46 replies to this topic

[KrazyGangsta]

As we all know when Federov left his game went to the decline and by looking his stats his defensive game has dropped with having all +/- below 0 for his last seasons.

I was wondering tho, do you guys think that Federov's career would of ended better if he had indeed sticked with the Wings or it would of had been the same, production drop?

[Happy Pancake]

FedOrov wouldn't have dropped off as quickly in my opinion had he stayed.

[TNBT]

I agree with Happy Pancake. Sergei Fedorov is my favorite all-time Red Wing/hockey player. I would have loved it if he had spent his entire career in Detroit. If he had, I think he would have had better numbers and would have been considered a better player during his final years. The reason for that is that the Wings just have an amazing system. We have some great players, but the overall system is so good that it makes everyone look better, and helps to cover up for each others mistakes. I think pretty much any player would look better with the Wings than they would elsewhere.

[Heroes of Hockeytown]

He was 34 when he left Detroit so he was heading for a decline no matter what, but I think he would've had a much more productive end to his career if he had stayed. Mike Babcock said it pretty well, being Fedorov's coach in Anaheim in 2004:

"I remember Sergei always saying to me, 'I never have the puck, Mike, I never have the puck. The D never pass me the puck.' So I went back and I looked at our D. I compared to it Detroit's D. I knew why he never had the puck. He couldn't understand why we wanted to chip it ahead and race onto it all the time. Well, part of that is because if you don't have these people, what are you going to do?"

A situation that was undoubtedly no different in Columbus. By the time he returned to a good team in Washington he was 40.

[hellsson]

It's hard to say, Fedorov was always kind of flakey and it makes one wonder how much of his carrier drop off was mental. He's had many problems in his personal life and may let that effect his game. Now it's possible that he would have had less of those issues if he would have stayed in a more grounded community in Detroit rather that a western culture that is more "Liberal". Unfortunately we will never know.

I also remember that he was causing some issues in the locker room as well. I remember someone interviewing Yzerman and Yzerman asked the reporter to ask Fedorov why he was wearing a Hockey Sock on his head and kind of rolled his eyes.

[Opie]

Going from puck possession DET to dump and chase ANA definitely hurt his numbers.

[dragonballgtz]

I think the biggest things were the lockout just really fooked with his skills also being traded away from the Ducks must of messed with him mentally as well. He went from being "the man" to being a mentor/another piece of the puzzle. Not what he wanted. Then his body started to give up on him with all those random injuries he would get. Bad groin, ankle, back and the killer a concussion in his 2nd to last year.

Could he of been better maybe it's easier to play with better teammates around you. My question is would he of meshed better with Babs with the Wings instead of Anaheim? Another one is how the Red Wings roster would of looked with 2 large contracts after the lockout?

He was 34 when he left Detroit so he was heading for a decline no matter what, but I think he would've had a much more productive end to his career if he had stayed. Mike Babcock said it pretty well, being Fedorov's coach in Anaheim in 2004:

Technically 33. I know it does not matter but just getting the facts straight sorry.

Edited by dragonballgtz, 19 July 2010 - 09:24 AM.

[stevkrause]

He was 34 when he left Detroit so he was heading for a decline no matter what, but I think he would've had a much more productive end to his career if he had stayed. Mike Babcock said it pretty well, being Fedorov's coach in Anaheim in 2004:

"I remember Sergei always saying to me, 'I never have the puck, Mike, I never have the puck. The D never pass me the puck.' So I went back and I looked at our D. I compared to it Detroit's D. I knew why he never had the puck. He couldn't understand why we wanted to chip it ahead and race onto it all the time. Well, part of that is because if you don't have these people, what are you going to do?"

A situation that was undoubtedly no different in Columbus. By the time he returned to a good team in Washington he was 40.

Agreed, however, this was of his own doing... he chose to leave and in a poor way at that...

It was his own greed and arrogance that led to his career in the NHL ending on a downswing - had he not repeatedly spit in Detroit's face and accepted his role here, he would likely be a first ballot HOF'er and would probably have 91 hanging in the rafters immediately following his retirement... instead, he will go down as a fringe HOF'er and prima donna that held a team (that basically saved his whole family and rescued him from the USSR, thus proverbially spitting in their faces) hostage, trying every possible way he could to get out of here, until he eventually did, because his own ego and arrogance could not accept the fact that he was not "the guy"...

[toby91_ca]

His numbers probably would have been better had he stayed, but you would have saw a similar decline over time, as you do with pretty much all players.

However, a player like Fedorov would tend to decline more than a guy like Lidstrom for example. Much of Fedorov's game was built around speed (he had many assets, but I think speed was most important). As you age, you get slower, it's that simple. A guy like Lidstrom (hard to compare to a defenseman, but whatever), his game is not built around speed and not built around being overly physical. Had his game been based on those types of assets, you probably would have seen significant decline in his abilities. Since his game is mostly positional and smarts, he's been able to keep up a high level of play as he's aged. There's obviously been some decline, but not as much compared to other players whose game hurts when they get slower or when they can no longer be as physical.

[InKennyWeTrust]

I think a better question would be "would Detroit be better off of we had Fedorov post lock-out?" I'm not so sure that we would be. Datsyuk or Zetterberg may not have developed the way they did and if they had, we may not have been able to afford them both.

Edited to add the second quotation mark.

Edited by InKennyWeTrust, 19 July 2010 - 09:44 AM.

[dat's sick]

When he was motivated he could be fantastic just a couple of years ago. I think it was the World Championship 2008 if I'm not mistaken that he was the best player in the tournament and was at times dominating in the final against Canada.

If he had stayed with the Wings I have no doubt that he would have had a very good end to his career, with good playoff runs every year.

Anaheim, Columbus and even Washington were just not the right kind of teams for him. But I gotta say I freaking loved it when Fedorov sniped top corner in overtime against the Rangers in his last NHL playoffs.

A shame that Feds couldn't have returned for one or two more years with the Wings to finish things off and make nice with the fans.

[eva unit zero]

Fedorov was a top-line talent through the end of his career. His offensive numbers started to decrease in the last couple seasons, but that was due primarily to a decrease in ice time and a change in use (he was being used more as a second line shut-down center even though he was his team's top center) and his defense was still elite.

One wonders if Fedorov might take the third line position Modano was being interviewed for...

[Echolalia]

One wonders if Fedorov might take the third line position Modano was being interviewed for...
[/font]

I know of one that doesn't wonder.

[stevkrause]

I know of one that doesn't wonder.

make that two...

[Rick Zombos Ghost]

It's hard to say, Fedorov was always kind of flakey and it makes one wonder how much of his carrier drop off was mental. He's had many problems in his personal life and may let that effect his game. Now it's possible that he would have had less of those issues if he would have stayed in a more grounded community in Detroit rather that a western culture that is more "Liberal". Unfortunately we will never know.

I also remember that he was causing some issues in the locker room as well. I remember someone interviewing Yzerman and Yzerman asked the reporter to ask Fedorov why he was wearing a Hockey Sock on his head and kind of rolled his eyes.

Im not sure what Liberal has to do with anything. Michigan has been a blue state for decades?
As far as being grounded...Places out west (especially Northern CA ex. San Francisco) have been listed as the best places to live for years... I think he just knew he would never be as beloved as yzerman and he wanted the spotlight, i remember his agent really playing games with wings management and he probably had a pretty big influence on Sergei.

[newfy]

make that two...

3

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros]

4

[cmonster]

I think his decline wouldn't have been as steep on the Red Wings. The Red Wings team has been very good at hiding people's deficiencies through superior team play and an excellent system. And imho I think if Federov would have stuck around I would have wanted him to be converted to a defenseman. Bowman played Federov back there and he played pretty well. Playing defense would have hid his declining speed and extended his career.

[Yzermania19]

5

The Wings don't need retreads...either ours or other teams' (that means YOU, Modano!).

[Yzermania19]

I think his decline wouldn't have been as steep on the Red Wings. The Red Wings team has been very good at hiding people's deficiencies through superior team play and an excellent system. And imho I think if Federov would have stuck around I would have wanted him to be converted to a defenseman. Bowman played Federov back there and he played pretty well. Playing defense would have hid his declining speed and extended his career.

I agree with this...the Wings would have found a way to make Sergei an effective player as he grew older, but Sergei just didn't want to be here anymore. As long as Yzerman was around, the Wings wouldn't be "Sergei's team," and since Stevie wasn't going anywhere, Sergei left. I think Sergei thought (hoped?) that Stevie would retire after his knee realignment surgery in the summer of 2002, but when he came back in February 2003, Sergei figured his chance to be Mr. Red Wing was gone and he signed with Anaheim in the off season.

Sergei was definitely an enigma - loaded with talent but seemingly unmotivated and lazy at times. But oh, to watch him skate when he was at his peak was definitely a treat! We used to say that Sergei had his dancing shoes on!