Long before he was Showtime, Patrick Kane wanted to be like a showman in Detroit. Eventually, the two of them would share the same stage, and Kane would make his own name. But as a hockey-obsessed kid from Buffalo, Kane couldn't take his eyes off of Sergei Fedorov. Could anyone?
The "flair" that Kane remembers matched the blonde flow. The white Nikes highlighted the white-hot speed. The skates were so seductive in a sport that can be staid that Kane wanted a pair himself -- but "my dad wouldn't let me," he said with a laugh. Kane even tried to get the exterior covers to make his actual skates look like Fedorov's, but couldn't find them anywhere.
"So no white Nikes for me, but it was always something I wish I did," said Kane. "That was the style back then. If you could pull it off, that was the way to go."
The game changed when Fedorov pulled them on. He had the flash and dash to suit their panache. He was wearing them on a night that still "sticks out" to Kane, "the five goals and the overtime winner" against the Caps in December of 1996, in a season in which the Red Wings would win their first Cup in 42 years and launch a modern-day dynasty. Kane was 12 at the time, watching wide-eyed from afar.
"Numerous highlights going in and out of guys and scoring. He seemed to be a better skater than everyone at that time," said Kane, "so he was making guys look silly."
Kane would one day do the same, in a different sort of way, shifty more than shot out of a cannon, and as silky as they come. No. 88 will one day be retired in Chicago. No. 91 will be raised to the rafters Monday night in Detroit, taking its rightful place alongside the likes of Nicklas Lidstrom and Steve Yzerman, the latter of whom once called Fedorov "the most talented player I've ever seen."
The game really did change when Fedorov took the ice. He tilted it in his team's favor. He arrived in Detroit for the 1990-91 season after defecting from the Soviet Union at the age of 20 and went plus-223 over the next decade, best in the NHL. He was such a force of nature that Scotty Bowman played him on the blue line when the situation called for it and later said that Fedorov "could have been an All-Star defenseman" if he played the position full time.
Fellow Hall of Famer Brendan Shanahan went so far as to say, "I'm convinced if Sergei played defense, he could have won a Norris Trophy."
Wayne Gretzky once said that what separated Fedorov from other all-timers like Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and The Great One himself is that, indeed, Fedorov could play both ways. After Fedorov scored a hat trick in a game against the Penguins in 2002, Lemieux said that Fedorov's speed through the neutral zone made him impossible to defend: "He's just dominating out there." He was a horse, with greasy hands for hooves.
"The excitement he brought," said Kane, "the flair he brought, and then just how he developed into, like, a two-way, checking-type center as his career went on, he was one of my favorite players to watch when I was younger."
Kane is a unique link to Fedorov in Detroit's locker room, the only player on the team to have played against him. The first time was early in Kane's rookie season. As Kane recalls, he hadn't played very well in the preseason and was basically on an extended tryout with the Blackhawks, who told him they would keep him for the first nine games of the season before deciding whether to burn the first year of his entry-level contract. Kane, 18 at the time, started slowly.
"And then game seven I had three points, game eight I had two points, and then game nine I had four points. That was the game I played against Sergei. After that," Kane smiled, "they decided to keep me for the year. I guess that’s one way to remember it."
Fedorov, 37 when he first shared the ice with Kane, was in the penultimate season of his career. They traded tricks like dueling magicians, Kane scoring in the first and then again in the second before being answered a minute later by Fedorov in a win for the Blue Jackets. Fedorov was several years removed from the Red Wings at that point, but forever tied to the team that led him out of the Soviet Union and unleashed him on the NHL.
Kane, 37 now himself, is still proud to have battled greats like Fedorov and Joe Sakic, two titans of an era that defined his youth. He fondly remembers the Wings and the Avs "trading who was winning Stanley Cups, and obviously Fedorov was a huge part of that. A great playoff performer." That he was, his 176 points in 183 playoff games with the Red Wings third in franchise history behind his two teammates in the rafters.
"Being 9, 10, 11 (years old) at that time," said Kane, "and watching hockey and watching the playoff runs was something I’ll never forget."
And when No. 91 winds up where it belongs Monday night, Fedorov will be remembered forever.