Fedorov tells Friedman becoming NHL GM is "on his radar"

Elliotte Friedman was on Calgary’s Sportsnet 960 on Tuesday afternoon.

On if Sergei Fedorov has an idea or plan to get back into the National Hockey League:

"Sergei Fedorov is the general manager of (CSKA) Moscow, which is the team we know better as Red Army... that was the dominant Russian team during the days of the Iron Curtain. They won I think 32 of 46 Russian League championships. They won 13 in a row in the 70s and 80s. They were the backbone of the Soviet juggernaut in international hockey.

“After the fall of... the Soviet Union, they really went through hard times, like a lot of the league did. During their time in the KHL, I think they’ve won two playoff rounds in six years.

“Fedorov retired as a player three years ago. He became the GM there. And he’s really started to turn them around. They’re the first place team in the KHL during this regular season. They’ve got 132 points in 56 games. It should be pointed out you get three points for a regulation win there. But they’re No. 1 in the league.

“Last year he hired John Torchetti, who’s back in the American Hockey League with Minnesota’s team, and Torchetti really raved about the job Fedorov did as a general manager. Understanding what players go through. Also understanding how to maneuver a team through things like the trade deadline.

“They lost in the first round of the playoffs last year, but like I said, he’s got them doing very well.

“He was in Michigan last week. He was sent into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, and I had a chance to catch up to him. I asked him if he wants to be a GM in the NHL. He said he’s got two years left on his contract. But it’s something that he has on his radar. But he also made an interesting statement that he didn’t think it was appropriate for him to be an NHL GM right away.

“He said, ‘I’m going to have to come over. I’m going to have to learn because it’s a totally different job here.’

“But you really get the sense that he would like to come back to North American in a couple of years and think about becoming a GM like Steve Yzerman or Brendan Shanahan has.”

On how a non-North American GM is not such a far-fetched idea, when you look at Columbus:

“It’s not, but the one thing about Kekalainen is he had a long tenure as running drafts and scouting in Ottawa and in St. Louis. So he had spent a lot of time here in North America.

“I think the interesting thing is that KHL is not an easy league to run a business in. And he’s done a pretty good job there.

“I spoke to a few people about it quietly. The one thing about Fedorov is he drove people crazy as a player because he was so good and sometimes could be so frustrating, but they always thought he was a really bright guy. So I think if he decides he wants to come back over, then I wonder if Detroit would be one of the first teams to talk to him about it.

“He said he hadn’t spoken to any North American teams about if they’d be interested in giving him a shot to learn.”

Source: Sportsnet 960/ Transcript: Nichols on Hockey