[nickcarraway]

No Federov, Larionov, or Bure?

[Alberta's Child]

Larionov was long past his prime by the time he got to the NHL, so I'll leave him out of this discussion. He seemed like a good, solid citizen while he was in Detroit.

Fedorov left Detroit under a bit of a cloud and is generally disliked by Detroit fans after some contract disputes later in his career.

Bure was immensely talented but also had more than his share of contract-related drama. His initial arrival in the NHL was bogged down by contract squabbles with the Russian sports federation.

When I see some of these stories, I get the impression that Russian hockey players are part of a major organized crime racket with tentacles that reach back to their home country.