Remembering the Vladinator

by Dirk Hoag on Nov 6, 2007 10:48 AM EST

Special thanks to Joe Pelletier's prompting, which arrived in my inbox as follows:

"We are heading into Hall of Fame weekend, a weekend where we honour
past greats. Greatest Hockey Legends.com is challenging hockey
bloggers everywhere to honour your own past great.

What I want to do is get as many hockey bloggers as possible to post
an article, a memory, interactive content of some sort, something or
anything that honours a favorite retired hockey player."

Thus challenged, I'd like to take this opportunity to reflect on one of my favorite retired players, one who was forced into retirement just as his career was reaching a peak; Vladimir Konstantinov.

Believe Patch for Vladimir Konstantinov and Sergei Mnatsakanov

For most hockey fans, their impression of Konstantinov was shaped by the tragic accident that left him and team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov disabled. During the Detroit Red Wings' championship run in 1997, Konstantinov gained the notoriety that comes with being a prominent member of a Cup-winning team, but the widely anticipated matchup against Philadelphia's "Legion of Doom" (Eric Lindros, John LeClair, and Mikael Renberg) didn't come to pass, as Scotty Bowman instead chose to lull the Legion of Doom to sleep by putting out the blueline combo of Nick Lidstrom and Larry Murphy against them, playing a puck possession game that avoided intense physical confrontation.

What the broader hockey fanbase missed, as a result, was to see how Konstantinov battled night after night against elite opposition to scratch and claw for any victory he could. He was the consummate pest, with the uncanny knack to drive opponents to distraction, yet remain focused himself on what it takes to win a hockey game.

That attitude first became apparent to NHL eyes during the infamous brawl at the 1987 World Junior Championships between the Canadian and Soviet teams. As then-Red Wing scout Neil Smith noted, Konstantinov was "the only one of the Russians who fought back."

My favorite example came in a home-and-home series during the mid-1990's against the Toronto Maple Leafs, when Konstantinov and Leafs captain Wendel Clark went after each other constantly. At one point, just outside the Detroit zone, Clark lost his composure and started popping Vladdy upside the head, and was about to drop the gloves and throw some punches. Instead, the puck came bouncing out towards center ice and Konstantinov spotted it - he immediately disengaged from Clark, broke into the Toronto end using that unique, loping skating stride of his, and scored on a nice backhanded shot.

Besides being a textbook example of the elusive "grit" that NHL general managers crave for their lineup, Konstantinov boasted a high level of skill as well, having developed originally in the Soviet system as a center. As part of the dominating Russian Five, he scored 14 goals and led the NHL in the 1995-6 season with a +60 rating, which remains the best performance in that regard since Wayne Gretzky in 1986-7.

That championship season in 1997 was only Vlad's sixth in the NHL, and he was clearly entering his prime as a world-class defender and intimidator. His open-ice hits brought fans to their feet, and his selfless attitude made him a favorite among his teammates. Because of that tragic accident, we'll never know how far his career might have gone; he was only 30 years old at the time, and clearly had many years of NHL hockey left in him.

So while we celebrate the outstanding careers of this year's Hockey Hall of Fame inductees, we should also reflect on what might have been for the Vladinator.

And having been challenged by Joe, I'd like to call out a few other bloggers as well. PB, Earl, and Christie, you're it!

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Comments

You mean Wendel Clark... he's my favorite retired player. A gritty heart and soul guy who reinvented the snap shot.

by Anonymous on Nov 9, 2007 2:54 PM EST reply actions

Thanks for the correction, I've changed the spelling and added a link to Clark's bio at the Legends of Hockey above.

by The Forechecker on Nov 9, 2007 4:35 PM EST reply actions

Your Blog brought me to tears. I'd also like to share a little about Vladdy.

My favorite players by the end of the 95-96 season were, Dino, Coffey and Vladdy. By the start of the 96-97 season it was only Vladdy. That Christmas my dad bought me a Konstantinov jersey, which til this day remains unworn by me until he comes back to play for the wings, and have not named a favorite player, for fear that they may be traded, go unsigned, or something much much worse.

Regardless my memories! My most potent memory of Vladdy was a game in 97 VS the feared Flyers in the regular season. Scotty Bowman had teamed up Nick Lidstrom and Vladdy for a RARE but great show. They played the whole night against the legion of doom, the wings, still thought of as a tiny team despite the additions of Mac, Shanny, and Lapointe weren't even given a chance in the pregame match-up. I believe the final score was something like 3-1 but at one point in the game eric lindros did what he did best, took the puck up ice with his head down. Vladdy, saw his opportunity and just LEVELED the "feared" eric lindros. I don't remember any open ice hits before that one and over the years have started to believe that that was the first open ice hit I had ever seen, which is impossible I'd seen scott stevens play and had been watching Vladdy for a good many years, but that hit just left me in a frenzy. This year when the 10 year anniversary of his unfortunate accident happened, I gathered some friends and we went to the pub to celebrate, a few who have never seen a hockey game in their lives allowed me to regale them with stories and then I was forced to show them a bunch of videos, all brought a big smile to my face. So while I miss the time we could of had, I have promised to never forget the time I got, for some people, especially in this day and age, will never see a player like Vladdy again.

by DKOutbackAdventure on Nov 13, 2007 6:39 AM EST reply actions

Hey #35, what's up...pretty neat that this article came up in my google search trying to find comprehensive stats for Konstantinov (it's maddening trying to find anything more than G-A-P, and maybe +/- if your lucky, for inactive players...I haven't been able to find any record of his shooting percentages, etc).

Anyway, the thing that really stuck out when I did find his +/- is this: From 1991-92 through 1996-97, Konstantinov was +185, with his lowest being +22, not counting the lockout shortened 1995 season (+10). To put that in context, Nick Lidstrom, the current leader (by a mile over the rest of the league) from 1991-92 through the present at +384, was "only" +141 through the '96-'97 season, with a low of +7 in '92-'93.

I wholeheartedly agree with your column. I'm not sure most people really realize just how good Konstantinov was...that the Wings just might have drafted the two best defensemen (as in eventually would become, or I guess would have become) in the world way back on that June day in 1989...amazing!

by #19 errbt on Feb 3, 2008 5:35 PM EST reply actions