Sergei Fedorov had no idea Alex Ovechkin was a Fedorov fan
TORONTO – Sergei Fedorov had left the ice at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Sunday afternoon when one of the arena workers told him the news.
“One of the helpers told me I was first star, and said ‘how’s that for a weekend?’”
Fedorov will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday, as part of the Class of 2015. But on Sunday, he scored two goals for Team Pavel Bure in its Legends Classic exhibition game against Team Doug Gilmour – a game that ended 5-5 in regulation, and saw the Canadian side win in a shootout.
The game featured several of Fedorov’s old teammates from the Detroit Red Wings: Fellow Class of 2015 inductee Nicklas Lidstrom; center Kris Draper; defenseman Paul Coffey; forward Dino Ciccarelli; and defenseman Larry Muprhy.
Fedorov, who joined the game during its first half after receiving his Hall of Fame blazer before puck drop, looked like he could step into the NHL tomorrow.
“Fitting. It’s Sergei,” said Draper.
Draper watched the blazer ceremony before the game, which included a brief video tribute.
“I had a chuckle: They were showing a video of Sergei going down on a 2-on-1 and I was open. If he could have slid it over to me, I could have had one more goal for my career,” he said. “He decided to shoot and he scored. That’s what Sergei did.”
What Sergei did was score 483 goals by taking those shots, which is also how Alex Ovechkin scored his 483 goals -- including one on Saturday night that tied Fedorov for most career tallies by a Russian in the NHL.
Fedorov watched that game, as he’ll watch Ovechkin’s next game at the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. But he saw something curious on CBC as the Washington Capitals took on the Toronto Maple Leafs:
— Stephanie (@myregularface) November 8, 2015
“Last night, I was watching the game and I saw a picture of Alex when he six or seven. And it says FEDOROV 91, in black letters,” said Fedorov. “And he never told me about that particular part of his life, and wearing something like that. And we were very close in Washington.”
Fedorov said he never realized that Ovechkin grew up as a Fedorov fan. But Fedorov make no secret his admiration of Ovechkin and his abilities.
“He can score double that total in no time, and I wish him that,” said Fedorov.
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