Vladimir Krutov
Ice hockey player / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 | |||
---|---|---|---|
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]