Vladimir Krutov
Vladimir Yevgenyevich Krutov (Russian: Владимир Евгеньевич Крутов; 1 June 1960 – 6 June 2012), nicknamed "The Tank",[1] was a Soviet hockey forward. Together with Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov, he was part of the famed KLM Line.[2] He is considered one of the best hockey wingers of the 1980s.
| Vladimir Krutov | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
1 June 1960 Moscow, Soviet Union | ||
| Died |
6 June 2012 (aged 52) Moscow, Russia | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
| Weight | 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Left Wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
HC CSKA Moscow Vancouver Canucks Zürcher SC Östersunds IK Brunflo IK | ||
| National team |
 | ||
| NHL Draft |
238th overall, 1986 Vancouver Canucks | ||
| Playing career | 1977–1996 | ||
For the Soviet Union national team, Krutov won the 1981 Canada Cup, two golds (1984, 1988) and one silver (1980) in the Olympics, and five golds (1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1989), one silver (1987), and one bronze (1985) in the World Championships.
On the club level, Krutov played for CSKA Moscow from 1978 to 1989. He was one of the first Soviet players to make the jump to the NHL, doing so with the Vancouver Canucks in 1989. However, Krutov did not have a successful season, battling homesickness and weight problems.[3]
Krutov left the NHL after his lone season in North America and played for several clubs in the Swiss and the Swedish minor leagues before retiring to move into coaching.[2] His son Alexei Krutov is a former hockey player who played professionally from 1999 to 2017.
In 2010, he was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame.[4]
Krutov died in a hospital in Moscow on 6 June 2012, of internal bleeding and liver failure, just five days after his 52nd birthday.[4]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1977–78 | CSKA Moscow | USSR | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | CSKA Moscow | USSR | 24 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | CSKA Moscow | USSR | 40 | 30 | 12 | 42 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | CSKA Moscow | USSR | 47 | 25 | 15 | 40 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | CSKA Moscow | USSR | 46 | 37 | 29 | 66 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | CSKA Moscow | USSR | 44 | 32 | 21 | 53 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | CSKA Moscow | USSR | 44 | 37 | 20 | 57 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | CSKA Moscow | USSR | 40 | 23 | 30 | 53 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | CSKA Moscow | USSR | 40 | 31 | 17 | 48 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | CSKA Moscow | USSR | 39 | 26 | 24 | 50 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | CSKA Moscow | USSR | 38 | 19 | 23 | 42 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | CSKA Moscow | USSR | 35 | 20 | 21 | 41 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 61 | 11 | 23 | 34 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Zürcher SC | NDA | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 1991–92 | Zürcher SC | NDA | 28 | 13 | 19 | 32 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 1992–93 | Östersunds IK | SWE III | 19 | 25 | 24 | 49 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Östersunds IK | SWE II | 28 | 18 | 22 | 40 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Östersunds IK | SWE II | 27 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Brunflo IK | SWE III | 18 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| USSR totals | 438 | 288 | 215 | 503 | 210 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Place | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Soviet Union | WJC |  |
6 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 2 | |
| 1980 | Soviet Union | WJC | |
5 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 5 | |
| 1980 | Soviet Union | OG |  |
7 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 4 | |
| 1981 | Soviet Union | WC | |
8 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 8 | |
| 1981 | Soviet Union | CC | |
7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 10 | |
| 1982 | Soviet Union | WC | |
10 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | |
| 1983 | Soviet Union | WC | |
10 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 12 | |
| 1984 | Soviet Union | OG | |
7 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1984 | Soviet Union | CC |  |
6 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | |
| 1985 | Soviet Union | WC | |
10 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 1986 | Soviet Union | WC | |
10 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 14 | |
| 1987 | Soviet Union | WC | |
10 | 11 | 3 | 14 | 8 | |
| 1987 | Soviet Union | CC | |
9 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 4 | |
| 1988 | Soviet Union | OG | |
8 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 0 | |
| 1989 | Soviet Union | WC | |
10 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 12 | |
| Junior totals | 11 | 15 | 10 | 25 | 7 | ||||
| Senior totals | 112 | 73 | 64 | 137 | 92 | ||||
References
- Fyodorov, Gennady (6 June 2012). "Former Soviet great Krutov dies at 52". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
- Cazeneuve, Brian (February 12, 2014). "Greatest Russian Hockey Players Of All Time". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
- "Vladimir Krutov a 'fish out of water' in NHL, says former Canucks teammate". National Post. National Post. 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
- "Vladimir Krutov, Soviet ice hockey legend, dead at 52". Toronto Star. 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
| Preceded by Viacheslav Fetisov |
Soviet MVP 1987 |
Succeeded by Igor Larionov |