Vladimir Konstantinov

[Eye of Ra]

What do you guys remember of him when he played for Red Wings? Was he considered to be a top defender for the team with Lidstrom?

Did he not play a very physical game?

 

[newfy]

He finished second for norris trophy voting the season before his accident, he was a top defender. He was probably the hardest hitter in the league outside of Stevens, maybe Blake could maybe give him a run I guess as well. If you look up physical in the dictionary youll see a picture of Vlad

 

[lilidk]

I believe he had +60 in one season

 

[MabusIncarnate]

There was a game that he hit Eric Lindros so hard that he couldn't keep his balance going back to the bench, Lindros was a monsterous sized player. The guy was a great defender and a hard, heavy hitter. He's wasn't a guy you wanted to catch you with your head down. He also played a very sound defensive game, wasn't as much of an offensive threat as Lidstrom but they guy was special when he played here.

 

[Nut Upstrom]

Warrior is the best word for him. I remember an article shortly after he was drafted talking about his fight and scrappiness caught the Scout's eye when none of his teammates would fight or stand up to their opponents.
Skilled, dependable and tough as nails - we would definitely have a few more cup if life had not dealt him that accident - and he would likely have a Norris or two, or would have deserved some, hard to have any faith in those who vote for those awards.

 

[Nut Upstrom]

I believe he had +60 in one season

95/96 - he was a beast that year, was also when the Russian Five were first put together. Fedorov was second on the team with a +49; larionov and Fetisov were +37; Kozlov was a +33.
Bob Errey (+30) and Lidstrom (+29) rounded out the top seven.

Stacked team so a good +/- was not unexpected, but +60 is insane.

 

[evolutionbaby]

Did he see any PP time?

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

Some thought he was just as good as Lidstrom at the time.

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

Poor guy. They did the right thing and didn't drink and drive. He will always be loved and remembered by Wings and hockey fans.

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

 

[SirKillalot]

He was a hybrid of Niklas Kronwall and Brad Stuart, just better two-way d-man and even rougher around the edges.

 

[Retire91]

When someone said tough as nails I have to agree with that he played a tough game that I wouldn't consider dirty. He turned off after the play. Never any secondary extra circulars after the whistle which lead to a lot of powerplays and giving powerplays to the Russian 5 was a big mistake. He was solid, punishing, and all business.

He could contribute offense it just wasn't his role.

 

[Bondurant]

He was called Vladinator for a reason. Blue line boss.

 

[silkyjohnson50]

Here’s the Norris voting results from when they played. I’ve also included Coffey since he was in Detroit as well.

94:
Coffey 7th
Lidstrom 8th

95:
Coffey 1st

96:
Konstantinov 4th
Coffey 5th
Lidstrom 6th

97:
Konstantinov 2nd
Lidstrom 6th

Then the accident happened and Lidstrom went on to finish as the runner up in 98, 99, and 00 before winning 6 of the next 7 and later a 7th. Also worth noting that Lidstrom lost out on another opportunity to win one as the 04-05 season was canceled, but I believe he said that year off helped him recharge if you will.

Vladdy was the definition of a physical, rugged defencemen. Huge hits and nasty and fearless in the corners. The type of player you’d hate as an opponent. He wasn’t nearly as good with the puck as Lidstrom, but he still was able to look more than comfortable out there as part of the Russian 5.

I think Lidstrom was still Detroit’s most important defencemen in 96-97 despite Konstantinov finishing higher in the Norris voting, but Vladdy was still a great player. Similar role and game to Chelios in 01-02, when he finished 2nd in Norris voting.

 

[kliq]

Dude could hip check like nobody else, imagine this coming at you on the ice.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Man was a warrior and it is a damn shame he didn't get to showcase it more.

Completely unrelated story: Vladdy was hanging out on the Red Wings bench before a game, and apparently he saw my [now] wife sitting nearby and gave her a wink. I got a big kick out of it, especially since she didn't even live in Michigan during the 1997 and 1998 cup runs, and only became a Wings fan within the last 10 years or so.

 

[Oddbob]

What do you guys remember of him when he played for Red Wings? Was he considered to be a top defender for the team with Lidstrom?

Did he not play a very physical game?

He was physicality personified. He was a Norris candidate level for 2-3 years before his accident. Not for his offence, but stellar play on the backend. One of my fave Wings of All Time.

 

[MBH]

What do you guys remember of him when he played for Red Wings? Was he considered to be a top defender for the team with Lidstrom?

Did he not play a very physical game?

Konstantinov was the soul of the wings defense.
He was a warrior. Only 5'11, 190 (max), but hit like a ton of bricks.
And because he was a Russian who hit hard, he took an enormous amount of abuse - and he manned up and battled lots of guys who were 2-3 weight classes above him.
He went balls out blocking shots.
And he could be cheap and dirty, sometimes. And in those days, most Wings fans were just fine with that.

Heart and soul.

Konstantinov's offense was highly underrated.
He grew up as a forward and he joined the rush better than any other Wings defenseman - even better than Coffey at this stage.
Where Lidstrom ran the point in traditional fashion, Konstantinov was like a 4th forward, cycling around the ozone making incredible IQ plays.

Konstantinov didn't get the kind of PP time that Lidstrom got.
But check out his ES production in his final year.
Konstantinov 5-24-29
Lidstrom 7-19-26
f***, even Fetisov was still an unreal producer. 5-20-25 in just 64 games.

The year before:
Konstantinov 10-15-25 (also an amazing +60)
Lidstrom 8-15-25.
Fetisov 5-22-27

I'd love to see his CF% and GF%.

I think Konstantinov's lack of top-minute powerplay employment is the only thing that kept him from winning a Norris.

I don't know how long Konstantinov might have lasted with that hard-nosed style.

 

[MBH]

Some thought he was just as good as Lidstrom at the time.

Most thought he was better.

 

[MBH]

Did he see any PP time?

Some. But generally Lidstrom and often Fedorov manned the points on the PP's first unit.

 

[MBH]

Konstantiov's goals.
In a lot of ways, he played like Makar, offensively.

 

[SCD]

He had an unusual stride. You didn't have to see his number to know who was on the ice.

I think his fearlessness was the most agitating aspect of his game. It didn't matter the time or score on the board, he still play hard every shift of every game.

I've always wondered what the team would have been like if he had not been injured

 

[Henkka]

What do you guys remember of him when he played for Red Wings? Was he considered to be a top defender for the team with Lidstrom?

Did he not play a very physical game?

Konstantinov and Russian5 was the reason why I became a fan.

Now, when Seider is coming, I feel like reborn. Thank you hockey gods.

Loved Vladdy's physical style and wasn't lacking skill. Always wondered what kind of pair would he have been with Pronger.