Relive Red Wings’ assembly of the ‘Russian Five’

PBS to air documentary that looks at iconic group’s origin

One interview was particularly tough to get, but it was such a crucial — and colorful — part of the backstory behind Sergei Fedorov joining the Red Wings.

How Nick Polano convinced a nervous taxi driver that he wasn’t about to carry out an execution but rather an extrication is just one of the thrilling moments people in southeast Michigan can see for free at 9 p.m. Thursday when “The Russian Five” documentary will air on Detroit Public TV.

The movie tells the story of how Fedorov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Slava Kozlov, Igor Larionov and Slava Fetisov came to Detroit and revolutionized North American hockey with their puck-possession game. The film had a limited premiere in April of 2018 and was officially released in March 2019, and previously only has been on pay channels.

“I’ve watched the film 30 or 40 times, and every time, I cry,” Keith Gave, a writer and producer on the film, said.

Gave, a former Free Press sports writer, estimated the film was more than three years in the making. Simultaneously, he was writing the book that would become “The Russian Five: A story of espionage, defection, bribery and courage.”

The documentary is loaded with interviews, from the five players to other Wings teammates, coaches and front-office personnel. Others include Wayne Gretzky and actor Jeff Daniels.

One of the most riveting segments of the movie details Fedorov’s defection.

In July 1990, Fedorov was in Portland, Oregon, preparing for an exhibition with the Soviets in advance of the Goodwill Games. Polano was a scout with the team, and was there with Wings executive vice president Jim Lites. After the game, the plan was for Fedorov to follow Lites and Polano to a taxi that would would whisk them to the airport, where Mike Ilitch’s jet awaited.

Gave knew the documentary would be best served by having Polano be a part of telling the story. But Polano, who passed away in 2019, was dealing with Alzheimer’s, and his wife, Elva, was reluctant to have him sit for an interview.

“She was extremely protective of him, and I can’t blame her,” Gave said earlier this week. “They were worried we were going to make fun of him somehow. I probably had five or six conversations with her, pleading with her, that she could be there. That we would take our time and if he got frustrated or confused, we’d stop and go back and go over it.”

Eventually, an interview was arranged. was worth it.

“Nick gave us some really, really good stuff, as I knew he would, because he was there every step of the way,” Gave said. “He was there in Portland, and the driver was saying, ‘ buddy, I don’t want any part of what you’re doing,’ as they’re waiting for Sergei. He thought they were going to kill somebody. That it was some

It kind of mob hit. Nick had to talk the limo driver off the edge and basically said, look, when my partner comes out, he’s going to have somebody with him, and we’re going to go to the airport as quick as you can get us there, and he’s going to give you a nice, big tip when we there.

“We’re not going to kill anybody. But what I will tell you is that whatever we’re doing right now is going to make headlines all over the world tomorrow.”

That was a moment in the movie that makes you want to cheer. The crying comes later, when the movie turns to the June 13, 1997, limo accident that brought to a halt the celebrations that hadn’t waned since the Wings ended a 42year drought and won the Stanley Cup the previous Saturday. The accident ended Konstantinov’s career, but he was there, in a wheelchair, on the ice in Washington, when the Wings won the Cup again the following year.

One the many touching moments the night the Wings won the 1997 Cup comes after captain Steve Yzerman has taken the first lap with the trophy.

The first teammate Yzerman handed the Cup to was Fetisov. He and Larionov skated their lap together, clutching the final piece of hardware missing from their hockey treasure chests.

Fetisov and Larionov already were legends in Russia when they joined the Wings, in respectively, April 1995 and October 1995. But xenophobic pundits in North America — Canada, really — questioned whether the Stanley Cup meant as much to Europeans, because it wasn’t an international tournament the way the Olympics are.

The documentary lays bare what a misguided notion that was.

Though the Russian Five were together relatively briefly, the legacy was immense. Not just for the way they dazzled with the puck, but for the way they proved how sports can unite, rather than divide.

“The guy who emphasized it more than anybody was Slava Fetisov,” Gave said. “When he talked about sports being a bridge between cultures — I’m not sure there’s any greater spokesman for that kind of thing than a decorated hero from the former Soviet Union who came to the United States and completed his war chest. The last thing he hadn’t won was the Stanley Cup, and he did that.”