14 Years Ago Today...

[pixburgher66]

Eleven years after accident, Vladimir Konstantinov fights on - ESPN

Horrible accident...but one of the classiest moments in NHL history was getting him the Cup.

 

[flyersfan4706]

A benefit of losing

 

[Winged_Wheel88]

Boy I remember being shocked by that accident as a kid.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

 

[BostonAJ]

I remember when Lidstrom "might one day be as good as Konstantinov".

 

[juliansteed]

The crazy part to think about for the Wings and their fans is how that likely never happens if they don't win the Stanley Cup that year.

 

[Comeds]

I worked with a guy who just moved here from Russia and when someone mentioned the accident to him he shook his head and said "It was Russian mob, they didnt pay".

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

I worked with a guy who just moved here from Russia and when someone mentioned the accident to him he shook his head and said "It was Russian mob, they didnt pay".

Damn. That's scary if true. It really wouldn't be that far fetched though.

I watched the Escobar 30 for 30 two hour deal a week or so ago. The Colombian soccer team never had a chance in the World Cup even though they might have had the best team. The government arrested their starting goalie before the tournament for being associated with drug lord Pablo Escobar. After that players families were threatened if the coach didn't play certain players. The Drug lords wanted their players to play in order to maximize their money on transfer fees to Europe. These guys were playing a game knowing at any moment a family member could be killed or possibly themselves. Now that's pressure.

 

[pixburgher66]

Someone in here once posted a very good article about the Russian mob when the NHL tried to put some feeder teams over there. I know the Pens were involved heavily in that movement. Really good, informative, and scary as hell article. No clue where to find it though...

 

[pixburgher66]

Also, the fact that he eventually left on a stretcher tells you how it should've been handled to begin with. I just cringe thinking about it, because I even saw him attempting to walk down the runway because he had less help from that point. It was a compression fracture, so the fracture it self was most likely caused by the hit and not the subsequent movement, BUT, had it been a different type of fracture with slippage possible, they could've really severely damaged him. Heck, just one tiny jolt can impinge the spinal cord.

 

[higgyfan4]

The accident had nothing to do with the Russian Mob, and everything to do with Richard fucking Gnida. The loser dirtbag alcoholic pot smoking dickhead who decided it is ok to get behind the wheel of a car while drunk and/or high. Fell asleep behind the wheel my ass.

After he left jail on that joke of a sentence he got, he's managed to have his license suspended/revoked several more times for more DUI's after this accident.

Rot in hell Gnida, rot in hell.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

A benefit of losing

 

[devs30rko]

Horrible, but it brought the best in people. Not just on the ice but in their nature as well, an amazing story

 

[sbb122]

Speaking of Russians, what happened to MM213? I believe he was the one who posted the Russian Mob article mentioned earlier.

 

[Comeds]

The accident had nothing to do with the Russian Mob, and everything to do with Richard fucking Gnida. The loser dirtbag alcoholic pot smoking dickhead who decided it is ok to get behind the wheel of a car while drunk and/or high. Fell asleep behind the wheel my ass.

After he left jail on that joke of a sentence he got, he's managed to have his license suspended/revoked several more times for more DUI's after this accident.

Rot in hell Gnida, rot in hell.

I am not convinced it was the mob, I just mentioned it because my Russian co-worker could not be swayed from that opinion in the least bit. Apparently he dealt with mobbed up people both in Moscow and in the small Russian community here in Baltimore and was convinced they had a hand in most Russian lives.

From a big Sports Illustrated article (taken from the hockey chapter in a book called Red Mafiya) the scenario didn't seem that unlikely nor was my coworker the only one who had that opinion.

 

[Darkstone42]

I'm sure the Russian mob would have planned it very carefully if it was them. If they were responsible, it might have been them who assigned Gnida to that limo, and it may have been them who got Gnida loaded. Given his history, their involvement would be difficult to prove.

 

[sherbert1421]

wings winning the cup in 98 was probably the most emotional cup celebration for a team in recent memory.

oddly enough, i don't think the wings win in 98 if not for the pure motivation to win the cup for vladdy

 

[Eddie_Shack]

wings winning the cup in 98 was probably the most emotional cup celebration for a team in recent memory.

oddly enough, i don't think the wings win in 98 if not for the pure motivation to win the cup for vladdy

That's a possibility, it's also possible that if Vladdy isn't injured the Wings go on to win several more Cups. Konstantinov was an absolute, irreplaceable beast on the back end. Holland and Devellano spent a long time trying to fill that hole, from Krupp, to Hatcher, to Chelios.