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Fedorov has never been selfish on the ice but some hockey purists believe a case can be made that at certain times when he was younger it was less about what was happening with his team and more about his career. They cite his lengthy holdout to start the 1997-98 season when as a restricted free agent he eventually signed an offer sheet with Carolina for a whopping $38 million only to have Detroit match that offer in late February of 1998. Fedorov’s holdout ended and he helped the Red Wings win their second consecutive Stanley Cup.

Still, even though a championship was won in part through his contributions, Detroit fans felt wronged that Fedorov did not have a team-first mentality. Of course, the flip side of that is he wasn’t afraid to stand up for what he believed in from a personal standpoint and he was willing to do what had to be done and that’s a lonely proposition for an athlete who plays a team sport.

In the years to come they’ll be the obvious and interesting ongoing comparison drawn between Fedorov and Ovechkin. As long as injuries don’t take Ovechkin down, he should break Fedorov’s record for most goals scored by a Russian in the NHL.

Both are extremely talented and can score goals but the only real similarity between them is the passion with which they play the game. It’s at a supreme level. Other than that they differ in that on a lot of nights Fedorov will save a game for his team with his defense. You won’t see Ovechkin do that very often but he will win games for his team with his offense.

Maybe the highest compliment that can be paid Fedorov is that — at least in the prime of his career — he was definitely the guy his team wanted on the ice whether it was ahead by a goal or trailing by a goal in the closing minutes of a game.

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