Detroit Red Wings: Four More For the Rafters in Motown
By Bob Heyrman
The Detroit Red Wings need to get this right. Sergei Fedorov‘s number 91 deserves to hang alongside the likes of, Steve Yzerman and Nicklas Lidstrom in the rafters of Little Caesars Arena.
The dynamic forward was extremely important to the Detroit Red Wing’s franchise throughout his glorious 13 year Red Wing career. The word “Dynamic” doesn’t even fully explain Fedorov’s complete talent.
Remember, Fedorov wore those white Nike skates, yeah everyone wanted those. Sergei became the Red Wings version of the “Russian Rocket” which they use to call Pavel Bure in Vancouver.
The kids and teenagers from the Detroit area and anyone who watched Fedorov play for that matter, couldn’t tug on their parent’s pant leg enough until they would finally see a similar skate in their equipment bag.
I can say with complete confidence; the Detroit Red Wings wouldn’t have been as successful as they were through the 1990’s and early 2000’s without Sergei Fedorov.
Fedorov was Steve Yzerman’s permanent sidekick. He became what Mark Messier was to Wayne Gretzky, what Evgeni Malkin is to Sidney Crosby. Another local example could be used; what Pavel Datsyuk was to Henrik Zetterberg.
Sergei Fedorov also acquired quite a bit of hardware along his incredible decorated journey. In 1993-94 Fedorov won the Hart Trophy awarded to the leagues MVP, along with the Selke Trophy, which is assigned to the best defensive forward in the entire NHL.
Fedorov would go on to win the Frank J. Selke Trophy again in 1995-96. Another exciting thing about Fedorov which we alluded to his skating ability earlier, he did win the fastest skater award twice in his career. Once in 1992 the other coming in 1994.
He was an exceptional talent, who would also go on to win the NHL’s hardest shot in 2002. The six-time all-star has a plethora of awards to go along with his three Stanley Cup Championships.
Sergei Fedorov still leads the NHL in most career overtime points with 27. This is not recognized as a career accomplishment from the NHL, but it shows how clutch he was. Scotty Bowman needed help on defense, and he looked no further than Sergei Fedorov.
Bowman mentioned he knew Fedorov would be able to succeed when called upon because he was such a gifted skater. He would always be able to turn and retrieve a dump in before the opposition could arrive. Fedorov was by no means a physical presence but could use his 6’2, 200 plus pound frame when he needed to.
In 2001-02, the Detroit Red Wings had that “stacked,” hall of fame team that would go on to win the Stanley Cup. People often forget Sergei Fedorov was the teams’ number one center, specifically down the stretch for the Red Wings.
Steve Yzerman had a busted wheel that year that cost him the second half of the season. This would be the second time Fedorov would step up in Yzerman’s absence. The other was in 93-94 going onto win the league MVP.
Yzerman led the Red Wings in points during that 01-02 playoff run but was in significant pain the entire time. His bad leg limited him to the wing most nights. Fedorov would play center allowing Yzerman and Shanahan to flank him on a regular basis. Yzerman finished with 23 points and Fedorov with 19. Sergei averaged over 22 minutes a night during the playoff run and was exceptional down the stretch.
Sergei Fedorov ranks 10th in all-time Red Wings games played with 908. Sergei recorded a fourth best points per game in Red Wings history at 1.05. He’s fourth in goals with 400, seventh in assists with 554. Fedorov ranks sixth in all-time Red Wings points totaling 954. The icing on the cake, Fedorov ranks third with 79 game-winning goals, and second with 31 shorthanded goals.
It’s time for the Detroit Red Wings as an organization and the fans for that matter, to get over Sergei Fedorov’s contract dispute of 1998 and get his number 91 up where it belongs, in the rafters.