ESPN: Fedorov a Duck

[nccanes]

Former Red Wing will get five years, at least $40 million

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ESPN.com news services


The Anaheim Mighty Ducks, hoping to replace the departed Paul Kariya, have reached agreement with free agent center Sergei Fedorov on a five-year contract worth in excess of $40 million, ESPN has learned.

Fedorov, 33, became an unrestricted free agent July 1. He spent his first 13 seasons in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings. Fedorov has 400 goals and 554 assists in his career.

Fedorov won the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player in 1994 and the Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward in 1994 and 1996.

Detroit won the Stanley Cup three times while Fedorov was a player -- in 1997, 1998 and 2002.

[Shell]

Boooooooooo!

[drwFischerFan2]

Poor Anaheim. They just signed on to 5 years of drama.

I find it ironic that he complains about having to be defensive minded on the Wings, when Anaheim is much, much more defensive minded.
He's in for a very rude awakening. Detroit put up with his temper tantrums and bullsh*t. I'm not sure if Anaheim will be so catering.

[puckin_A]

YEAHHHHH!!!!! great move for ANAHEIM!! :spin:

the fans needed this after that Kariya debacle. I am excited about this.

[Stormbringer]

Boooooooooo!

Seconding this...and wanted to add that, as Alanis Morissette would utter, isn't it ironic that Feds is going to the very team that swept his former team with the defensive mindset that was the very subject of his complaining? (As FischerFan mentioned.)

Also, no offense Puckin', but as great a scorer as he can be, Anaheim did not need a 'tude like Feds' in their locker room. With what I said and all, I already smell a Shanahan/Primeau in the making...the icing on that stale cake would be if the Ducks made Feds their captain. :roll:

[talkingcanes]

do you think Sergei realizes that $40 for 5 years isn't the $10+ million per year he apparently thinks he's worth? ;)

he's probably thought all along that he belongs in Hollywood :roll:

[drwFischerFan2]

Also, no offense Puckin', but as great a scorer as he can be, Anaheim did not need a 'tude like Feds' in their locker room. With what I said and all, I already smell a Shanahan/Primeau in the making...the icing on that stale cake would be if the Ducks made Feds their captain.

I agree that Anaheim does not need his attitude. I seriously hope that Fedorov is not named captain. If he is named captain then that is just said. He doesn't have the leadership qualities, and ability to carry a team for an entire season.

[StormShaman]

Well you never know. Perhaps the change of scenery will do Feds some good, no?

[Shell]

You have a point Cam... hopefully it will be good for him..

Though, when I initially misread this thread topic as "ESPN: Fedorov a Dick", I didn't think they were off-base at all ;)

[1Irbegirlforever]

Now that is an interesting thing to happen. Fedorov in anaheim. Well, I hope he does well for them.

[SouthernHockeyChick]

Ah Man! I'd really started to like the Ducks last season. Crap! I was SO hoping he'd find his little butt and his big head sitting out for a while. :sick:

[SouthernCaniac]

Big head, little dick, stale cake.
i have GOT to stop speed reading through these forums while im doing other things...Sometimes the "gist" of what i get really is :crazy:

[Jeff O Rocks]

I agree with SHC....I was loving the Ducks last season and was thinking it would be hard to cheer against them (as they were previously) when they came to OUR house...not anymore!!! :sick: :sick: Poor Jiggy and the rest of the nice guys...I hope he isn't a pain in the ass for them like he was in Detroit!! :mad: If he is living and breathing, he probably will be..

[folgersnyourcup]

I think it's a little bit of that he was just getting sick of Detroit...perhaps the change of scenery would go a long way for him. It remains to be seen though. I don't think they will name him captain though. I personally hope that honor goes to Steve Rucchin. He sure as hell deserves it.

It's obvious Kariya didn't want to spend any more time in Anaheim. It's also obvious that Fedorov was interested in Anaheim. Several teams were trying to get him. Babcock appears to be one hell of a coach and I think if anybody can keep Fedorov's 'tude in check and turn him into a team player that is willing to give it his all it's him. I certainly don't think that other teams can take Anaheim lightly next year though.

Sure they lost Oates and Kariya but if they stick to the same system that got them 2 periods away from the cup and if Fedorov buys into it completely and uses his offensive creativeness effectively when necessary I think things will go quite well for the Ducks. Their recipe of success, particularly against Detroit was merely surviving. Through the magic of Jiggy, defensive play that while didn't do much in the way of holding down their opponents' shots on goal but made sure to let him see the puck and in most cases stop it, and RIDICULOUSLY opportunistic scoring paved the way for their run. And I'd say there's absolutely no reason why they can't do it again.

I'm not a Fedorov fan but I hope his and the entire rest of the teams' play (if he plays as an individual and doesn't buy into the system all is lost) makes the fans say "Paul who?" after a few months of the season and particularly after they oust' the Avs from the playoffs. I've just lost pretty much all respect for Kariya after seeing the clip where he tells the fans they're going to do this again next year and then promptly jumps ship..... But I'm sure there are plenty of reasons why he felt that was best for him. That doesn't mean his former team can't take sweet revenge though. :)

[Shell]

From the Orange County Register..

Sunday, July 20, 2003
A Mighty windfall
The Ducks make up for the loss of Paul Kariya by signing six-time All-Star Sergei Fedorov.
By DAN WOOD

ANAHEIM – Paul who?

Less than 21/2 weeks after enduring the stunning loss of longtime team captain Paul Kariya to the Colorado Avalanche via unrestricted free agency, the Mighty Ducks responded in a huge way Saturday, signing former Detroit Red Wings center Sergei Fedorov to a five-year contract worth at least $40 million.

"As bad as things looked there for a while, they look pretty good now," Ducks coach Mike Babcock said. "I'm ecstatic, absolutely ecstatic."

On the heels of Thursday's signing of former Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Vinny Prospal to a five-year, $16.5 million deal, the Ducks suddenly appear poised to begin defense of their NHL Western Conference championship, and perhaps even take the next step.

"I'm very excited to be a part of the Mighty Ducks organization," Fedorov said on a conference call from Moscow. "It is a very young and skillful team. I'm looking forward to working hard and to playing hard. Hopefully, we can reach some outstanding goals, like winning the Stanley Cup."

Fedorov, 33, received a $3 million signing bonus and will play for annual salaries of $7 million this season and, barring a work stoppage, $6 million in 2004-05. The contract includes a player option for Fedorov to walk away after the second or third years of the deal, or receive $8 million each of the final three seasons. Bonuses for winning major individual awards could push Fedorov's total take to approximately $45 million.

With two 100-point seasons, a Hart Trophy as NHL Most Valuable Player, two Selke Trophies as the league's top defensive forward and six All-Star Game appearances dotting his glowing résumé, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Fedorov is among the game's premier talents. He led Detroit with 83 points, including 36 goals, in 80 games last season, and added a team-high three points as the Red Wings suffered a shocking opening- round playoff sweep at the hands of the Ducks.

"It's an exciting day for the Mighty Ducks franchise," General Manager Bryan Murray said. "Sergei Fedorov is a great addition to our team. He's one of the most exciting and entertaining players in all of hockey. His speed, puck skills and creativity will help our younger players in particular."

After 13 seasons and three Stanley Cup titles in Detroit, Fedorov's relationship with the Red Wings soured to the point that not even a personal plea from club owner Mike Ilitch earlier this month could salvage the marriage. Fedorov reportedly turned down a five-year, $50 million offer from Detroit last season and never received a similar proposal, from anyone, this summer.

"I got to free agency at a very bad time," Fedorov said. "We all know why, because of the CBA expiring after next season."

It was against such a backdrop that Murray began pursuit of Fedorov immediately after Kariya's unexpected departure freed up $10 million worth of payroll. Murray, who coached the Red Wings during Fedorov's first three seasons with the club, took advantage of their personal history and also appealed to Fedorov's pride during the courtship.

"What he wanted to hear was that he could be the important guy, ice time-wise, his role within a power play, on the first line," Murray said. "He looked at our lineup. We talked about our players. He can be really important, and get the minutes. That's what sold him."

Despite all of Fedorov's accomplishments in Detroit, the Red Wings were always Steve Yzerman's team, with the spotlight also shining at various times on Brendan Shanahan, Brett Hull, Dominik Hasek and Nicklas Lidstrom.

With the Ducks, Fedorov will be the unquestioned top-line anchor, leaving center Steve Rucchin in the perfect No. 2 role, where he might be as effective as anyone in the NHL. As the go-to guy, Fedorov will be expected to shoulder heavy responsibility at key times, especially in the playoffs.

"I was looking for that particular employment in Detroit," Fedorov said. "Unfortunately, it didn't happen, but we did succeed as a team. That was more important than Sergei Fedorov. Playing the kind of role I think I will be playing, I'm thrilled. I enjoy the challenge that I will be a leading player. It will be more work for me, but I'm up for it. I'm looking forward to a different type of season."

Babcock, meanwhile, can spend the rest of his summer vacation toying with a potential top line of Fedorov, Prospal and sharp-shooting right wing Petr Sykora, as well as other possible combinations such as Rucchin, Rob Niedermayer and, eventually, Mike Leclerc.

"It will be awesome," Babcock said. "The other thing I like about this is that after you've had a Cup run, often there is a hangover (effect). When you make the changes we've made, excitement is so high again. That should help eliminate the hangover."

Leclerc, who is recovering from knee surgery, could miss at least the first month of the regular season, Murray said. Fourth-line right wing Dan Bylsma, meanwhile, might be out until roughly New Year's as he rehabilitates from knee surgery.

[Shell]

Old Mitch isn't too happy...

MITCH ALBOM: Wings let Fedorov fly to Ducks for nothing
July 21, 2003
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST

You leave work Friday afternoon, the Red Wings are talking contract with Sergei Fedorov. You come in Monday morning, and Fedorov is a Mighty Duck.

Talk about a lost weekend.

What happened? How did the Wings let their most talented player get away for nothing?

Well, as Orange County real estate agents begin hunting for a new mansion, here's the bottom line:

Sergei saw himself one way, the Wings saw him another.

This is how Sergei saw himself: as a star. That means minutes. That means treatment. That means clothes, photos, gossip, the works. Some of that comes from before he ever got here, when he was a wunderkind in Russia, embraced as a national treasure. Some of it comes from his time as paramour -- and, briefly, husband -- to Anna Kournikova, who has the star treatment thing down to a science.

And some of it comes from his own head. Fedorov looked around the locker room and saw that he was the fastest and most talented guy on the roster. By his logic, that makes him the best. And being the best makes him the biggest star, right?

Not so fast. Detroit -- and hockey in general -- celebrates effort and heart as much as talent, and in this town, during Fedorov's 13-year stay, the Wings were Steve Yzerman's team -- in body and spirit. Not once did Fedorov achieve the adulation or applause that Yzerman enjoys -- not from fans, management or teammates.

"Well, hey," critics will say, "he never earned it the way Yzerman did" -- and they might be right.

But once again, Sergei saw things one way, the Wings saw them another.

Wings deserve criticism
Which brings us to the home team. I've heard many things said about Fedorov's departure, but no one has offered much criticism of Red Wings management.

Allow me.

I don't care how much of a prima donna you might think the guy is: When your most gifted player gets away for nothing -- not even a draft pick -- you didn't handle your business well. It's that simple. It might have been unavoidable. But one of the tricks of great managers is to slither out of the "unavoidable" before it bites them in the butt.

The Wings, in hindsight, might have assumed too much "boy who cried wolf" with Fedorov. They gauged the marketplace, saw a shrinking dollar, and thought their offers would stack up with any others. They were also, understandably, weary of Sergei's confusing ego.

But if you want a thoroughbred, you better expect some bucking. And, if you don't want the guy, the time to do something was last year, when you could have traded him. Why do you think the Pistons got rid of their best player, Jerry Stackhouse, with one year left on his deal? They knew he was approaching free agency and they knew they didn't want to meet his demands.

Once you commit to keeping Fedorov through the end of his contract, you've made an implicit decision to sign him to another. This isn't a salary cap sport, remember. There is no bar to stay under. It does you no good to let him walk.

"But they didn't let him walk," critics say. "They offered him deals. He refused them."

Well, once again, the Wings saw it one way, and Sergei saw it another.

Money not the only issue
"Obviously, I was trying to sign with Detroit," Fedorov said during a conference call from Russia, "but every time it came close, we were not able to reach some kind of agreement."

The Wings, of course, disagree. They say Fedorov turned down several offers and even stopped talking with them toward the end.

But again they are thinking like management, not like Fedorov. They were right. The marketplace wouldn't offer Fedorov more -- but that assumes it's all about money. With most players, maybe it is. With Fedorov, there was more. There was the star treatment that he privately coveted.

If they really wanted to keep him, the Wings should have gone back to their original offer, five years, $50 million. Marketplace? Since when do the Wings observe the marketplace? They make the marketplace.

And in their marketplace, Nicklas Lidstrom earns $10 million a year. In Sergei's psyche, that probably set the bar. He wanted to be the highest-paid player. And if that's what it took to keep him, the Wings should have done it.

Instead, he disappears for nothing, and Detroit loses its most talented skater. I know there are some Red Wings who are privately relieved to be rid of his self-absorbed behavior. But he is a great player, and his points, assists and speed will not be replaced by any one body on this roster.

As for fans who are stunned that Sergei would ditch the only NHL team he's ever known? Remember, this is a guy who walked away from his homeland at age 20. He's made tougher transitions. Personally, I think he now views himself as a New York- or L.A.-type celebrity, and no Detroit offer would have satiated that.

But it's not my job to know that. It's the Wings'. And had they known, had they really gotten into his head, they might have decided the time to say good-bye was when they still could have gotten a star in return, instead of watching Sergei vanish in their rearview mirror.

[Guyute]

Old Mitch isn't too happy...

don't recall many times when he is.

little twerp.

[StormShaman]

Bah, Mitch Albom can kiss my wide white Caniac butt. Seriously.

[Shell]

agreed.

I did have to laugh at his review of an Eminem concert recently.. just can't picture him there somehow LOL (needless to say, he was not impressed)

[Stormbringer]

Bah, Mitch Albom can kiss my wide white Caniac butt. Seriously.

Couldn't have said it any better Camille... http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/otn/wink/thumb.gif

[Jeff O Rocks]

I think the Ducks are the perfect team for Sergei....if you change one letter!! :laugh: ;)

[Stormbringer]

I think the Ducks are the perfect team for Sergei....if you change one letter!! :laugh: ;)

Uh...(thinks for a moment)...pucks? Yucks? Sucks? OH!! Yes, Disney definitely wouldn't approve of that...then again... (http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/films.asp) :eek: :crazy: ;)

Note: PG-13 warning on the above link.

[nccanes]

wtf? This article makes him sound like he's crazy. Wasn't his sekret marriage to Anna long, long over before this summer?

Fedorov: split with Anna made him leave
Canadian Press
9/19/2003

DETROIT (CP) - Sergei Fedorov says he might still be with the Red Wings had not personal problems distracted him from the business of hockey.

The Russian forward, 33, became an unrestricted free agent July 1 and subsequently signed with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Detroit owner Mike Ilitch had tendered a substantial offer, but Fedorov said his split with wife Anna Kournikova, the tennis star, had a large effect on his decision making last season.

"I got knocked down pretty hard," Fedorov told the Detroit Free Press. "It's tough to keep your mind on things when things that have been very, very dear to you - very personal to you - are taken away.

"That's why a lot of stuff happened. It's not the way the media wrote about it - that I turned down Mike Illitch's personal offer."

Fedorov kept it all to himself.

"Obviously, I didn't wanna let anybody know what's happening in my private life because nobody wants to know," Fedorov said. "They want to see me play hockey. But I can say, honestly, if I would not have my personal problems, I would have really considered the offer from Mike Ilitch right away, actually, without even going into negotiations. But, unfortunately, my head was not into the right place at the time."

He said he told Ilitch and GM Ken Holland that he was dealing with personal issues that kept him from mentally honing in on contract numbers. Had his head been clear, he would have taken Ilitch's offer, he said.

"Oh, yeah," he said. "Yeah, and believe me, I'm saying this with the bottom of my heart. I mean, it would be not a problem - not a problem to be back in Red Wing uniform."

[Shell]

"Oh, yeah," he said. "Yeah, and believe me, I'm saying this with the bottom of my heart. I mean, it would be not a problem - not a problem to be back in Red Wing uniform."

In other words, he showed up at Ducks camp, found out they are a defense based system, and is pissed lol

(and it was March 3rd when he admitted he had been married to her, but that they are now divorced)

[SouthernHockeyChick]

That explains why he didn't realize that the 2 year, $5 million per year offer from Detroit was the $10 million offer (or whatever his bad math was) he was looking for. :roll:

Way to endear yourself to the Ducks fans. Moron. :roll:

[Shell]

Holland offered $50 million over five years before Fedorov changed agents in January, and $10 million annually remains the starting point. Fedorov, however, said, "It's not so much money this time. It's more how many years -- hopefully five or six."

[SouthernHockeyChick]

Thanks Shell. I knew there were some addition or division problems somewhere. :roll: