Ex-Red Wing Slava Kozlov's NHL career nearly never happened due to car crash

Former Detroit Red Wings forward Slava Kozlov was instrumental in Detroit winning back to back Stanley Cup championships in 1997 and 1998, and was also a member of the "Russian 5" that took the rest of the NHL by storm upon their implementation by head coach Scotty Bowman. 

And as fate would have it, Kozlov would have a hand in Detroit's 2002 Stanley Cup championship, as he was traded in the summer of 2001 to the Buffalo Sabres in the blockbuster deal that sent former Hart Trophy winning goaltender Dominik Hasek back to Detroit. Hasek would backstop Detroit to the 2002 Cup, the first of his career. 

Kozlov would briefly play for the Sabres before joining the Atlanta Thrashers, becoming one of their top offensive talents by routinely reaching the 70 point mark. He'd retire having appeared in 1,182 NHL games and racking up 356 goals with 497 assists for a total of 853 points. 

But prior to his NHL career having started when Detroit selected him with their  third-round pick (45th overall) in the 1990 NHL entry draft, Kozlov was involved in a deadly car accident back in his native Russia in 1991 that claimed the life of teammate and passenger Kirill Tarasov. Kozlov was badly injured, and was briefly in a coma. 

“I know I was very nervous about my career after it happened," Kozlov would later explain. "What kept me going and helped me to recover the most was the fear of never playing hockey again, because that is the meaning of my life. And the situation with my parents, putting all their hopes on me, that helped me to come out of the situation and recover from the accident and keep moving.”

“I am very grateful for Detroit, the leadership of the team, to Mr. Ilitch, that even under the circumstances they invited me to Detroit,” Kozlov said. “They still believed in me. They were not afraid, and they still signed me.”