Konstantinov Autograph Signings Proving To Be Great Therapy for Ex-Red Wings Defenseman | DHN+

Alan Moore isn’t ashamed to admit that his interest in whether former Detroit Red Wings defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov could sign autographs was driven purely by selfish reasons. Moore is the proprietor of Sportsgraphing.com, a popular site on the internet where autograph collectors meet to buy, sell and trade signed items from athletes, as well as to share in their love of the hobby.

Moore is also a collector, and he had in his personal collection a number of items from the Red Wings’ late 1990s Stanley Cup-winning teams. All they were missing to complete the collection were signatures from Konstantinov.

“Originally it started out that I had some stuff that I wanted to get done from the late 90s that came out right before the accident,” Moore admitted.

Moore was scouring the internet, seeking out any evidence that Konstantinov was still able to sign autographs. Known as The Vladinator, he was an all-star defenseman with the Wings. However, Konstantinov suffered debilitating brain damage from a limousine crash just days after Detroit’s 1997 Stanley Cup triumph.

During his search of the world wide web, Moore came across The Vladimir Konstantinov Special Needs Trust, a GoFundMe page operated by Konstantinov’s daughter Anastasia. The creation of the fund was designed to enable funding for additional therapy opportunities. These include such activities as horseback riding and painting classes.

It didn’t take long for the light bulb to go on over Moore’s head. “There was a bigger need here than the couple of things I wanted to get signed for my personal collection,” Moore said.