Sergei Fedorov's Escape from Soviet Union Helped Save Red Wings (2020)

Summary

Sergei Fedorov's secret escape from Soviet Union helped save Red Wings“We had him in Detroit before the Russians knew he was gone." On July 23, 1990, Sergei Fedorov slipped past Russia's Iron Curtain and arrived in Detroit at age 20 to begin his NHL career.Keith Gave | Special to Detroit Free PressDetroit Red Wings to retire Sergei Fedorov's No. 91 jerseyThe Detroit Red Wings will honor Sergei Fedorov by retiring his iconic No. 91 jersey on Jan. 12, 2026, at Little Caesars Arena during the franchise's centennial celebration.In “The Russian Five: A story of espionage, defection, bribery and courage,” Keith Gave, the spy-turned-Detroit Free Press newsman whose clandestine mission to Helsinki, Finland, put the Red Wings’ acquisition of the iconic quintet in motion, shares the pulse-pounding and unforgettable tale of how Sergei Fedorov, Slava Fetisov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Slava Kozlov and Igor Larionov slipped past the Iron Curtain, wound up in crumbling 1990s Detroit, helped build a championship empire and changed the landscape of American hockey forever. Gave's writing became the foundation for an award-winning documentary, also titled "The Russian Five," which premiered in 2018 at the Freep Film Festival. Fedorov's Red Wings jersey retirement is Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. Here is a book except from "The Russian Five" on Fedorov's escape from the Soviet Union.After months of meticulous planning, the moment of reckoning was approaching quickly, and Nick Polano was getting nervous.Worried about being recognized by the wrong people — and the Portland, Ore., hotel was crawling with them — he and an accomplice ducked into the back of their waiting limo parked in a dark corner on the side of a hotel. Polano, who had coached the Detroit Red Wings before becoming an assistant general manager with the franchise, told the driver that they’d soon be joined by two more men, and he should be ready to leave immediately, heading in the direction of the airport.Now the driver was nervo...