Igor Larionov

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size =
position = Centre
played_for = NHL
Vancouver Canucks
San Jose Sharks
Detroit Red Wings
Florida Panthers
New Jersey Devils
RSL
Khimik Voskresensk
CSKA Moscow
Nationalliga A
HC Lugano
Allsvenskan 2
Brunflo IK
shot = Left
height_ft = 5
height_in = 9
weight_lb = 170
nationality = Russia
nationality_2 = Canada
birth_date = Birth date and age|1960|12|3|mf=y
birth_place = Voskresensk, USSR
draft = 214^th overall
draft_year = 1985
draft_team = Vancouver Canucks
career_start = 1978
career_end = 2004
halloffame = 2008

Igor Nikolayevich Larionov ( _ru. Игорь Николаевич Ларионов; born December 3, 1960 in Voskresensk, Soviet Union now Russia) is a retired Russian ice hockey player. Along with Viacheslav Fetisov, he was instrumental in breaking the barrier that stopped Soviet players from joining the National Hockey League. He primarily played the center position, and is considered one of the best passers of all time.

Playing career

Larionov won three Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings (1997, 1998, 2002). He finished his career by playing two games for the Swedish team Brunflo IK in 2005–06, producing one goal and three assists. Brunflo is the same team that his former linemate in CSKA Moscow and the Soviet Union, Vladimir Krutov, ended his career with ten years earlier.

On the international stage, playing for the Soviet Union, Larionov centered Vladimir Krutov and Sergei Makarov on the famed "KLM Line". Along with defensemen Viacheslav Fetisov and Alexei Kasatonov, they formed the "Green Unit", so named because they wore green jerseys in practice. All five players also played for CSKA Moscow.

He won two golds (1984, 1988) and one bronze for Russia (2002) in the Olympics, and four golds (1982, 1983, 1986, 1989), one silver (1987), and one bronze (1985) in the World Championships. He was an instrumental member of the Soviet squad that won the 1981 Canada Cup (this tournament was the coming out of the KLM Line) and played in the 1984 and 1987 events as well. He then played for Russia in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

Like many Soviet players, Larionov chafed under the draconian coaching style of Viktor Tikhonov, who doubled as coach of CSKA and the Soviet national team. He'd been drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in 1985, but Tikhonov used his Communist Party connections to keep him from leaving until 1989. Larionov was particularly upset that Tikhonov kept his players confined to barracks for as much as 11 months a year even when they were married (CSKA was a functioning division of the Soviet Army). He told a Russian magazine that with the players being away from home for so long, "it is a wonder our wives manage to give birth." [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/winter02/hockey/story?id=1326249 ESPN.com - Russians regroup on other side of the red line ] ]

Larionov eventually became the leader of the Soviet players' efforts to win their freedom, leading Tikhonov to kick him off the Soviet national team under suspicion that he might defect to the West. Only the lobbying of Fetisov and other players brought Larionov back to the squad.

Larionov went to the NHL in 1989, along with many other Soviet players, including all four of his "Green Unit" mates. They were sold in order to infuse the cash-strapped Sovintersport (the governing body for sports in the former Soviet Union), which would draw a portion of the players' salaries. Larionov joined the Canucks, along with Krutov, and both struggled initially. While Krutov lasted only one year in the NHL, Larionov played three years for the Canucks and got progressively better as he adapted to the North American game. In the 1991–92 season, he centered the Canucks' top line, which included Greg Adams and rookie Pavel Bure. Larionov took the young Russian star under his wing that season.

After his three-year contract with the Canucks had expired, Larionov chose to play a year in Switzerland so that Sovintersport would not continue to draw a portion of his salary. He returned to the NHL with the San Jose Sharks in 1993–94, where he was re-united with Sergei Makarov and helped the Sharks to a record 59-point improvement over the previous season. The Sharks then upset the heavily favoured Detroit Red Wings in the opening round of the playoffs and extended the Toronto Maple Leafs to seven games in the Conference Semi-Finals before falling.

During the 1995–96, the re-building Sharks traded Larionov to the Detroit Red Wings. Larionov was one of five members of the Red Wings' "Russian Five" unit in the mid-1990s, which emulated the five-man units (three forwards and two defencemen) made famous on most Soviet teams. He and Fetisov were looked on as father figures by the team's other Russian players, which included Sergei Fedorov, Vyacheslav Kozlov, and Vladimir Konstantinov.

In 2000, Larionov signed with the Florida Panthers, where he was re-united with Pavel Bure. It was a disaster, though, and Larionov was traded back to Detroit before the end of the season. He played his final NHL season for the New Jersey Devils in 2003–04, where Viacheslav Fetisov was an assistant coach.

Larionov is married to former figure skater Elena Botanova and has three children, Alyonka, Diana and Igor II. Currently, he is a professional wine merchant making wines under the labels "Hattrick" and "Triple Overtime" with wines from Australia and California.

On June 17, 2008, it was announced that Larionov would be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a player. [cite web|url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/ind08prolog.htm|title=Hockey Hall of Fame Announces 2008 Inductees |date=2008-06-17|accessdate=2008-06-17|publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame]

Career statistics

References

External links

*hockeydb|2973
* [http://www.chidlovski.net/1954/54_player_info.asp?p_id=l001 Larionov at Hockey CCCP International]