Hockey Hall of Famer Sergei Makarov

Here is some great stuff from Lance Hornby about Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Sergei Makarov:

Fearful of defections after Alexander Mogilny and Sergei Fedorov had jumped, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation was eager to cash in on the release of its stars. Fletcher flew to Moscow with Vancouver’s Pat Quinn, who had drafted Larionov, to negotiate with the federation.

“The background story was how hard it was for North Americans to find a good restaurant in Moscow at the time,” Fletcher recalled with a laugh. “Most people were hungry enough to eat at the commissary at the U.S. Embassy. But as soon as we came over (with a cheque) we were taken out with Sergei to all these places with lots of fine food.

“Sergei ordered this excellent Armenian salami at dinner. And at his first Flames camp, what does he bring with him but a big package of Armenian salami. How he got it in the country I’ll never know.”

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