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Fedorov Near End Of His Career
by Paul on 04/17/09 at 10:08 PM ET
Comments (12)
from Mike Wise of the Washington Post,
He knows the creases in his forehead are deepening at the same time his speed is declining. Nothing can hide the obvious. Not the chic red ski cap he wore after practice yesterday—not the Ferrari, not the Maybach, not the European designer jeans and certainly not his tentative Game 1 performance in a 4-3 loss to the Rangers.
In pro-athlete parlance, Sergei Fedorov is old. And so there is a genuine feeling around the organization it might be good to see the Russian legend now, in these final weeks of the 2009 season, because you never know when the great ones will go—and Fedorov more than qualifies….
He concedes the life of an NHL veteran is getting old. “I don’t mind preseason, but I guess the travel, long schedules eventually get to you somehow,” Fedorov said. “It’s probably when you’re younger you kind of digest that. It’s a little bit easier. When you’re older, you’re a little bit, you know, battling.”
more and the one thing I remember about Fedorov in his prime was his strong skating ability. He was so strong on his skates and could find that extra gear when needed. Watch a highlight of Sergei below…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Sergei+Fedorov,
Comments
Feds was a monster..pure money in the playoffs..and an absolute joy to watch in his prime..too bad his game just plummeted after he left detroit
Posted by UMFan from Colorado on 04/17/09 at 11:58 PM ET
It agree, after Fedorov were left by Detroit, the level of game has decreased
Posted by Vitaliy from Russia on 04/18/09 at 12:36 AM ET
In the end, Sergei was at the end of his contract in Detroit. It sucked that he left, but it was clear he wanted to be “the guy” somewhere. It didn’t work out that way, but both parties have moved on. I still don’t understand the boo birds at the Joe when he comes back. He gave us some pretty great memories, and it should be water under the bridge at this point.
What an electrifying player he was in his prime. One of my first favorite Red Wings.
Posted by Incognetis from Delaware... Hi... I'm in... Delaware on 04/18/09 at 12:37 AM ET
I’ll always remember one game at Joe Louis I attended in December 1995. It was against the Blackhawks. We had good seats. High in the lower bowl, near one of the goals. Right down in front of us Fedorov broke in alone, split Chelios and Steve Smith and snapped the puck behind Belfour. Amazing display. What a talent.
Another memorable thing about that game: Paul Coffey had a fight (!) and beat the Blackhawk player pretty decisively.
Posted by voline on 04/18/09 at 01:45 AM ET
Sergei Federov: The best damn Russian 5 badass we had on our team during the good years; I won’t mention the Kournikova years. It’s so nice to have Pavel now.
All told, it’ll be sad to see him go.
Posted by Hippy Dave from Portland by way of Detroit on 04/18/09 at 02:02 AM ET
I don’t get the booing, either - and I’ve tried to figure it out - but finally just chalk it up to one of the many stupid things that other people do that I just don’t understand.
One of my favorites, too. Such a tremendous playoff performer, and I just loved the way he skated. I’m glad he is apparently finishing up with a team where he enjoys playing and is able to help out his younger teammates.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 04/18/09 at 07:09 AM ET
There was a game against the Caps (between Christmas and New Year) where he scored all five goals as the Wings won 5-4. That was a bonus Christmas gift for me and my buddies as we watched from the lower bowl. His powerful glide and shifty moves were just amazing. A first ballot hall of famer.
Posted by rocketman from detroit on 04/18/09 at 07:57 AM ET
I am with Incognetis, I don’t get the boo birds. I for thank Sergei for his years of service as Wing.
Posted by MOWingsfan19 on 04/18/09 at 08:00 AM ET
The boo’s were a result of not leaving Detroit but who he left Detroit to go to. At that moment we hated the mighty poultry more then we hated anyone else. They had just smoked us in the series. And he leave to go be the go to guy? That hurt. Besides he was pretty much past his prime then and I think he was looking for one more big contract he just wasnt going to get from the Wings. He never really reached the same level away from the Red Wings, the same way most players who leave here dont. I have no hard feelings towards the guy, but I still understand the boo’s.
Posted by AxeMaster9 on 04/18/09 at 10:19 AM ET
Remember the pass sports channel (maybe ch 50) video to the neal young song? Rockin in the free world.
Posted by Ron from Toledo on 04/18/09 at 11:06 AM ET
Definitely one of my first favorites and a great player. If he stayed and Konstantinov didn’t get hurt, we might have been able to win another Cup before Stevie retired.
Thanks for the great performances and memories Sergei.
Posted by Osrt on 04/18/09 at 11:42 AM ET
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I’m still bothered by how he left Detroit and everything the organization risked to get him but aside from all that, he really proved you can win this game on skating and intelligence. As you said Paul, it is now a part of the hallmark of today’s Wings’ puck possession game: skating.
Perhaps, my favorite memory of Fedorov is finding out after the ‘97 Cup that he was playing with five broken ribs, scored 24 points over 20 games, and he still carried the Cup over his head with unbridled joy despite the pain.
Posted by SYF from a "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" on 04/17/09 at 11:58 PM ET