Viacheslav Fetisov

Short Biography

Viacheslav Alexandrovich "Slava" Fetisov (Russian: Вячеслав Александрович Фетисов, Vjačeslav Aleksandrovič Fetisov; born 20 April 1958) is a retired Russian professional ice hockey defenseman. He played for HC CSKA Moscow for 13 seasons before joining the National Hockey League (NHL), where he played with the New Jersey Devils and won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings. After retiring from his playing career, he became the assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils. Having a very successful four years, he helped get the team to two Stanley Cup finals and one Stanley Cup victory. Fetisov was instrumental in breaking the barrier that had previously prohibited Soviet players from leaving the Soviet Union to join the NHL. His actions not only resulted in a number of top Soviet players joining the NHL, but encouraged many of the best players from all over Europe to go to America. Internationally, he was a long-time captain for the Soviet Union national team and won two gold medals at the Winter Olympics. Fetisov was part of the Soviet team that lost to the United States in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid—the game that came to be known as the "Miracle on Ice". In 2002, Fetisov led the Russian Ice Hockey Olympic team as GM and Head Coach, attaining a bronze medal. Considered one of the best defensemen of all time, he was voted as one of six players to the International Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) Centennial All-Star Team.