Vladimir Krutov

Vladimir Yevgenyevich Krutov (Russian: Владимир Евгеньевич Крутов; 1 June 1960 – 6 June 2012), nicknamed "The Tank",[1] was a Soviet ice 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
Krutov with the Soviet Union
Born (1960-06-01)1 June 1960
Moscow, RSFSR, Soviet Union
Died 6 June 2012(2012-06-06) (aged 52)
Moscow, Russia
Height 176 cm (5 ft 9 in)
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  Soviet Union
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, which provoked the derisive nickname of "Vlad the Inhaler."[3][4][5]

Krutov left the NHL after his lone season in North America and played for several clubs in the Swiss and the Swedish 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 IIHF Hall of Fame.[6][7][8]

Krutov died in a hospital in Moscow on 6 June 2012, of internal bleeding and liver failure, just five days after his 52nd birthday.[6]

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 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 8 6 14 2
1980 Soviet Union WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 7 4 11 5
1980 Soviet Union OG 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 6 5 11 4
1981 Soviet Union WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 8 6 3 9 8
1981 Soviet Union CC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 4 4 8 10
1982 Soviet Union WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 10 4 3 7 6
1983 Soviet Union WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 10 8 7 15 12
1984 Soviet Union OG 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 4 1 5 2
1984 Soviet Union CC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 3 5 8 4
1985 Soviet Union WC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 10 3 5 8 8
1986 Soviet Union WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 10 7 10 17 14
1987 Soviet Union WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 10 11 3 14 8
1987 Soviet Union CC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 9 7 7 14 4
1988 Soviet Union OG 1st place, gold medalist(s) 8 6 9 15 0
1989 Soviet Union WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 10 4 2 6 12
Junior totals 11 15 10 25 7
Senior totals 112 73 64 137 92

References
  1. Fyodorov, Gennady (6 June 2012). "Former Soviet great Krutov dies at 52". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  2. Cazeneuve, Brian (February 12, 2014). "Greatest Russian Hockey Players Of All Time". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  3. News, Postmedia (2012-06-06). "Vladimir Krutov a 'fish out of water' in NHL, says former Canucks teammate". National Post. National Post. Retrieved 2018-03-22. {{cite news}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  4. Fleming, Colin (February 16, 2014). "Olympic hockey has an international gold standard to meet". Sports Illustrated. Sports Illustrated LLC. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  5. Drance, Thomas; Halford, Mike (2017). 100 Things Canucks Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. Triumph Books LLC. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-62937-345-4.
  6. "Vladimir Krutov, Soviet ice hockey legend, dead at 52". Toronto Star. 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
  7. "Владимир Крутов стал 30-м россиянином в Зале славы ИИХФ". Sport Express (in Russian). Moscow, Russia. 24 May 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  8. Meltzer, Bill (23 December 2009). "IIHF Hall of Fame inducts six new members". National Hockey League. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
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