- Jun 19, 2018
- 31,838
- 69,715
Dudes I'm watching a 30 for 30 on the Miracle on Ice from the Russian perspective....Tretiak got drafted by the Habs in 1984 and THEY DIDN'T EVEN TELL HIM and when he found out they wouldn't let him go.
These guys on the Soviet team didn't play hockey, they played for the army. Seriously. They would get service awards for their play and they'd be honored in their army uniforms. Fetisov had to fight and fight with Lou through bugged hotel rooms and with the Secretary of Defense for the USSR to be released from the army to work as a free man in order to play in the NHL for Jersey.
I didn't realize that when Detroit won the Cup it was the first time that former Soviet players won it. Fetisov and Larionov were teammates through the late 70s to the late 80s when Fetisov left and Larionov followed (with a handful of other non-Soviet/Olympic staples) all to the Red Wings. Fetisov got the cup from Yzerman first, and he and Larionov joint carried it around the ice. Crazy. The documentary really showed just how...regimented...Soviet hockey (just like the actual government was) and it was just insane. Truly hard to believe. Lou literally was calling this guy every day after meeting him and silently signing the contract to "make sure he was still ok" then hang up immediately so the call couldn't be traced.
This "Russian factor" wasn't just about "deciding" to play in the NHL. It was about not getting killed or actually exiled to "the land of the white bear" like Fetisov was threatened by the Soviet Secretary of Defense.
Before the '81 Canada Cup Tikhonov (the Soviet head coach) literally kicked Valeri Kharlamov (one of the best players of the era in the world) off the bus to the airport for "unknown reasons". People speculate it was over conditioning issues....Kharlamov was planning to retire after the tourny...but Kharlamov's son hinted what actually happened was different. That night, on the way home, Kharlamov was killed in a car accident.
These guys on the Soviet team didn't play hockey, they played for the army. Seriously. They would get service awards for their play and they'd be honored in their army uniforms. Fetisov had to fight and fight with Lou through bugged hotel rooms and with the Secretary of Defense for the USSR to be released from the army to work as a free man in order to play in the NHL for Jersey.
I didn't realize that when Detroit won the Cup it was the first time that former Soviet players won it. Fetisov and Larionov were teammates through the late 70s to the late 80s when Fetisov left and Larionov followed (with a handful of other non-Soviet/Olympic staples) all to the Red Wings. Fetisov got the cup from Yzerman first, and he and Larionov joint carried it around the ice. Crazy. The documentary really showed just how...regimented...Soviet hockey (just like the actual government was) and it was just insane. Truly hard to believe. Lou literally was calling this guy every day after meeting him and silently signing the contract to "make sure he was still ok" then hang up immediately so the call couldn't be traced.
This "Russian factor" wasn't just about "deciding" to play in the NHL. It was about not getting killed or actually exiled to "the land of the white bear" like Fetisov was threatened by the Soviet Secretary of Defense.
Before the '81 Canada Cup Tikhonov (the Soviet head coach) literally kicked Valeri Kharlamov (one of the best players of the era in the world) off the bus to the airport for "unknown reasons". People speculate it was over conditioning issues....Kharlamov was planning to retire after the tourny...but Kharlamov's son hinted what actually happened was different. That night, on the way home, Kharlamov was killed in a car accident.
