Detroit Red Wings
In Retrospect, Fedorov Wishes he Stayed With Red Wings
Detroit star left team as UFA in 2003

Looking back on his NHL career, Detroit Red Wings icon Sergei Fedorov is living with at least one regret. In hindsight, the Hockey Hall of Famer wishes that he’d remained with the Red Wings.
In 2003, Fedorov was heading into unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career. The Red Wings were making him a multi-year offer that at the time would’ve made him the NHL’s highest-paid player.
He asked for time to think about it. Ultimately, Red Wings ownership was pulling the deal off the table. Fedorov ended up signing with the Anaheim Ducks.
Sergei Fedorov with a one-handed goal after a pass from Brett Hull!
2002 Playoffs. Vancouver Canucks vs Detroit Red Wings pic.twitter.com/ZPskWxcmCW
— Evan Streifel (@Evan_Streifel) February 23, 2024
In retrospect, he believes that decision was a mistake. He’d do it differently if life were to give him a second chance.
“Sign everything that Detroit offered and continue working calmly,” Fedorov explained to Russian website Sport-Express as to what his choice should have been. “Don’t escalate the situation.”
Fedorov Left Red Wings Contract Decision In Hands Of Agent
So why didn’t he put his name to the lucrative pact that was placed in front of him by the Red Wings?
“I finished it like this: “I need to think about it,” Fedorov said of that contract meeting with the Red Wings. “I named a time frame – two or three weeks. But it all turned into months. I was a young man, not very knowledgeable about life. I also trusted the agents.
“My agents kept saying that they could raise my salary. But nothing changed. At some point, I completely stopped understanding what was happening in my life. Playing hockey was my only outlet. And Detroit simply removed a new contract offer from the table.”
#OTD in 1996…
Sergei Fedorov became the first player in NHL history to score all five goals in his team's 5-4 OT win over the Capitals. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/49eRGYCxY1
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 26, 2023
The end result was acrimony on both sides. The contract Fedorov would sign with the Ducks was for less money than the original Detroit offer. When he’d return to Detroit with Anaheim, Red Wings fans would boo Fedorov – the most recent Red Wings player to win the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP – with a merciless fury.
“I was convinced that there is only one step from love to hate,” Fedorov said. “And the management blamed it all on me, without telling me how it really was. Indeed, I go out on the ice — the spectators boo. You get the puck — a whistle. Very unpleasant.”
Ultimately, Fedorov believes that there were no winners in the scenario.
“Nobody won — neither me nor the club,” Fedorov said. “There were just a lot of negative emotions, on both sides. And it ended with me leaving for Anaheim in 2003, signing a five-year contract for $40 million. Detroit initially gave (an offer of $10 million) per season.”