I’m not tuned in to whatever drama unfolded re Fedorov’s exit from Detroit, but I did watch hockey in the 90s/00s and I can’t even fathom why his jersey is not retired. He had his ups and downs but damn was he good.
This will be a bigtime over simplification, but Fedorov always resented the fact that he wasn’t “the guy” in Detroit, which was never going to happen as long as Yzerman was there. The drama was, when the Wings tried to resign Fedorov in 2003, he actually took less money and went to Anahiem instead. When he signed with Anahiem, he described it as being liberated, like he was from Russia. That pissed off Mike Illitch something fierce as they did everything they could to help Sergei and even looked past some of his more questionable behavior, like his relationship with Anna Kournikova. That’s basically why Fedorov was blackballed from getting his jersey retired.
I get why there were bad feelings after Fedorov left, but once Fedorov retired in 2010 this should have been patched back up. For everything Fedorov represented as one of the initial Russian defectors, to helping the Wings resurgance in the 90s and becoming one of the best NHL players of his era while winning 3 Stanley Cups, this is a no brainer move and wayyyy overdue.
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There was more drama than that too. Really both sides were to blame. In today’s world of free agency, many wouldn’t blame Sergei for wanting to get paid what he deserved. Mr. I, felt loyalty should be the deciding factor in many contracts, plus many felt the attitude “we helped you get out of Russia you owe us” from the Illitch family was part of it too.
When Detroit business and youth hockey Rival Karmanos, put in that huge for its time offer sheet for Fedorov in 97 (6yr 38 million), that really started the bad blood Illitch had for Sergei and his agent.
It is crazy to look back at that deal, I mean come on… can ya blame Sergei signing it, and you know the wings knew how much they wanted Sergei
“Just $12 million of the $38 million is Fedorov’s base salary, which will be paid at $2 million per year. He will receive a $14 million signing bonus, which will bump him to $16 million this year, leaving a final $12 million.
But that’s the kicker, a scare tactic the Hurricanes hope discourages Detroit owner Mike Ilitch from matching the offer. The $12 million will be paid to Fedorov over the next four years unless the team reaches the conference finals. Then the bonus must be paid in one lump sum.”
the the Anaheim contract, it’s believed that Sergei actually did want to stay in Detroit but the wings organization and Mr. I was still bitter at the Carolina deal and pulled their offer when Sergei asked for time to think about it. Then ended up signing the Anaheim deal. Again it felt like to some that there was this bitter feeling from the Illitch family that Fedorov wasn’t loyal enough ie take less or take what they offered no questions, and be happy that he was given the opportunity just to be a red wing.
It became a bad relationship that really you could say both sides were part of the problem.
History and time has a way of healing wounds, and funny how the retirement of 91 will be against the Carolina Hurricanes, it will be an interesting night. Still when you look back at the highlights, the stats, and remember the stories, Sergei was a huge reason why we have 3 Stanley cup banners when he was on the team. And just like the legacy of Barry Sanders and how he retired and the reaction when we all see how he is loved now around the city and around the organization , I wouldn’t expect a huge welcome home for Sergei to the city and the organization.
That is a perfect summation.
Mike Illitch had every reason to be ticked off at Federov.
But once he retired it should have been quickly over.
There are great players. Then there are players where when they get the ball (Barry) or the puck, it feels like time slows down. The air gets sucked out of the arena and the feeling of anticipation is heightened to another level, as you are perhaps going to see something done by that player that has never happened before and may never happen again. Sergei, was one of those players for me. He just moved so smoothly and his stick handling was insane. It was a ton of fun watching Red Wings hockey back in those days.
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I think one of the crazy things about Sergei, is that if he played D full-time, I think he’d probably be a HOF defenseman, too. He was amazing offensively and very, very good defensively.
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