Sergei Fedorov

Sergei Viktorovich Fedorov (Russian:Сергей Викторович Фёдоров, Sergej Viktorovič Fëdorov; born December 13 1969 in Pskov, USSR; now Russia) is a professional ice hockey forward who plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets in the National Hockey League.

Playing Career

Sergei was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, fourth round, 74th overall. In his pre-NHL days, he played for CSKA Moscow on a line with future superstars Pavel Bure and Alexander Mogilny and was drafted in the same year as Bure and a year after Mogilny. In 1990, while CSKA Moscow was in Seattle for the Goodwill Games, Fedorov quietly slipped out of his hotel room and onto an airplane bound for Detroit. Thus, he became one of many NHL stars to have defected from the Soviet Union to play in the NHL.

Arguably, his greatest season was in the 1993-94 NHL season when he won that year's Hart Memorial Trophy (being the first European-trained player to do so), Frank J. Selke Trophy and Lester B. Pearson Award, and finished second in scoring behind Los Angeles' Wayne Gretzky with 56 goals and 120 points. He would also win another Frank J. Selke Trophy in 1996, after compiling another 100-point season with 39 goals and 107 points. One year later, he was a member of the Red Wings' first Stanley Cup championship team since 1955, contributing 20 points in 20 playoff games for Detroit. He would go on to win two more Stanley Cups in 1998 (with 20 points in 22 playoff games) and 2002, both with the Red Wings. He also won a bronze medal with Russia in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and a silver medal in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.

In 1997, Fedorov earned $20 million, the highest salary ever paid to an NHL athlete. His base salary was reportedly only $1 million but his contract contained large bonuses.

In recent years, Fedorov has been criticized for a lack of heart (especially in an injury-riddled 1999-2000 season, when he only appeared in sixty-eight games). Other detractors also suspect that Fedorov was disappointed that his achievements were passed over. Wings Captain Steve Yzerman regularly received far more recognition from fans and media; an example was the 1998 postseason where Fedorov had 24 playoff points to Yzerman's 20, but Yzerman won the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Nonetheless, in the stifled offensive landscape of the inter-lockout NHL, Fedorov still managed to average close to a point a game, and, except for three seasons, had never scored less than thirty goals. In the 2003 offseason, he signed with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, earning the ire of Hockeytown; Fedorov remained with Anaheim between 2003-2005. He was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets on November 15, 2005. It was with the Ducks that Fedorov picked up his 1,000th point, becoming the first Russian-born and fifth European-born player to do so. Fedorov, as a Blue Jacket, also played his 1,000th NHL game on November 30, 2005 becoming the 13th European-born player to reach 1,000 NHL games and the 205th player overall to do so.

He was also married, briefly, to Anna Kournikova before her relationship with Enrique Iglesias^{(see^*)}.

His younger brother, Fedor Fedorov is an ice hockey player with the New York Rangers' AHL team, the Hartford Wolf Pack.

On 27 May 2006 he took part in Soccer Aid at Old Trafford, a charity football match held between England and the Rest of the World. He was a member of the Rest of the World team which comprised football legends and other celebrities.

Legal Trouble

Fedorov was arrested by Royal Oak, Michigan police in September, 2001 for misdemeanor driving while impaired. Officers stopped Fedorov for running a red light and asked him to take a Breathalyzer test. Fedorov registered a 0.09 blood alcohol level, which was below the 0.10 required for a drunk driving charge but Fedorov was charged with misdemeanor impaired driving. Fedorov pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year's probation, directed to perform 100 hours of community service, and ordered to pay fines and court costs.

Awards

NHL All-Rookie Team - 1991
Played in NHL All-Star Game - 1992, 1994, 1996, 2002, 2003
Frank J. Selke Trophy - 1994, 1996
Hart Memorial Trophy - 1994
Lester B. Pearson Award - 1994

Career statistics

As of June 25, 2006 ^*

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1986-87	CSKA Moscow	USSR	29	6	6	12	12	--	--	--	--	--
1987-88	CSKA Moscow	USSR	48	7	9	16	20	--	--	--	--	--
1988-89	CSKA Moscow	USSR	44	9	8	17	35	--	--	--	--	--
1989-90	CSKA Moscow	USSR	48	19	10	29	20	--	--	--	--	--
1990-91	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	77	31	48	79	66	7	1	5	6	4
1991-92	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	80	32	54	86	72	11	5	5	10	8
1992-93	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	73	34	53	87	72	7	3	6	9	23
1993-94	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	82	56	64	120	34	7	1	7	8	6
1994-95	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	42	20	30	50	24	17	7	17	24	6
1995-96	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	78	39	68	107	48	19	2	18	20	10
1996-97	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	74	30	33	63	30	20	8	12	20	12
1997-98	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	21	6	11	17	25	22	10	10	20	12
1998-99	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	77	26	37	63	66	10	1	8	9	8
1999-00	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	68	27	35	62	22	9	4	4	8	4
2000-01	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	75	32	37	69	40	6	2	5	7	0
2001-02	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	81	31	37	68	36	23	5	14	19	20
2002-03	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	80	36	47	83	52	4	1	2	3	0
2003-04	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	NHL	80	31	34	65	42	--	--	--	--	--
2005-06	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	NHL	5	0	1	1	2	--	--	--	--	--
2005-06	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL	62	12	31	43	64
NHL totals			1033	437	609	1046	667	162	50	113	163	113

International play

Played for the Soviet Union in:

1988 World Junior Championships (silver medal)
1989 World Junior Championships (gold medal)
1989 World Championships (gold medal)
1990 World Championships (gold medal)
1991 Canada Cup

Played for Russia in:

External links

Sergei Fjodorow | Sergei Fedorov | Фёдоров, Сергей Викторович | Sergei Fjodorov | Sergei Fedorov