The Darkest Day in Red Wings History @ The Fan Hub

June 13th, 2012 11:32 AM

Ex-NHL defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov celebrates the Red Wings' Stanley Cup win in June of 1997. He was crippled in a car accident a week later. Photo courtesy of freep.com

15 years ago today, the Detroit Red Wings went from the unprecedented high of their first Stanley Cup Championship in 42 years to the unspeakable low that came when a limousine crash crippled defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov and team massage therapist Sergei Mnatsakanov. It occurred a week after the team had swept the Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals, as the players gathered for a golf outing. Despite being responsible and hiring a limo service since they were drinking, they were unable to escape tragedy.

Konstantinov, Mnatsakanov, and defenseman Slava Fetisov were unknowingly in a car that was being driven by a driver with a suspended license due to a previous DUI, and he says he blacked out behind the wheel, causing the limo to cross three lanes of traffic and slam into a tree. Both Konstantinov and Mnatsakanov slipped into comas, while Fetisov suffered broken broken ribs and a punctured lung. He was the lucky one, however, as he was able to make a full recovery and resume his hockey career.

Konstantinov was not so lucky. After waking from the coma he was confined to a wheelchair for over a year and now cannot get around without a walker. He also suffered head trauma that has left him with slurred speech and limited movement. Needless to say, he never played hockey again. Meanwhile, Mnatsakanov eventually awoke as well, but was permenantly paralyzed from the waist down.

One of the most feared hitters in the NHL, Konstantinov was a dual threat from the defensive zone, ranking second behind Nicklas Lidstrom on the team in terms of scoring defensemen while also punishing opposing forwards who entered the Red Wings’ zone. His physical play endeared him to Detroit fans who dubbed him “The Vladinator.”

“I never seen anybody so tough and competitive,” ex-teammate Larry Murphy said. “Every shift he put everything out there. You match that with talent — not an end-to-end rushing defenseman, but he played the game so well. When he hit a guy it was with every ounce of his body, and they felt it.”

The Red Wings would go on to win the Cup again the following season — the last NHL team to repeat — in a season that they dedicated to their stricken comrades. After being handed the Cup that year, captain Steve Yzerman immediately skated it over to Konstantinov, who had joined his teammates on the ice in his wheelchair, making one of the most emotional laps around the ice that the league has ever seen.

Now 45, Konstantinov still lives near Detroit and attends Red Wings games regularly in addition to working as an artist.

Wednesday is the 15th anniversary of the limousine accident that forever changed the lives of Detroit’s star defenseman and team massage therapist.

Read the original post from MLive.com