The Night the Red Wings Unleashed the Russian Five

The date was October 27, 1995. The Saddledome in Calgary would be the place. On that night, legendary Red Wings head coach Scotty Bowman turned the NHL on its head and the Red Wings into a juggernaut.

Detroit already had one of the most talented rosters in the league, but Bowman was about to implement a strategy that was unlike anything seen before. For the first time, he placed Sergei Fedorov, Igor Larionov, and Slava Fetisov as forwards, while also utilizing Slava Fetisov and Vladimir Konstantinov on defense. It didn't take long for Bowman's innovative approach to yield results. Just over ten minutes into the game, Kozlov scored the opening goal, with assists from Fedorov and Konstantinov.

Bowman recognized the Russian Five's shared hockey background could be a weapon. Soviet hockey emphasized puck possession, constant movement, passing, interchangeability, and creating open space rather than the more traditional North American dump-and-chase approach. Bowman wasn't asking them to abandon the hockey they learned. He gave them the green light to play it in the NHL.

The quintet each brought their own skill set to the table. Fedorov brought breathtaking speed and two-way ability. Larionov brought intelligence, patience, and playmaking. Kozlov brought skill and finishing ability. Fetisov brought leadership and puck movement from the blue line. Konstantinov brought bone-crunching physicality and the ability to move the puck. Together, they functioned like a five-man organism and positions became less rigid once the Red Wings controlled the puck.

The 1995-96 Wings were an absolute powerhouse, winning 62 games and finishing with 131 points. The Russian Five had a big role behind those numbers. Unfortunately for them and the Red Wings, they were softened up in the second round of the playoffs by an aging St. Louis Blues team, whom the Wings defeated in a hard-fought seven games. They didn't have much left in the tank by the time they played the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final. The Avalanche defeated the Wings in six games and then they proceeded to defeat the Florida Panthers in a four-game sweep for the Stanley Cup.

The Red Wings licked their wounds and came back with a vengeance in 1996-97. They retooled and acquired Brendan Shanahan in a shrewd move with the Hartford Whalers in October of 1996. He gave the Wings and the Russian Five the final piece needed to put them over the top. The Red Wings beat the Philadelphia Flyers in four games to win their first Stanley Cup in 42 years. Five Russian-born players celebrated a Stanley Cup together for a franchise that had taken enormous risks scouting and acquiring Soviet players.

Only days after winning the Cup, Konstantinov suffered horrific injuries in a limousine crash and his playing career ended at age 30. That meant the Russian Five's time together ended immediately after reaching the summit. The Red Wings repeated as champions in a four-game sweep of the Washington Capitals in 1998, and they made sure that Konstantinov was part of the celebration.