Vyacheslav Kozlov
Kozlov (right) with the Atlanta Thrashers in 2005
Born (1972-05-03) May 3, 1972
Voskresensk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Khimik Voskresensk
CSKA Moscow
Detroit Red Wings
Buffalo Sabres
Atlanta Thrashers
Ak Bars Kazan
Salavat Yulaev Ufa
Dynamo Moscow
Spartak Moscow
National team  Soviet Union and
 Russia
NHL Draft 45th overall, 1990
Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 1987–2015

Vyacheslav Anatolevich "Slava" Kozlov (Russian: Вячеслав Анатольевич Козлов; born May 3, 1972) is a Russian former professional ice hockey left winger.

Kozlov was a member of the Stanley Cup winning Detroit Red Wings teams of 1997 and 1998, and was also a member of the famed Russian Five. He also later played for the Buffalo Sabres and Atlanta Thrashers.

Playing career

Detroit Red Wings

Kozlov was drafted 45th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. Kozlov made his NHL debut on March 12, 1992, recording two assists in Detroit's 5–4 win over the St. Louis Blues. He became a regular player with Detroit in the 1993–94 NHL season. After the Red Wings acquired Igor Larionov in 1995, coach Scotty Bowman created a 5–man Russian unit (the "Russian Five") consisting of forwards Kozlov, Sergei Fedorov and Igor Larionov, and defensemen Vladimir Konstantinov and Viacheslav Fetisov. This group helped Detroit to a Stanley Cup win in 1997. Kozlov was also a contributing member of the team during their second consecutive Stanley Cup run in 1998.

Buffalo Sabres

Kozlov played for Detroit until the summer of 2001, when he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres as part of a package for Dominik Hašek. After one injury-shortened season in Buffalo, Kozlov was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers.

Atlanta Thrashers

Kozlov served as team captain for Atlanta as part of a rotating captaincy[1] during his first season in Atlanta until Shawn McEachern was announced as the sole captain for the rest of the 2002–03 season in February.[2]

Since the inception of the shootout into NHL play in 2005, Kozlov has been known as the league's best scorer in the shootouts as of the end of the 2008–09 season.

Kozlov re-signed with the Thrashers on July 4, 2007, signing a three-year, $11–million contract with a no-trade clause. Kozlov played his 1,000th NHL game on December 26, 2007, against the Columbus Blue Jackets and his former Russian Five teammate, Sergei Fedorov. After scoring only 41 points during the 2007–08 season, he bounced back in 2008–09 with one of the best seasons of his career, scoring 26 goals and 76 points.

Rick Dudley announced that Atlanta would not re-sign Kozlov for the 2010-11 NHL season.

KHL

In 2010, Kozlov signed a 1-year deal with HC CSKA Moscow. In February 2011 Kozlov left CSKA to join playoff-bound Salavat Yulaev Ufa. He participated in the team's final four regular season games and all of its playoff contests. Ufa's star-studded team advanced to the KHL finals and captured the Gagarin Cup, beating Atlant Moscow Oblast 4 games to 1.

On May 19, 2011, he signed a one-year contract with HC Dynamo Moscow, with whom he won his second Gagarin Cup.

Kozlov joined HC Spartak Moscow late in the 2012–13 season, playing in just 13 games. On March 19, 2013, he signed a one-year extension with the team. He finished the 2013–14 season recording eight goals and 18 assists in 54 games.

On July 15, 2014, he signed a one-year contract with Atlant Moscow Oblast.[3]

After the 2014–15 season, Kozlov announced his retirement after playing 28 years of ice hockey. He is currently an assistant coach for Dynamo Moscow.[4]

Personal life

In October 1991, Kozlov was driving his car when a bus hit it. His passenger, fellow prospect Kirill Tarasov, was killed, and Kozlov suffered massive injuries, including a brain injury that put his playing future in doubt. After facial reconstruction surgery and lengthy rehabilitation, he was able to return to ice hockey.[5] Kozlov and his wife, Tatyana, have three children: Nikita, Ksenia, and Alexandr. Nikita plays tennis professionally. Kozlov is the brother-in-law of former NHL player Evgeny Namestnikov and uncle of current NHL player Vladislav Namestnikov. On 11 October 2020, Vladislav signed a two-year, $4 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings, Kozlov's former team.[6]

International play

Medal record
Representing Soviet Union Soviet Union
Men's ice hockey
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1991 Finland
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 1990 Finland
Silver medal – second place 1991 Canada

Kozlov has participated in nine international tournaments for the Soviet Union/Russia:

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1987–88 Khimik Voskresensk USSR 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1988–89 Khimik Voskresensk USSR 14 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
1989–90 Khimik Voskresensk USSR 45 14 12 26 38 — — — — —
1990–91 Khimik Voskresensk USSR 45 11 13 24 46 — — — — —
1991–92 CSKA Moscow CIS 11 6 5 11 12 — — — — —
1991–92 Detroit Red Wings NHL 7 0 2 2 2 — — — — —
1992–93 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 45 23 36 59 54 4 1 1 2 4
1992–93 Detroit Red Wings NHL 17 4 1 5 14 4 0 2 2 2
1993–94 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 3 0 1 1 15 — — — — —
1993–94 Detroit Red Wings NHL 77 34 39 73 50 7 2 5 7 12
1994–95 CSKA Moscow IHL 10 3 4 7 14 — — — — —
1994–95 Detroit Red Wings NHL 46 13 20 33 45 18 9 7 16 10
1995–96 Detroit Red Wings NHL 82 36 37 73 70 19 5 7 12 10
1996–97 Detroit Red Wings NHL 75 23 22 45 46 20 8 5 13 14
1997–98 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 25 27 52 46 22 6 8 14 10
1998–99 Detroit Red Wings NHL 79 29 29 58 45 10 6 1 7 4
1999–2000 Detroit Red Wings NHL 72 18 18 36 28 8 2 1 3 12
2000–01 Detroit Red Wings NHL 72 20 18 38 30 6 4 1 5 2
2001–02 Buffalo Sabres NHL 38 9 13 22 16 — — — — —
2002–03 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 79 21 49 70 66 — — — — —
2003–04 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 76 20 32 52 74 — — — — —
2004–05 Khimik Voskresensk RSL 38 12 18 30 69 — — — — —
2004–05 Ak Bars Kazan RSL 8 2 4 6 0 4 1 0 1 8
2005–06 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 82 25 46 71 33 — — — — —
2006–07 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 81 28 52 80 36 4 0 0 0 6
2007–08 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 82 17 24 41 26 — — — — —
2008–09 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 82 26 50 76 44 — — — — —
2009–10 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 55 8 18 26 33 — — — — —
2010–11 CSKA Moscow KHL 40 11 14 25 20 — — — — —
2010–11 Salavat Yulaev Ufa KHL 4 1 1 2 0 21 2 7 9 14
2011–12 Dynamo Moscow KHL 44 8 15 23 22 6 0 0 0 2
2012–13 Spartak Moscow KHL 13 4 4 8 10 — — — — —
2013–14 Spartak Moscow KHL 54 8 19 27 51 — — — — —
2014–15 Atlant Mytishchi KHL 46 5 8 13 18 — — — — —
USSR totals 117 31 31 62 98 — — — — —
NHL totals 1,182 356 497 853 704 139 44 44 88 96
KHL totals 201 37 61 98 121 27 2 7 9 16

International

Year Team Event Place   GP G A Pts PIM
1988 Soviet Union EJC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5 2 1 3 4
1989 Soviet Union EJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 5 7 12 8
1990 Soviet Union EJC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 9 10 19 11
1990 Soviet Union WJC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 4 7 11 0
1991 Soviet Union WJC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 3 9 12 12
1991 Soviet Union WC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 10 3 4 7 10
1991 Soviet Union CC 5th 5 1 2 3 6
1994 Russia WC 5th 1 0 0 0 4
1996 Russia WCH SF 5 1 2 3 8
Junior totals 31 23 34 57 35
Senior totals 21 5 8 13 28

Awards

See also

References

  1. ↑ Atlanta Inquirer 10-26-2002
  2. ↑ Atlanta Inquirer 02-08-2003
  3. ↑ «Суперстар» в «Атланте» (in Russian). Atlant Moscow Oblast. July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  4. ↑ Тренерский Штаб (in Russian). Dynamo Moscow. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Former Red Wing Slava Kozlov recalls defection from Soviet Union". The Hockey Writers. October 14, 2009.
  6. ↑ "Namestnikov agrees to two-year contract with Red Wings". NHL.com. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
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