSCOW – "What about Pasha?" the agent asked.

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Pasha? As in Pavel? As in Pavel Datsyuk, the Detroit Red Wings superstar?

Sergei Fedorov couldn't believe it. As the new head manager of CSKA Moscow, the fabled Central Red Army club, Fedorov had told Datsyuk months before to keep him in mind if there was an NHL lockout. But even though Fedorov was once a Detroit superstar himself, he never thought he would have a chance. He assumed Datsyuk would join one of his former teams, Ak Bars Kazan.

"What about him?" Fedorov asked the agent. "How's he doing in Kazan?"

"There is no Kazan."

"Yeah, yeah."

Fedorov still couldn't believe it. Sitting in his spartan office at the Soviet-era rink on Leningradsky Prospect, Fedorov was supposed to be talking to the agent about another center – the Toronto Maple Leafs' Mikhail Grabovski. It wasn't going well. Maybe this was a ploy.

"You're joking," Fedorov said.

"Nope. I'm offering you."

"I don't believe it, but let's talk about it."

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The agent explained why Datsyuk was not going to Kazan. Ak Bars had decided not to sign players who couldn't commit to the entire season. That way, the team would not be disrupted if the lockout ended and the NHLers returned to North America.

This was serious. Datsyuk was available.

"I'm in," Fedorov said.

* * * * *

Now it was late October, and Fedorov couldn't believe his good fortune. It was a month-and-a-half into the NHL lockout, and CSKA was fighting for first place in the Tarasov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League. Datsyuk, the magician, had brought his full bag of tricks.

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Datsyuk used his unparalleled puck skills to weave through traffic with ease on the larger European ice surface. He set up the game's first goal, whipping a pass from the corner to the slot for Grabovski, his buddy, who ended up signing after he did. He scored CSKA's next goal, smacking in a rebound. Then he assisted on the eventual winner by Alexander Radulov, as CSKA beat Sibir Novosibirsk, 4-2.

But that wasn't all.

After the game, Datsyuk stood in the dressing room, surrounded by black-and-white pictures of the great players of CSKA's past – including his idol, a former Detroit teammate, Igor Larionov. He met with the Russian media.

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