The Red Wings were ahead of the curve in collecting uber-talented European players and along with teammate Slava Fetisov, were the elder statesmen of the “Russian Five” that mentored Sergei Fedorov, Vyacheslav Fetizov, and Vladimir Konstantinov.
Larionov was in his mid-30s but was still a high-level two-way player. He had 71 Points in 69 Games for Detroit in 1995-96, and while his offensive production dipped, his Hockey I.Q. did not. He helped the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup in 1997 and 1998, and later in 2002, he was in his early 40s. Larionov closed his NHL career with a year in New Jersey, and he scored 397 Points with Detroit.
Larionov was enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2008.
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