DETROIT — Sergei Fedorov arrived on the ice Monday night the only way he knows how: in style.
On the night the Detroit Red Wings raised Fedorov’s No. 91 to the rafters, formalizing his place among the greatest players in franchise history, it was only right that the ceremony featured all the flair Fedorov displayed in his playing career. As he was introduced to the crowd, he emerged out of the Zamboni well in the passenger’s seat of a burgundy Corvette, just like the one he had when he played here — and what he said Monday is “still my favorite car.”
Rightful place. pic.twitter.com/0yOPoJhOud
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 13, 2026
It was a full-circle moment on a full-circle night at Little Caesars Arena. In retiring Fedorov’s jersey number, the Red Wings weren’t just honoring a franchise icon; they were closing the loop on a legendary story that always deserved a better ending than where it left off.
When the Red Wings drafted Fedorov at No. 74, back in 1989, there was no guarantee he would ever come over to North America. Cold War tensions meant the Soviet Union was still cut off from the Western World, and it took a covert defection while Fedorov was in the United States with the Soviet national team at the 1990 Goodwill Games to get him to Detroit.
But when he did, he took the hockey world by storm with his speed, skill and two-way prowess. He had 31 goals and 79 points in 77 games as a rookie, finishing second to Ed Belfour for the Calder Trophy. He was the runner-up for the Selke Trophy a year later, and in 1994, he won it — along with league MVP honors after scoring 120 points. He added another Selke to his trophy case in 1996, and then three Stanley Cups with Detroit in 1997, 1998 and 2002.
Fedorov was a transcendent star, and it went beyond his talent. His flair with the puck was matched by his equipment, and his iconic white Nike skates became a signature look — one to which the Red Wings twice paid homage Monday night, first gifting Fedorov a commemorative pair of white skates at his ceremony and then by having the entire team skate out in them for pregame warmups.
“Everyone wanted those skates when he was wearing them,” Red Wings forward Patrick Kane said recently. “I never had a pair. My dad would never let me get a pair, but I always wanted a pair.”
Growing up in Buffalo, N.Y., Kane was just one of many young fans outside of Detroit for whom Fedorov became an icon. When the Red Wings won one of their late-90s Stanley Cups, Kane can remember former assistant coach Barry Smith bringing the Cup to Buffalo.
“I showed up with a Fedorov jersey and a Fedorov hat on,” Kane said. “I enjoyed the way he played. Obviously you remember his skating ability, and his ability to play defense and offense, point on the power play. That was probably one of the first forwards that was playing the point on the power play.”
A young 88 reppin’ 91 😎 pic.twitter.com/VAf10OYWLz
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 12, 2026
And of course, he was an icon back in Russia, as a trailblazer and a member of the Red Wings’ famed Russian Five along with Igor Larionov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Slava Kozlov and Slava Fetisov.
“One of the first Russians who kind of opened this road for the Russian players to come into North America and play in this league,” said Carolina Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov. “And obviously one of the greatest Russian players in (the) NHL.”
However, as remarkable as his legacy is and was, there remained one lingering strain on his relationship with the team that drafted him: Fedorov’s decision to leave the Red Wings for Anaheim in 2003, after previously signing an offer sheet with the Carolina Hurricanes in 1998. That left a sting in Detroit, and for that reason, many wondered if a day like Monday would ever come.
This summer, though, the call came from Red Wings owner Christopher Ilitch. And more than 20 years after he left, Fedorov had something to say to the fans in Detroit.
“I have something in my mind for a while I’d like to share, and clear this (up) tonight,” Fedorov said in his speech on the ice, in front of a packed crowd. “Leaving Detroit when I did was a huge mistake. That is on me.”
With one caveat: “One great thing that came out of that situation was that it set me on a path to meeting the love of my life, my wife Corrina,” Fedorov said, “who gave me two beautiful children, Aleksandra and Viktor.”
Then, addressing the Ilitch family, he said, “It is truly because of you that this happened. Drafting a Russian player with almost no chance of coming to the team. Sometimes the biggest risks in life have the biggest rewards.”
Sergei Fedorov’s long-awaited jersey retirement was full of anecdotes and heartfelt memories. (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
This was the kind of ending Fedorov’s dizzying story in Detroit always deserved: exciting, theatrical and heartfelt.
He told the story of choosing No. 91 — he was the first and only player in Red Wings history to do so — sharing that his Soviet countryman Alexander Mogilny had worn No. 89 in Buffalo for the year he came over to the NHL (1989), but that Fedorov “didn’t really like zero on my back.” So he went one year forward, and asked for No. 91.
The rest is history.
And as complicated as that history may have gotten in the middle, it all ended up in the right spot on Monday: with that No. 91 immortalized in Detroit.
“Detroit is home,” Fedorov said before the ceremony. “Always been. No matter where I was. And when I landed, I swear to God, when I landed every time in Detroit, I feel at ease. I breathe differently. And I enjoy that feeling, every time I land. Detroit is home.”