Former Red Wings forward Sergei Fedorov makes major admission
Former Detroit Red Wings forward Sergei Fedorov, who scored 400 goals during his time with the franchise, is making a major admission over 20 years after leaving.
Former Detroit Red Wings franchise forward Sergei Fedorov experienced a bitter split with the team in 2003, bolting Hockeytown for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
He had played his entire NHL career with the Red Wings up to that point, scoring 400 goals and helping the team win 3 Stanley Cup championships. But he rejected a pair of offers from team owner Mike Ilitch and ultimately signed with the Ducks for less money.
Many feel that this (along with the 1998 offer sheet from the Carolina Hurricanes from former Ilitch family business rival Peter Karmanos) is the reason why despite being one of the best players in club history, the team still hasn't raised his No. 91 sweater to the rafters of Little Caesars Arena.
The good news is that he's repaired some of the bridges burned with his departure.
Fedorov is now admitting that he never should have departed in the first place, saying he should have simply accepted what Detroit offered when asked what he'd done differently if he had the chance to go back.
Fedorov continued:
My agents kept saying that they could raise my salary. But nothing changed. At some point, I completely stopped understanding what was happening in my life. Playing hockey was my only outlet. And Detroit simply removed a new contract offer from the table.
Should the Red Wings simply bury the hatchet and officially welcome Fedorov back into the fold?
Sergei Fedorov's former teammate Chris Chelios can't believe No. 91 isn't retired yet
Earlier in the year, Fedorov's former teammate Chris Chelios spoke during a nationally televised Red Wings game and expressed his disbelief that the organization hadn't retired the iconic No. 91 sweater number.
He was such a great kid, nobody in the locker room worked harder. That's shocking, but I hope it gets in there and Sergei gets his jersey retired, he deserves it.
