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From Russia with Love


ScottM

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The collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s created a seismic shift in international politics. The Cold War ended, and the United States was the world’s only surviving superpower. The post-1991 world was a far different place than the pre-1991 world. The threat of nuclear war subsided, maps looked different, and the world of sports changed as well. Athletes that were previously forced to defect or get permission from communist governments to play in the West were now free to leave their native countries. Of the four major North American sports, hockey was affected the most.

 

Eastern Europeans were not unknown in the NHL before the fall of the Iron Curtain, but they were somewhat uncommon. Only one Russian-born player spent any time in the NHL in the 1988-89 season – Sergei Pryakhin – and he played in only two games. Five years later, the number of Russians playing in the world’s top league had surpassed 50. Similar (those less extreme) increases in the number of Czech and Slovak players also took place.

 

The Detroit Red Wings were one team that took full advantage of the influx of new players, though they had already begun to do so before the fall of the USSR. In the 1989 entry draft, Detroit chose Sergei Fedorov with their fourth round draft pick. Fedorov was not immediately able to join his NHL squad because of Soviet restrictions, but an opportunity presented itself only a year later. Fedorov played for the famed CSKA Moscow, and the team travelled to Seattle to play in the Goodwill Games in 1990. While there, Fedorov slipped away from his hotel and boarded a plane bound for Detroit, and the Red Wings had their first Russian star.

 

The Red Wings drafted two other high profile Soviets, before the fall of the Iron Curtain, though they were unable to acquire the services of their other selections until after the 1991 collapse. In the 11th round of the draft in which they chose Fedorov, the Wings chose Vladimir Konstantinov, and the next year, they selected Slava Kozlov. After a delay, those two men were finally able to join the Red Wings for the 1991-92 NHL season.

 

Fedorov, Konstantinov, and Kozlov soon met with success in their new home, and Detroit continued to add Russian talent to their roster. During the 1994-95 season, the Red Wings acquired Slava Fetisov via trade from the New Jersey Devils, and worked out a deal with the San Jose Sharks the next year for the services of Igor Larionov.

 

After the addition of Larionov, Scottie Bowman had an idea to play the five Russians together. While NHL teams dress 18 skaters, many European teams would dress 20 skaters and group them into five man units. Since the Red Wings had Russian players that played each position in such a unit, Larionov proposed that the Red Wings create such a unit with Konstantinov and Fetisov on the blue line, Fedorov at center, Kozlov at left wing, and Larionov at right wing. The concept was novel for the NHL, but the execution was flawless, and Bowman came out looking like a genius.

 

The new group played together well, and soon became well known for their chemistry on the ice. The so-called “Russian Five” was a vital part of the Red Wings’ success in the 1996-97 season. That year, Detroit had a respectable regular season, placing second in the Central Division, behind only the Dallas Stars, and earning 94 points in the standings, the fifth-most in the league. In the playoffs, the team took their act to another level entirely, and the Russian Five was largely responsible.

The 1997 Stanley Cup was the first of three that the Red Wings would win over the course of a six season span. In the first round of the playoffs, Detroit defeated the St. Louis Blues in six games, swept the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the second round, downed the defending champion Colorado Avalanche in six games in the Western Conference Finals, and finally swept the Philadelphia Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals for a combined playoff record of 16-4. Remarkably, the team was 16-0 when at least one member of the Russian Five scored a point, and was 0-4 when the unit was held scoreless. The five Russians combined for 53 points in the team’s 20 playoff games.

 

Sadly, the 1997 Finals proved to be the last hurrah for the Russian Five. Less than a week after the Red Wings won hockey’s Holy Grail, Konstatinov was involved in a serious limousine accident which left him paralyzed, and nearly took his life. In his honor, the Red Wings wore a patch on their jerseys with the word “believe” in English and Russian during the 1997-98 season, and successfully defended their title, but the days of the Russian Five were tragically over.

 

Today, Fedorov, Fetisov, and Larionov are members of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and all five players have made their mark on the sport both individually and as a unit. The concept of the Russian Five was unusual, but no one can question Bowman’s wisdom. Their time together was short, but the Russian Five deserve to be remembered. Some lines can claim similar impacts on their teams, but none represent as drastic a change in the world of hockey as the Wizards of Ov.

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True story, the Wings were prepared to draft Bure late in the draft but when they reached the podium they were told he was underage and not eligible. Instead, a round later Vancouver was allowed to put him up causing all kinds of heartburn and ire from the Wings, threats of a lawsuit and more. It came to naught, just a royal screw up by the league.

But can you imagine Bure growing up on Federov's wing? No doubt in the world it would have been the making of the greatest second line in the history of the game. Personally I think Bure would have clashed with Bowman, but who knows, the Wings may have won a cup or two and not ever signed bowman or traded for Shanny. One of those big what ifs in the history of the game.

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That was a screw up by the league. Bure was 18 at the time of that draft, so he was eligible. That has my curiosity piqued now, so I may have to research that.

 

IIRC, Bure did play with Fedorov in Russia. I think the two of them and Mogilny made up one of the lines for the CSKA Moscow team before Fedorov's defection. I do think that their styles would have meshed well. Fedorov is one of the best two-way guys in the history of hockey, and he was well-rounded offensively too. He could score, he could set up goals, and was obviously great defensively. That last one would have gone very well with Bure and his Devil may care attitude on defense. With a guy like Fedorov playing next to him, he wouldn't have had to care.

 

I also agree with you about Bowman and Bure. I think that Bure likely would have ended up in Bowman's dog house, so I don't know if any of that would have come to fruition if Bowman still came along in an alternate timeline. All in all, though, I'd definitely say things worked out well for the Wings. That said, I can't help but wonder what if the Russian Five had been created a couple of years earlier. Would it have made any difference in 1995? Could they have given Detroit a boost to make the Finals that year more competitive, or maybe even turned it with a jump on the series?

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That was a screw up by the league. Bure was 18 at the time of that draft, so he was eligible. That has my curiosity piqued now, so I may have to research that.

 

IIRC, Bure did play with Fedorov in Russia. I think the two of them and Mogilny made up one of the lines for the CSKA Moscow team before Fedorov's defection. I do think that their styles would have meshed well. Fedorov is one of the best two-way guys in the history of hockey, and he was well-rounded offensively too. He could score, he could set up goals, and was obviously great defensively. That last one would have gone very well with Bure and his Devil may care attitude on defense. With a guy like Fedorov playing next to him, he wouldn't have had to care.

 

I also agree with you about Bowman and Bure. I think that Bure likely would have ended up in Bowman's dog house, so I don't know if any of that would have come to fruition if Bowman still came along in an alternate timeline. All in all, though, I'd definitely say things worked out well for the Wings. That said, I can't help but wonder what if the Russian Five had been created a couple of years earlier. Would it have made any difference in 1995? Could they have given Detroit a boost to make the Finals that year more competitive, or maybe even turned it with a jump on the series?

One of the most amazing drafts of all time, Lidstrom and Federov both going to the Hall of fame this year. Sillinger played 1,000 games, so did Dallas Drake. And Konstantinov and what might have been. If the Wings had gotten Bure it would have been the absolute no brainer best draft in history, as it is you could still make the argument.
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I remember that car crash after the 1997 Cup finals.  It was only about a week or so after the parade.  It let the air out of the whole city.  The Cup wasn't even worth celebrating anymore.  Konstantinov was an amazing defensemen - the Kronwall of his day.  He laid out plenty of open ice hits.  I remember he uplifted Claude Lemieux head over heels.

 

Worth mentioning too that Yzerman, upon receiving the Cup after the 1998 Finals, gave it straight to Konstantinov in his wheelchair.

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Yeah, that moment in 1998 ranks up there with Ray Bourque in 2001. I always loved the way that the Wings made sure to make Konstantinov a part of things that year. He was well deserving of it because of his contributions to the team. I think having a feel good moment like that was a great thing considering the heartbreak they had a year earlier.

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True story, the Wings were prepared to draft Bure late in the draft but when they reached the podium they were told he was underage and not eligible. Instead, a round later Vancouver was allowed to put him up causing all kinds of heartburn and ire from the Wings, threats of a lawsuit and more. It came to naught, just a royal screw up by the league.

But can you imagine Bure growing up on Federov's wing? No doubt in the world it would have been the making of the greatest second line in the history of the game. Personally I think Bure would have clashed with Bowman, but who knows, the Wings may have won a cup or two and not ever signed bowman or traded for Shanny. One of those big what ifs in the history of the game.

Because of Bure being a defensive liability? Actually, Bure pre injury was fairly decent defensively  and was not as much a liability as people seem to think.

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Bure would have clashed with Bowman because of his attitude. He wasn't a team guy and didn't like playing within the system. That would have been a definite no go with Bowman.

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