Fedorov’s Return Brings Red Flags

Sergei Fedorov made his name in Detroit. And he left it there, painted in bright red on the wall outside the locker rooms at Joe Louis Arena, among the players and coaches who have won the Stanley Cup as Red Wings.

When he returns today, his first visit since he signed a free-agent deal with the Mighty Ducks potentially worth $40 million, he will look at that wall, tangible proof that he left his mark.

“Briefly, I will,” he said, smiling. “But it will be a game day, probably an intense day for me, so I won’t bring anything from the past. Or I’ll try not to.”

Memories are sure to surround him. He arrived in Detroit as a promising 20-year-old spirited out of Russia and left 13 years later as a three-time Cup champion.

Brilliant but mercurial, he won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player in 1994, twice won the Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward and was an All-Star six times. He was the legs of the “Russian Five,” teaming with Igor Larionov, Slava Kozlov, Vladimir Konstantinov and Slava Fetisov on mesmerizing displays of puck control and precise passing.

“He helped put hockey on the map in Detroit,” said General Manager Ken Holland, who made Fedorov a four-year, $40-million offer a year ago that sat while talks stalled. “We wanted to keep Sergei. I think Sergei wanted to stay. I think given how negotiations went, ultimately Sergei decided he wanted to see what was out there. Anaheim made a tremendous offer and they’re a great team.

“Sergei played 13 years for Detroit. I have nothing but good things to say about him.”

Holland had told Fedorov that with Steve Yzerman, Chris Chelios and Brett Hull nearing retirement, the Red Wings pictured Fedorov and Nick Lidstrom carrying the team very soon. Holland made a five-year offer he said would have made Fedorov one of the NHL’s highest-paid players, but Fedorov didn’t commit. He switched agents and, ultimately, switched teams.

“I don’t really feel like talking specifics and stirring the pot again,” Fedorov said, “but I can tell you that after they really didn’t do anything about our final proposal and came back with an absolutely different proposal, I knew I would not be staying there.

“Honestly, I still don’t know what to think about the whole deal. I can only say I’ve tried every resource I have in my mind to figure this out.”

Instead of carrying the torch for the Red Wings, though, he’s trying to light a fire under the Ducks.

“I’m a happy Mighty Duck now and I get to be part of this organization with a lot of young players trying to break into the league,” he said. “When I was 20, older players really pay attention to me and try to tell me a lot of interesting things about the game and about living outside the game. I grew up in an environment where I was getting help from older players, and I feel like I have an obligation now to pass that along and tell young players how I feel. I want them to get better and experience everything I experienced.”

His experiences with the Ducks have been mixed. He had one goal and eight points in his first 10 games, then added seven goals and 12 points in his next 14 games for a team-leading 20 points.

“Maybe at times it’s going well, and at times it became a job, a little less fun, more work,” he said. “But I don’t mind that because it’s not only me adjusting to coaches and everyone I play with, they’re adjusting to me, and everyone’s doing a good job.”

He keeps in touch with masseur Sergei Tchekmarev and with Chelios, who told the Detroit Free Press Fedorov wasn’t worried about how he’ll be received.

“I’d give him a standing ovation,” Chelios said. “He needed a change. It’s going to work out for him, I’m sure. He’s doing well over there -- he’s feeling more comfortable as the time passes.”

Fedorov himself said he expected to feel a bit strange, just as he did when he put on a Duck jersey three months after the Ducks had swept the Red Wings out of the playoffs.

“I don’t know how much excited I am about it,” he said. “The more I think about it and the more I’m getting asked about it, I think it’s going to be very, very tiring emotionally and mentally. I’m going to try to keep my focus on the game and nothing around it.”