Fedorov: 'I think my NHL career is finished'

by James Mirtle on Jul 20, 2009 3:45 PM CDT Comment 24 comments

Sergei Fedorov was officially unveiled today over in Moscow as a member of Metallurg Magnitogorsk, and offered these comments on playing in the KHL next season:

"At this moment I can not express what I feel — I just arrived yesterday, but I am already full of positive emotions. I am very glad to sign a contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk. I would like to thank those people who made it possible. I hope KHL fans will enjoy my game."
"Of course, I am a little nervous. I will have to get used to many nuances in hockey and in life mode. I will play with new partners and train with the new coach. Do not forget about the big rinks that I have not played on for years. But all these problems should be resolved shortly."
"In terms of hockey, my age is quite great — I do not think that I will play five-to-ten more years, but as for now I can play at the highest level and spend a lot of time on the ice. And Metallurg fits me in this component. As for my return to the NHL, in the last 2009 playoff game for Washington, I realized that it might be my final game in the NHL, and now I think my NHL career is finished."
"Regarding the number, which I will wear (No. 18), it was mine when I started my career in CSKA. Before me it belonged to CSKA defenseman and forward Irek Gimaev. And the choice of this number for me is symbolic."

Fedorov may be turning 40 in December, but it's still hard to believe he's gone for good from the NHL. He's been a big factor in North American hockey since coming over in 1990-91, won the Hart Trophy three years later, although he's still 17 goals shy of 500 in his career.

Poll

Should Sergei Fedorov go into the Hall of Fame?

Yes

569 votes

No

98 votes

667 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

No question.

1,179 points.
Hart Trophy.
Selke Trophy (twice).
Stanley Cup (thrice).
NHL All-Star Game (six times).
Most goals scored by a Russian in the NHL.

Plus he came into the league with a great story (defection).

"Without good hard work, it is impossible to reach the pinnacle of success." - Anatoli Tarasov

by PRC on Jul 20, 2009 4:19 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for compiling those stats. I voted no initially without looking into the stats at all, but those are very worthy numbers for the Hall and I would be surprised if Sergei Fedorov didn’t get in the Hall eventually.

Supporter of the Sergei Berezin "Give and Go" - You give me puck, then you go to hell

by bkblades on Jul 20, 2009 9:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

No dropoff in the playoffs, either.

1179 regular season points in 1248 games = 0.95 points per game

176 playoff points in 183 playoff games = 0.96 points per playoff game

Of those 176 points 52 were goals (15 PP, 5 SH), and 12 of those were game winners.

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle." -- Philo of Alexandria

by Baroque on Jul 20, 2009 10:35 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

It’s easy to forget that for a period of almost half a decade he was considered the best player in the NHL. Guys like that who have multiple rings don’t tend to have too much trouble getting into the hall.

by Costa24 on Jul 20, 2009 4:27 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

It’s easy to forget that for a period of almost half a decade he was considered the best player in the NHL.

And really, that’s all you need to put him into the Hall.

by Afino on Jul 20, 2009 9:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think he’s in for sure….One of the best players of his generation at his position. Besides just the numbers, defensively Fedorov was very good too and a great skater in his prime.

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by Hooks Orpik on Jul 20, 2009 5:38 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

This makes me sad. I’ve always like Fedorov – he’s been one of my favorite all-time players. I hope he comes back to the NHL to coach at some point.

Cassie
Raw Charge, an SBN Tampa Bay Lightning Blog. It's what's for dinner.

by Cassie McClellan on Jul 20, 2009 6:52 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Even as a player, we in DC could see the effect he was having on players like Alexander Semin.

by red army line on Jul 22, 2009 7:25 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

James, you have a great blog, but your voting question is stupid. Of course he will be a HOFer.

by RedWings on Jul 21, 2009 1:28 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

But does Sergei Fedorov get in the Hall before Pavel Bure and/or Alex Mogilny?

Supporter of the Sergei Berezin "Give and Go" - You give me puck, then you go to hell

by bkblades on Jul 21, 2009 3:42 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

fedorov before bure or mogilny

DEFINATLY!!!! Bure and Mogilny were highly skilled players and will denatly get into the Hall, but Fedorov I believe will go in b4 they do!! Fedorov probably will go down as the greatest Russian born professional hockey player (of course everybody believes Ovechkin will top Fedorov)…but Fedorov was a complete player, so good on the defensive side of the puck (I’m glad he taught Datsyuk how to be a great two-way player) and he had a great shot!!! I would have liked to see Fedorov stay with the Red Wings longer, they might have won a cup or two more with his help….cheers to Fedorov, for a great career, good memories in a Red Wings jersey!!!

by wingsfanforlife on Jul 21, 2009 4:41 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

As of now, 46 people differ. :-)

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle." -- Philo of Alexandria

by Baroque on Jul 21, 2009 6:03 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Those now-62 people are probably all Avs fans carrying over the hate or Ducks/Jackets fans who remember him being more of an albatross with that massive contract. Me, I don’t know how you forget that he was one of the five best players in the NHL for the better part of a decade. That, plus the points, the trophies, the Stanley Cups, and the late-career renaissance in Washington, all scream first-ballot entrant to me.

SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there)

by Doogie2K on Jul 21, 2009 12:10 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Meh, I debated whether or not to post it, but I figured there were some who would argue against it. They haven’t shown up yet. :-)

Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Jul 21, 2009 12:06 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

yes, like the other one above :-) haha

Thanks for compiling those stats. I voted no initially without looking into the stats at all, but those are very worthy numbers for the Hall and I would be surprised if Sergei Fedorov didn’t get in the Hall eventually

by RedWings on Jul 21, 2009 9:05 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Another long-time Wing going away. My love of the Wings started with Yzerman when I was really young. Now, all of the stars of the Wings of my childhood are retiring or going away. It feels wierd…hard to believe guys like Lidstrom and Fedorov are pushing 40. Kozlov is still aging gracefully.

Watching Fedorov in the playoffs during the mid-late nineties was a treat. He’d take the puck and you couldn’t take it from him. He could just do everything. His 5 goal game against Washington…

It was really disappointing in the 07-08 playoffs against Philly in game 7(was it overtime too?) when Fedorov didn’t have his stick on the ice to redirect a pass for the winner on the one time Ovechkin chose to make a pass from the slot rather than take the clear shot. That made his winner against the Rangers in game 7 this year cool to see.

Thanks for the Cups and the memories, Feds.

by Bosc Ulrich on Jul 21, 2009 10:03 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

That made his winner against the Rangers in game 7 this year cool to see.

As soon as he stopped on a time and took that shot I knew the goalie had no chance. I was worried that Ovechkin might kill him in the celebration, though. Us old people, athlete or not, don’t bounce back nearly as well as when we were younger. :-)

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle." -- Philo of Alexandria

by Baroque on Jul 21, 2009 10:25 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

time = dime

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle." -- Philo of Alexandria

by Baroque on Jul 21, 2009 10:25 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Those of us who watch Ovechkin all season worry about that every time a Cap scores while he’s on the ice :D

"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri

by gotsparkly on Jul 21, 2009 12:05 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

It’s a no-brainer. Of course he’s a HOFer as the people above state…

Just a couple other things to add: he was a very good defenseman when Bowman used him that way, and still pretty good at it when the Capitals used him on the back end in the playoffs at times the last couple years. If he had played that position full time in the mid 90’s, he probably could have been an all-star there too.

Yzerman gets a ton of credit for sacrificing stats for the good of the Red Wings team in the mid to late 90’s…Fedorov deserves the same credit, but rarely gets it.

His career +/- is amazing for a forward in his generation- higher than other greats like Forsberg, Sakic, Lemieux, Yzerman, Lindros, Modano who played in his era.

Not only a Hall of Famer, but one of the most underappreciated players of his era.

by Make a play Whitner on Jul 21, 2009 12:00 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Correct me if I'm wrong

But IIRC Bowman didn’t have him back there because he was a good defenceman; it was an attempt to motivate him to pick up his game on offence. The impression I had is that Fedorov was turning himself into a checking forward, so Bowman told him if that’s all he wanted, he might as well do it full-time.

And there is some of that perception dogging his career – similar to Jagr, albeit less so. There’s no question in my mind he belongs in the Hall, but it will be behind Jagr and Sakic.

I've been looking at the sky

by Back In Black on Jul 21, 2009 12:49 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

There’s no question in my mind he belongs in the Hall, but it will be behind Jagr and Sakic.

Maybe we need a scoring system for players in the Hall. A little grade that could be etched onto those glass panels. A+ if they were generational talents (Gretzky, Orr), D if they’re questionable calls that seem based on longevity rather than any special achievements (e.g., Larry Murphy doesn’t strike me as a HHOFer – not a single individual award?)

[Not entirely serious about this.]

"Without good hard work, it is impossible to reach the pinnacle of success." - Anatoli Tarasov

by PRC on Jul 21, 2009 2:51 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

This is roughly correct, according to my memories, but doesn’t really capture how poisonous the relationship between Fedorov and Bowman got. It is one of the very few instances where I think Scotty pushed someone too far.* It got some short term results, but led directly to Fedorov’s decline, extreme desire to leave Detroit as a free agent, and, I think, contributed to his relatively lackluster play in the Columbus/Anaheim period.

I was very pleased with the way he rebounded in Washington, because I always thought he’d gotten kind of shafted by taking all of the PR hit for the conflicts. In my limited exposure to him as a Capital, he seemed to have found a happiness, or at least contentment that had eluded him to date. Of course he belongs in the Hall of Fame. I just wish we could have seen a different, better career that a different coach might have led him to.

*Too far by the standard of actually being productive for winning games. My opinion is that the sort of head games Bowman plays always go too far on an ethical level. They are as disturbing to me as a Bobby Knight or a Billy Martin without the marshmallow salesman.

by J. Michael Neal on Jul 21, 2009 3:41 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Fedorov lived a tale of two careers. His first 13 seasons with DET were spectacular though the final 7 with ANA, CLB, and WAS left much to be desired.

If it hadn’t been for Ovechkin, I suspect Sergei’s career might have ended in Columbus two years ago.

http://puckreport.blogspot.com/2009/06/sergei-fedorov-interview-at-nhl-awards.html

by puckreport on Jul 21, 2009 4:25 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs