Over the years, many people (Detroit Red Wings fans in particular) have said Sergei Fedorov‘s number 91 should be hung in the rafters at Little Caesars Arena and retired. With the recent jersey retirements of both Jaromir Jagr and Chris Chelios by the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks, respectively, it has further proved that it truly is time that Fedorov’s number needs to be retired by the Red Wings organization.
Tough Split Between the Red Wings and Fedorov
While Fedorov spent his best seasons with the Red Wings organization from 1990-2003, there were a few different times that he and the organization were close to a split, with the second being the end of his time in Detroit. It started with a holdout in the 1997-98 season, in which he missed 59 games of the regular season and signed an offer sheet with the Carolina Hurricanes worth $30 million over six years that the Red Wings eventually matched. But he would spend the rest of that contract with the Red Wings before deciding to leave the team after the 2002-03 season to sign as a free agent with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.
Fedorov would spend just over a season with Anaheim before being sent to the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he spent parts of three seasons before getting traded to the Washington Capitals, where he finished his career and left the NHL for the Kontinental Hockey League after the 2008-09 season. He was also inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015.
Different Paths for the Three Players
When looking at how the trio of Fedorov, Jagr, and Chelios exited their respective organizations, they did leave in different ways. But with the latter two finally having their jerseys retired, it shows that time heals all wounds.
In the case of Jaromir Jagr, the Penguins organization found themselves in a tough spot when they traded one of the biggest faces in their franchise’s history in 2001 to Washington. At the time, the Penguins were struggling financially (both cap space and organizationally) and knew that they would not be able to afford Jagr and the other players that they wanted to keep that needed contracts.
The trade was a move that neither side wanted to have happened but was a move that needed to happen for the organization. The Penguins did have a chance to bring Jagr back 10 years later in 2011 as a free agent, but he chose to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers instead as they gave him more money and more of a role in the lineup. This move did not settle well with Penguins fans as the Flyers are their cross-state rivals. Jagr eventually called it quits in the NHL after the 2017-18 season.
The situation with the Chicago Blackhawks and Chris Chelios was the opposite of the Jagr situation, with Chelios fully wanting to be in Chicago. But the team’s then-general manager, Bob Murray, said that he would not be back with the organization once his contract expired after the 1999-00 season. The Blackhawks were heading towards a full rebuild organizationally, and Chelios wanted to be the leader of that rebuild, but the team felt like he did not have as much to offer to the team compared to what he thought he did. This ended with Chelios getting traded to the Red Wings for two first-round picks and Anders Eriksson. The 2013 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee made his return to Chicago in February and was welcomed back with open arms by the Blackhawk faithful.
In each of three of these player’s cases, the love from the fans seemingly never went away. From jerseys at the rinks to seeing players in alumni games or public events in the case of Fedorov and Chelios, the fanfare still surrounds each of these players while also being booed as an opposing player.
Time Heals All Wounds
Over time, each of these players’ issues or feelings towards the teams that either moved on from them or they moved on from have been mended, and they still have a strong bond with the organizations and the communities surrounding them.
Related: Detroit Red Wings: Top 5 Moments of Sergei Fedorov’s Career
Fedorov has made appearances for the Red Wings organization. Whether having a ceremony held by the organization in his honor or showing up at the Winter Classic alumni game in 2013, he has tried to make amends with the organization he called home for 13 seasons. While it seems like the organization has not forgotten or necessarily forgiven one of their franchise’s best players for leaving how he did, with the new regime in the organization led by one of Fedorov’s former teammates and general manager, Steve Yzerman, there is a chance the tides could turn. There were even quite a few people thinking Yzerman could consider hiring Fedorov as the team’s head coach in 2022 after he fired Jeff Blashill, as Fedorov has been coaching in the KHL since the 2021-22 season. At this point, it is time that number 91 finds its rightful place in the rafters in Detroit.