Nightfall 871 Report post Posted June 2, 2015 A great article I stumbled upon today and I thought I would share it. I really like how this guy puts it. I remember a lot of these events because I was a fan of the team before they won their first cup in 1997. Beware, some of the language is a little harsh. My favorite part: Let me start with this … Fedorov was one of the top TWO players on THREE championship teams in Detroit. A franchise that, prior to him walking off that elevator in Seattle at the Goodwill Games and signing a contract with the Wings, hadn’t won a Stanley Cup in 35 years. (To imagine that gap, add five years to the Tigers’ current stretch. And then drink Clorox bleach and wash it down with some Drano.) The team became a modern-day dynasty in large part because of Fedorov’s contributions. This is a city where Sergei should never have to pay for another ******* meal as long as he lives — not unlike members of the 2004 Red Sox in Boston. Instead, the superstar got booed every single time he returned to Detroit after leaving the Wings in the summer of 2003. Even though #91 WANTED to come back and Mike Ilitch dictatorially declared his decision was too late and pulled the contract offer back. http://detroitsportsrag.net/retire-sergei-fedorovs-jersey-immediately/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DickieDunn 2,571 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 He did not want to come back, he wanted out way back in 97. Had he been unrestricted, or had the KHL as a legit option, he would have been gone after the first Cup. Anything else is revisionist history by his fans. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightfall 871 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 I prefer to deal in what we can prove based on what happened. Not based on how we think he felt or what we think he would have done. Here is what we know for sure.... I remember the media uproar when Ilitch pulled the contract offer to Fedorov back then. It was all over the news for crying out loud. Various bloggers today even say that it happened. Here is a thread back in 2004 where some users are talking about the contract how it went from 50 million, to 40 million, to 32 million, and then pulled off the table by ilitch. http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/showthread.php?t=94452 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unsaddleddonald 357 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 Yeah read anything by Jeff Moss with caution; the guy gets off on fighting with people on Twitter... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightfall 871 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 Yeah read anything by Jeff Moss with caution; the guy gets off on fighting with people on Twitter... I ignore the insults and just looked at the numbers. Some of the arguments he makes are pretty accurate. The people who are offended are going to blow twitter up for sure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frankgrimes 1,836 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 Ship has sailed no matter how often this gets brought up by the media 1 chaps80 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,794 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 I would have no problem with retiring his jersey (after Red Kelly's jersey gets retired) 1 Gordie Howe hat trick reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Helmethead 235 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 Feds was a great player for the Red Wings. There would have been no Cups won without him. One of the best 2 way players I've ever seen. I loved Feds the player even though he would take some nights off. I recall the 97 playoff series vs the Avs. Feds got drilled and wanted to leave the game. Konstantinov in between periods told him to get back out there and not give Russian players a bad name. Off the ice Feds was a complete idiot. His dad Viktor was always shooting his mouth off. It usually was about his son leaving the Red Wings. Feds was always jealous of the adoration Red Wings fans had for Stevie Y. He said if his name were San Jones then he'd be just as popular. He held out in the fall of 1997. Carolina front loaded an offer sheet made by Karnanos just to stick it to his rival Illitch. He made 28 million in 97-98 then whined how he only made 2 mil a season the next 5 years. Most Wings fans knew then he'd never sign another contract with the Wings. In the summer of 2003 Illitch made a rare personal offer of 5 years 50 million. Illitch thought there was no way it wouid be turned down. It was a very fair offer. In retrospect thank God he did turn it down as his play slipped dramatically. Feds said he "had to think about it.". From that point I believe the Red Wings were done with Feds. Too many years of him and his dad whining and complaining and shooting their mouths off. I always go back to that offer sheet in 1997. Feds did not agree to sign with the Wings. The offer sheet was matched and he had to play for the Wings. I think that really pissed off management. But he was such a valuable player. The team has just won the Cup. They were primed to win another one. They had just lost Vladdy. They needed Feds and he knew it. He will always be one of my favorite players. Bottom line for me is that his on ice play makes him deserving of his #91 being retired. However his off ice antics says he doesn't. Personally I'd like to see his number retired by the Wings. I dont see it happening for a long time if ever. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chaps80 1,591 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 I would have no problem with retiring his jersey (after Red Kelly's jersey gets retired) And Osgood. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chaps80 1,591 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 Feds was always jealous of the adoration Red Wings fans had for Stevie Y. Absolutely. One of the main reasons why he left. He wanted to be "the guy". I recall some media at the time pumping him up as the best player in the world, married to a hot young Anna K, etc. I'm sure alot of that went to his head, which was already pretty swelled. Too bad leaving never worked out for him, because as you mentioned, his play slipped dramatically once he left Detroit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,794 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 And Osgood. LOL. You compare him to one of the greatest players in the game's history? 1 Hockeymom1960 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nyqvististhefuture 1,002 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 Without federov we don't win all those cups ... He was huge in the playoffs and put up big numbers as a redwing and was a star player regardless of the contract problems and him leaving His jersey should definetly be retired Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LAWings 160 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 I would have no problem with retiring his jersey (after Red Kelly's jersey gets retired) And Osgood. And Larry Aurie... 1 Gordie Howe hat trick reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chaps80 1,591 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 LOL. You compare him to one of the greatest players in the game's history? No comparison made at all. Osgood just deserves it before him in my opinion.. A player's jersey should'nt be retired solely based on his playing ability and career numbers, but his dedication to the team as well. Fedorov was ready to jump ship early as 1997. Rejected a huge cash offer to stay in 2003. Osgood would have stayed a Wing his entire career if he could have, but I understand Hasek and Cujo and the unfortunate Legace experiment left no room for him. But he came back when offered. won his third cup, and nearly a fourth. Guy loved Detroit. Still loves Detroit. Pretty damn good career numbers too. Fedorov became a Duck and faded away. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,794 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 And Larry Aurie... Don't get me started on the Aurie thing. That was a classless move by Ilitch. 1 Gordie Howe hat trick reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DickieDunn 2,571 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 I prefer to deal in what we can prove based on what happened. Not based on how we think he felt or what we think he would have done. Here is what we know for sure.... I remember the media uproar when Ilitch pulled the contract offer to Fedorov back then. It was all over the news for crying out loud. Various bloggers today even say that it happened. Here is a thread back in 2004 where some users are talking about the contract how it went from 50 million, to 40 million, to 32 million, and then pulled off the table by ilitch. http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/showthread.php?t=94452 There's no thinking. He held out, said he'd never play in Detroit again, and worked with Carolina trying to get a deal the Wings couldn't match. Then as soon as he hit free agency he bolted despite getting a hell of an offer from Detroit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nyqvististhefuture 1,002 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 No comparison made at all. Osgood just deserves it before him in my opinion.. A player's jersey should'nt be retired solely based on his playing ability and career numbers, but his dedication to the team as well. Fedorov was ready to jump ship early as 1997. Rejected a huge cash offer to stay in 2003. Osgood would have stayed a Wing his entire career if he could have, but I understand Hasek and Cujo and the unfortunate Legace experiment left no room for him. But he came back when offered. won his third cup, and nearly a fourth. Guy loved Detroit. Still loves Detroit. Pretty damn good career numbers too. Fedorov became a Duck and faded away. Strongly disagree on Ozzie , nice guy and all but really took advantage of being on a all star team to boost his career numbers as corey crawford with Chicago is now doing .... Ozzie won't be a hall of famer and shouldn't get his jersey retired As for federov jumping ship in 97 he took a big offer and it got matched , I think some fans just have to let it go .....who's to say none of us wouldn't of taken the big contract in the same situation? Doesn't mean he didn't like detroit He was drafted by detroit and played like a dozen seasons in detroit , helped us win 3 cups (I don't believe we win all those cups without federov) put up great season stats and won some big awards When I think of the wings of the 90s I always think of yzerman federov lidstrom ... Sergei needs to join the other 2 up in the rafters Ray bourque left boston to win a cup ... Is that more acceptable cause it wasn't a money reason? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr Dubya 32 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 Don't get me started on the Aurie thing. That was a classless move by Ilitch. From what I've read (1930's was a little before my time), Aurie was never that great of a player and was never the best player on his team at any point during his career. His number was only retired in the first place because he was tight with Jack Adams. That's what I read anyway. If there's any truth at all to that, then why should his name go up there with actual greats of the game. And Red Kelly, well this is another time Jack Adams got his way. Except this time, it seems to have stuck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DickieDunn 2,571 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 Strongly disagree on Ozzie , nice guy and all but really took advantage of being on a all star team to boost his career numbers as corey crawford with Chicago is now doing .... Ozzie won't be a hall of famer and shouldn't get his jersey retired As for federov jumping ship in 97 he took a big offer and it got matched , I think some fans just have to let it go .....who's to say none of us wouldn't of taken the big contract in the same situation? Doesn't mean he didn't like detroit He was drafted by detroit and played like a dozen seasons in detroit , helped us win 3 cups (I don't believe we win all those cups without federov) put up great season stats and won some big awards When I think of the wings of the 90s I always think of yzerman federov lidstrom ... Sergei needs to join the other 2 up in the rafters Ray bourque left boston to win a cup ... Is that more acceptable cause it wasn't a money reason? Fedorov was offered a good contract in 97 and wouldn't sign because he wanted out of a high end organization. Bourque only left Boston because they were bad and there was no chance of short term improvement. Completely different situations. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,794 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 (edited) From what I've read (1930's was a little before my time), Aurie was never that great of a player and was never the best player on his team at any point during his career. His number was only retired in the first place because he was tight with Jack Adams. That's what I read anyway. If there's any truth at all to that, then why should his name go up there with actual greats of the game. And Red Kelly, well this is another time Jack Adams got his way. Except this time, it seems to have stuck. Because his name was already up there, that's why. Whether it should or shouldn't have been is a different story. But taking it down is disrespectful, especially since Ilitch has taken a tight-lipped, rat like stance on this. He's a joke. There's plenty of guys in the HHOF who don't belong there. Should they be removed now? And Aurie was actually very instrumental for Detroit during the early days of the team. Edited June 3, 2015 by GMRwings1983 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wingfan13 44 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 Absolutely. One of the main reasons why he left. He wanted to be "the guy". I recall some media at the time pumping him up as the best player in the world, married to a hot young Anna K, etc. I'm sure alot of that went to his head, which was already pretty swelled. Too bad leaving never worked out for him, because as you mentioned, his play slipped dramatically once he left Detroit. I am not sure where this rumor started. I hear this from a lot of Wings fans and I am not sure I have ever heard anything to back that up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Helmethead 235 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 (edited) Anyone who was a Red Wings fan during this particular time knew this to be true. I thought it was pretty much common knowledge. Edited June 3, 2015 by Helmethead Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Barrie 900 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 LOL. You compare him to one of the greatest players in the game's history? Osgood holds all the Red Wings goalie playoff records, I think if Fed's jersey get's retired, Osgood's should too. 1 chaps80 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nyqvististhefuture 1,002 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 Fedorov was offered a good contract in 97 and wouldn't sign because he wanted out of a high end organization. Bourque only left Boston because they were bad and there was no chance of short term improvement. Completely different situations. Was he offered more money in 97 than he ended up getting ? I didn't believe he did , I ended up researching federov last night and saw he made 28 million for a shortened year(12 which was made for us making the conference finals and he also led us in goals in the playoffs to another cup win) I can understand people being pissed at him eventually leaving and the contract situations , I believe he would of been more productive in detroit than he was after he left Money is money though put it aside and you can't deny what he did in detroit for 13 seasons were remarkable and was a major reason we won 3 cups and we should all thank him for everything he gave to detroit Last thing I'd wanna see is for the fans to forgive him 30 yrs from now and he gets his jersey retired when he's an old man like the habs did with so many of the past players Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wingfan13 44 Report post Posted June 3, 2015 Anyone who was a Red Wings fan during this particular time knew this to be true. I thought it was pretty much common knowledge. I was a Wing fan during that time and actually friends with people in and around the team. I think this was probably written by some sports writer as an assumption and people went with it. I just wonder how that would have started because it isnt like he would come out and say "Yeah, I am tired of living in Steve Yzermans shadow" or anything similar. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
