Retire Sergei Fedorov’s Jersey Immediately

By Jeff Moss
DetroitSportsRag@GMail.com
February 12, 2015

Some people have a perception of me being a miserable indiscriminate hater of everything and that it’s just a matter of time before cancer envelops my body from all of the self-loathing.

And to tell you the truth, I kind of like having that reputation. I do nothing on this website to dissuade people from thinking that way. I did not develop this place to be the home of fanboy-ism and puff pieces. There is enough of that out there as it is.

Instead, the DSR is a sanctuary for relevant criticism of the Detroit sports teams and the broadcast and print journalists who cover those franchises. If you want a fluffy article on Mike Babcock, go to the Freep. If you need to know where Brad Ausmus‘ daughter’s Bat Mitzvah is being held, click on the BlessYouBoys Twitter feed.

(Believe it or not, I don’t hate everything in life. As a matter of fact, I am an enthusiast of music, horse racing and film.)

But today I will make an exception. The “hater will become the fellater” for one topic that is more important to me than almost ANYTHING else sports related … the Detroit legacy of Sergei Fedorov.

There isn’t another Motown sports issue that gets my blood boiling more than the ignorance of a large percentage of Red Wings fans (mainly the ones from Southgate, River Rouge, Allen Park, etc.) when it comes to their disrespect of, and lack of appreciation for everything #91 did for THEM.

And on the day that Sergei is rightfully getting inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, I felt it was my responsibility to once again set the record straight and DEMAND that Fedorov’s jersey be retired by the Ilitch family.

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 fucking 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.

A future Hall of Famer — we will get back to that in a moment — who STILL has to put up with this nonsense from this organization’s fucktard fanbase to this day……

Can you imagine? Fedorov won a Most Valuable Player trophy playing for you people. He won two Selke trophies — which recognizes the best defensive forward in the league — and topped all of that off with THREE RINGS!!!!! And this is how you derelict, mouth-breathing shitheads treat him while you deify lowlifes like Darren McCarty.

And these uneducated imbeciles have the audacity to claim Fedorov never gave full effort. Never gave it his all?!?!?!?! What is the common complaint about almost every athlete athlete who supposedly mails it in? That they don’t play DEFENSE. Well, Fedorov was considered the best defensive forward of his era (along with Peter Forsberg), so are you trying to tell me he was LAZY on offense?

Do you remember the time when legendary head coach Scotty Bowman tried to trade Fedorov to the Ottawa Senators for Alexander Daigle and Stanislav Neckar?!?!?!?!? Oh right, that wasn’t Fedorov at all. That was your golden boy captain Steve Yzerman who almost was dealt to his hometown.

This from the USA Today …..

Although it was Ilitch who nixed the deal, not Bowman. And why did Scotty want to trade Yzerman in 1995? Because he couldn’t convince him to play more of a two-way game. It was only this near-miss trade that finally woke up #19. And I don’t hold that against Stevie Y., but what I won’t tolerate is people desecrating the memory of Fedorov while comparing him unfavorably to Yzerman — a man who almost got dealt for not buying into the Hall of Fame coach’s system.

And while Scotty had to almost TRADE Yzerman in order to get him to join the program, Bowman would use Fedorov on DEFENSE when injuries decimated the team’s blueline.

History is very inconvenient for some people.

That’s how valuable Fedorov was to the Wings. When needed, he could play Norris Trophy-caliber defense for a Stanley Cup contender even though he had very little training on the back end.

Sergei was a freak of nature. A Barry Sanders on ice. It’s not human to win the fastest skater challenge at the All-Star Game and also have one of the hardest shots in the league. It’s like the dude was created in the same U.S.S.R. lab that perfected Ivan Drago.

And this is the hero who is still shit on in the Motor City on the day he is inducted into the MSHOF.

And please believe me, I am not creating a straw-man argument here. I could post HUNDREDS of comments like the above from Facebook, Twitter, etc.

And Fedorov isn’t a guy who came here as a hired gun like Brendan Shanahan and who played fewer than ten years in this town. He was DRAFTED by the franchise and played THIRTEEN SEASONS in Detroit!!!!

If Fedorov had torn his ACL at the end of the 2003 season and never played another game in the league he would have been a Hall of Famer and his number would have been retired. How do I know this? Because he had a very similar career to Isiah Thomas in Detroit.

And how many years did Zeke play in a Detroit uniform?

THIRTEEN!!!!!

So all of this hate for Sergei is because he went to Anaheim, which ultimately wasn’t his decision at all. And probably because of the offer sheet he signed with Carolina after the first Cup win. How dare Fedorov hold out for the amount he was rightfully owed!!!!

You’d think a man who bullied a bankrupt city for assistance with building a new hockey arena would appreciate Fedorov’s business acumen. However, to the dolts who still rip Fedorov to this day, Fedorov’s dealings with Pete Karmanos were somehow irrevocably treasonous.

So let’s look at some numbers — now that we have established that playing thirteen seasons in one place is sufficient basis for total adulation from a fanbase.

Unless there is now some caveat of which I am unaware that states a player has to spend his ENTIRE career in the same place — which would mean that we’d have to tear Gordie Howe’s jersey down from the JLA rafters ASAP.

Here are the per game stats of three Red Wings legends. For the time being, we will label them X, Y and Z.

At first glance you’d have to admit those numbers all look very similar. Player Y was slightly better in the regular season than Player Z. Player Z was the most proficient postseason scorer of them all.

Well, Player X (Gordie Howe) and Player Y (Steve Yzerman) had their jerseys retired by Detroit without any debate whatsoever. And rightfully so. Meanwhile, Player Z (SERGEI) is on the outside looking in even though he was the best of the three when it MATTERED THE MOST??!?!?!??

Yep, the most dominant playoff performer (13 postseasons) in Red Wings history hasn’t been given the highest honor the team can grant because …… WHY EXACTLY?

[In the long history of the NHL, only THREE players have scored 20 points or more in four straight postseason runs. The list? Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy and …….. Sergei Fedorov. Not even Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux accomplished that amazing feat. Is that good? Hat-tip to Troy Feldpausch for the stat.]

This is the superstar who is still ridiculed with Ser-GAY blasts in a town that should be fawning over him. There should be a fucking street named after Sergei Fedorov. He should own a god-damn Chevrolet dealership at the Troy Motor Mall.

Instead, the man had to worry if he’d get booed at an ALUMNI game at Comerica Park last year. Someone take my blood pressure because I am getting very lightheaded as I angrily type out these paragraphs.

These ingrates who derived joy from this man’s work for a baker’s dozen seasons make the late Eric the Midget look like the most appreciative human to ever wheel around the planet.

And there is NO debate regarding Fedorov’s eventual election to the Hockey Hall of Fame. I have canvassed NHL beat writers, Hockey News columnists and others close to the game and EVERY single one of them says he will make it in his first year of eligibility.

The consensus is that if Fedorov’s former Red Army teammate — and Anna Kournikova suitor — made it on the first ballot then Sergei is a shoo-in as well.

So, when you add it all up, you have a soon-to-be first ballot Hall of Famer (the reason he isn’t in already is Fedorov played one game in the KHL a couple of years ago, resetting his waiting period) who made his bones in Detroit over 13 incredible seasons.

Please give me the list of players in similar situations who haven’t had their number retired. In the meantime, I will be watching highlights of the night Fedorov scored five goals against the Capitals.

Just TODAY Mike Ilitch gave an interview with Lynn Henning of the Detroit News regarding his decision to bring back Tigers “family” with the TV hirings of Kirk Gibson and Jack Morris.

Here are some Ilitch quotes:

“It’s great – more family, and local guys, and fans love it.”

“I wanted some Tigers, and we worked that all out.”

Some Tigers guys. Family.

Well, both of those gentlemen left Detroit far more acrimoniously than Fedorov did.

Sergei Fedorov is Red Wings family. It’s time to do the right thing, Mike. Set up the ceremony retiring #91 and shut up the fucksticks who continue to disparage his incredible Detroit accomplishments to this day.

Let these inbreds boo him when his jersey is being raised to the rafters where it rightfully belongs.

It’s insulting that it isn’t there already.