LCS Hockey - Take the Money and Run

Take the Money and Run
by Jim Iovino, Ace Reporter

With the Detroit Red Wings slumping through an unheard of four-game losing streak, the team turned to its leaders to take control and right the sinking ship. And who did they turn to? They looked around the locker room and turned to those who they count on the most - Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan and Chris Osgood.

Wait a minute. There's one name missing from that list. Who's that guy? Sergei something, I believe...

A voice from the weight room speaks up. "You mean Sergei Fedorov?"

Yeah, that's the one. Sergei Fedorov. Where has he been through all of this?

"Oh, he's over in the far corner of the locker room counting his money, that lucky bastard."

In case you didn't know, Sergei Fedorov is the highest-paid player in the league this season. Thanks to a front-loaded offer sheet from the Carolina Hurricanes that the Red Wings matched, Fedorov will make $14 million this season, $5.5 million more than Eric Lindros and Paul Kariya will make, $6 million more than Dominik Hasek and $400,000 more than the entire Nashville Predators' payroll.

So far in the 1998-99 season, the Red Wings are dishing out $7 million per goal. Not a bad deal for Sergei Fedorov. The Red Wings, on the other hand, can't be very happy.

Fedorov is in a slump. Through 13 games, Fedorov is eighth on the team in scoring. He has scored just two goals and four assists while posting a -6 in the plus/minus department. But it's not just Fedorov. The rest of his line is struggling, as well. Dougie Brown does have four goals, but only one assist. Slava Kozlov has no goals and just three assists.

But it doesn't appear that the Red Wings are concerned with their struggling superstar. Fedorov did score 20 points in the playoffs last season, so it wasn't as if he folded up the tent right away after signing the big deal. The Wings were happy with that. They can't be pleased with his performance this season, but they're not going to say much. Two consecutive Stanley Cups will tend to shut management up real quick.

How long the Wings keep quiet while Fedorov struggles is another story, especially if the team starts to spin into another downward spiral. Do they let him slide through the regular season and hope he takes off again in the playoffs? Or do they pull him aside and tell him they want more for their money?

No matter what, this scoring slump is not making Fedorov look good. And Fedorov's all about looking good. He's not looking good in the eyes of management. He's not looking good in the eyes of the fans. And he's sure not looking good in the eyes of those who selected him for their fantasy hockey teams.

Fedorov must start scoring, and he must start soon. After this season, Fedorov's salary drops down to just $2 million per year. And if his play doesn't improve from its current status, he might be seeing a lot more of those so-called low-budget paychecks.