Sergei Fedorov

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Fedorov was among the early wave of Soviet players to join the NHL after the fall of the Iron Curtain, but several players had defected or been granted permission to leave before him. 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. 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 played in over 1,200 NHL games and scored 483 goals in the NHL. 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 considered one of the best players in the world from the 1990s to the early 2000s. He last played for Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL, where he was made captain in early September 2011. He was also an ambassador for Russia at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. 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. As of 2024, the Red Wings have not announced a date for retiring Fedorov's no. 91 jersey, though he remains a celebrated figure in franchise history.

In Their Own Story

In the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season, Fedorov scored all four of Detroit's goals in a 4–4 tie against Los Angeles on February 12. That same year, he led the playoffs in scoring with 24 points despite the Red Wings losing the Stanley Cup Final to New Jersey. The following season, he won another Selke Trophy after scoring 39 goals and 107 points, helping Detroit set an NHL record with 62 wins. A defining moment occurred on December 26, 1996, when Fedorov scored five goals in a single game against the Washington Capitals, becoming the first player to complete a quintet of goals in overtime. In 1997–98, after a lengthy holdout, he signed an offer sheet with Carolina worth up to $38 million, which Detroit matched; the contract included a controversial $12 million bonus if they reached the conference finals, resulting in a record $28 million paid for just 43 games.

Reader's Guide

When he was just 16, Fedorov was already playing for CSKA Moscow in the Soviet Union with future Hockey Hall-of-Famers Pavel Bure and Alexander Mogilny, among others. In 1989, Mogilny became the first Soviet superstar to defect in order to play in the NHL. Less than two months later, Fedorov was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the fourth round, 74th overall, of the 1989 NHL entry draft. Red Wings general manager Jim Devellano had consulted team captain and future Hall-of-Famer Steve Yzerman about Fedorov, knowing that the two had played against each other in the World Championships. Yzerman told Devellano, "He's better than me." Detroit sportswriter Keith Gave was asked by Wings executive vice-president Jim Lites to pass a secret message to Fedorov at an exhibition game in Helsinki where the Soviet national team was scheduled to play a Finnish club. Gave agreed to the mission, and in August 1989, managed to meet with Fedorov and teammate Vladimir Konstantinov, whom the Wings had also drafted, and slip them each a Red Wings media guide with a letter hidden inside. The letters made it clear that the Red Wings wanted both of them in Detroit and were willing to help them get there. By July 1990, Fedorov had decided to defect. The Soviet national team came to North America to play in the 1990 Goodwill Games, and had scheduled an exhibition match in Portland's Memorial Coliseum on July 22, 1990. Jim Lites came to Portland, picked up Fedorov outside his hotel after the game, and brought him to Detroit in Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch's private jet. Fedorov was described as "three great players in one". In his career, he "once held claim to the title of top player on the planet". Former Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman said Fedorov was the "best skater I've ever seen". During the 1993–94 season, Fedorov's outstanding play earned him the "oldest and most prestigious individual award in hockey", the Hart Memorial Trophy (awarded to the NHL's most valuable player), the Frank J. Selke Trophy (top defensive forward) and the Lester B. Pearson Award (awarded to the most outstanding player as selected by NHL players). He finished second in scoring behind the Los Angeles Kings' Wayne Gretzky with 56 goals and 120 points. During the 1993–94 season, being interviewed before his game, Gretzky was talking about a December 17 game between the Red Wings and New York Rangers, sayi

Did You Know?

• Fedorov was among the early Soviet players to join the NHL, though several players had defected or been allowed to leave before him.
• He won the Hart Memorial Trophy as NHL MVP in 1994.
• Fedorov scored five goals in a single game on December 26, 1996, including the game-winner in regulation.
• He was part of the Red Wings' Russian Five that won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1997 and 1998.
• As of 2024, the Red Wings have not announced a date for retiring Fedorov's no. 91 jersey.