Legendary NHL forward Sergei Fedorov wants to turn Soviet hockey giant CSKA Moscow into a team capable of winning titles year-in, year-out in the KHL, he said Wednesday.
Fedorov retired at the end of last season after a career spanning 26 years, three Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings and 1,248 NHL games.
He was named CSKA general manager soon after last season ended and the team has since signed a raft of ex-NHL players including Alexander Radulov, Vladimir Zharkov and Janis Sprukts.
“Ultimately the goal is to become a championship team, not for one year or for two, but for many years to come,” he said on the IIHF website.
“What we are talking about here is total rebuilding, from scratch.”
CSKA won 32 Soviet titles, but has not won a championship since the Soviet Union collapsed, although the new owner, Russian state oil and gas company Rosneft, has set a target of returning the team to glory.
Progress will be gradual and the target is a top-five finish next season after coming 16th last campaign, Fedorov said.
“I think Rosneft, and also us, expects CSKA to be among the top five teams in the KHL. It will not be easy the first year, but it is our goal.”
“If we are among the top teams and we reach one or two rounds into the playoffs, it will be a very good result.”
Rosneft’s oil money has given CSKA greater freedom, but Fedorov wants to keep spending under control, he said.
“Certainly, our hands are not tied any more,” he said.
“Although Rosneft financially is a very solid company, we are committed to spending wisely and we are watching every ruble we spend so it goes to the right cause.”
The former coach of Russia’s junior national team, Valery Bragin, was installed in May as CSKA coach for next season, but Fedorov said he would also seek to impart some values of his own.
“Off-ice and on-ice discipline,” he said when asked what he would give the team. “Discipline always beats class.”
Entering its fifth season in the KHL, CSKA has yet to reach the conference finals after four seasons marred by financial instability and on-ice disappointments.
