Hart Trophy - Sergei Fedorov

Lore & Background

Fedorov was one of the first hockey players to leave his native Soviet Union legally after its collapse in order to play in the NHL. While playing with Detroit, he won the Stanley Cup three times, as well as the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player in 1994. He is a three-time Olympian, the first European-trained player to win the Hart Trophy and is considered to be one of the best playoff performers in NHL history. In 2017, Fedorov was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history. Fedorov was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 9, 2015, and to the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 2016.

In Their Own Story

The arena lights hummed over the ice as Sergei skated toward center stage, the weight of the trophy heavy in his hands. The crowd roared, a sea of red and white jerseys stretching into the darkness. He looked out at the boards where the puck had been fought for so fiercely that night, remembering every shift, every save. In this moment, the noise faded to a single heartbeat: the sound of history being made.

Reader's Guide

Fedorov was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the fourth round, 74th overall, of the 1989 NHL entry draft. He defected from the Soviet Union in July 1990. During the 1993–94 season, Fedorov's outstanding play earned him the Hart Memorial Trophy, the Frank J. Selke Trophy, and the Lester B. Pearson Award. He finished second in scoring behind Wayne Gretzky with 56 goals and 120 points. Fedorov won another Selke Trophy in 1996. He was a member of the Red Wings' Stanley Cup championships in 1997 and 1998. After leaving the Red Wings in the summer of 2003, Fedorov played stints with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Washington Capitals before retiring from the NHL in 2009. He last played for Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL, where he was made captain in early September 2011.

Did You Know?

• Fedorov scored all four of Detroit's goals in a 4–4 tie against Los Angeles on February 12, 1995.
• On December 26, 1996, Fedorov scored all five of Detroit's goals in a 5–4 overtime win against the Washington Capitals, the first time in NHL history a player completed a quintet of goals in overtime.
• Fedorov was part of the Red Wings' Russian Five together with Igor Larionov, Slava Kozlov, Slava Fetisov, and Vladimir Konstantinov.
• The $28 million Detroit paid Fedorov for 43 total games in 1997–98 remains the largest single-season amount paid to an NHL player.