Sergei Federov was one of the first superstars to defect from the Soviet Union to play in the NHL.
By 16, he was already playing for CSKA Moscow alongside a fellow Hall of Famer, the Russian Rocket Pavel Bure.
Federov was selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the fourth round of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft and was convinced to leave the USSR after a Detroit sports writer passed him a secret message.
In July 1990, the Soviets were in Portland to play in the Goodwill Games. Fedorov was picked up outside his hotel by then-Wings executive vice-president Jim Lites and flown to Detroit in former owner Mike Ilitch’s private jet.
Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman played alongside the Russian for 13 seasons in Detroit and says he was one of the most complete hockey stars ever.
“He had everything,” he told ESPN The Magazine. “Skating, the skill. He was one of the best skaters I’ve ever seen.
“The combination of his size — big strong powerful man — and with great skills. He kind of had the whole package.”
By the time he moved to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2003 following a contract dispute, Federov was a three-time Stanley Cup champion and MVP.
He had also been involved in a bizarre love triangle featuring fellow NHL great Bute and Russian tennis sensation Anna Kournikova.
Both players were spotted in the stands watching the teenage phenom in tournaments and Fedorov confirmed that they were briefly married during his final years in Detroit, although the tennis ace has always denied the claims.
“They are true,” Federov told The Hockey News of the rumors. “We were married, albeit brief, and we are now divorced.”
Federov signed a four-year contract worth $40million with Anaheim and racked up an estimated $97million in salary over his career, which also took him to the Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals.
GettyFedorov spent 13 years with the Red Wings[/caption] GettyHe has since returned to Russia as a player and coach[/caption]He should have been set for life but ended up struggling financially after placing his trust in close friend Joseph Zada, with whom he invested a large chunk of his fortune.
Zada was ultimately jailed for running a sophisticated investment scam with dozens of victims after he claimed to have a close relationship with the Saudi Royal Family.
“My understanding was they were friends and shared a passion for horses and once [Prince] Abdullah gave him a really, really nice horse,” Federov said in court.
He was awarded $60million in a judgment against Zada, but later revealed that he had not been paid and had two Bloomfield Hills mansions foreclosed on as the debts piled up.
The former Wings hero was forced to return to his homeland and continued playing until 2013.
“I had to move back to Russia to repay my debts,” he admitted.
GettyFederov will go down as one of hockey’s greats[/caption]“Zada presented himself to friends and acquaintances as an extremely wealthy man. He owned mansions in Michigan and Florida, hosted extravagant parties and traveled with bodyguards,” the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 2015 ruling via the Palm Beach Post.
“Zada offered potential investors an opportunity to share in his apparent wealth: through his connections with royalty in Saudi Arabia, he would combine their money with his to make large purchases of oil that would be stored on offshore tankers.”
“Little of what Zada told the investors was true,” the 6th Circuit added.
“Zada’s connections with Saudi royalty existed only in his imagination. On one occasion, Zada invited investors to a party, where he paid actors to pose as a Saudi prince and princess. And Zada never bought any oil; instead, he used the investors’ money to pay his personal expenses, which were substantial.”
Zada was jailed for 17.5 years in 2016, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — just a year after Federov was admitted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
“I have always played hockey because I loved it, not because I wanted to win awards,” he said after his induction was announced.
“But now that my career is over, I realize how special it is to be recognized by the Hockey Hall of Fame. I am deeply honored to be an inductee.”
Federov was named head coach of CSKA in 2021 but lost his post in 2024.
The first Russian to pass 1,000 points in the NFL, he earned the respect of friends and foes alike — including all-time great Wayne Gretzky — in a trailblazing career.
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