Former Red Wing Brendan Shanahan discusses Avs-Wings rivalry, playing days, more

I feel like the push to make hockey a global game occurred well before Detroit. Slava is one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met. He’s a good friend. And when I think about him, and really the immersion of Russian hockey into the mainstream, I think about our time together earlier in our careers when we both played in New Jersey. So, to me at least, what was significant about watching the Russian Five play and succeed was seeing the vision Slava had when he first came over to North America finally come to fruition. They really represented a different interpretation of the sport. The idea of cycling back with the puck, rather than just going north. They utilized every inch of the ice in a way that had never been considered before.

We had a lot of respect for them, but we also felt a lot of animosity. I can tell you, it was very real. There were enough hotheaded people in both lineups for there to be some real dirtiness on the ice.

When I look back on that rivalry, I think about all the stuff that was said or done that was never caught on camera or by the referees. Just the stuff said between the benches and the coaches. Yeah, it was real. It was very real.

I remember when I was in Detroit, Sean Avery stood up as Joe Sakic was skating by our bench. Sean was a young, enthusiastic hockey player who was well liked by us old guys, and as you might know, was known for trash talking. But when he stood up and yelled, “Hey Sakic!” Brett Hull grabbed him by the back of his sweater and yanked him down on the bench. Then he said, and I’ll never forget this, “You are not allowed to speak to Mr. Sakic.” And then Sean looked down the bench at the rest of the boys and we all just sort of nodded.