Vladimir Krutov

Vladimir Krutov was a Russian professional ice hockey forward, born on 1 June 1960 and nicknamed the Tank, who died on 6 June 2012. With Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov he formed the celebrated KLM Line, and he is regarded as one of the best wingers of the 1980s. For the Soviet national team he won the 1981 Canada Cup, Olympic golds in 1984 and 1988 and a silver in 1980, and five world championship golds, and he led scoring at the 1987 World Championships. At club level he played for CSKA Moscow from 1978 to 1989, then became one of the first Soviet players to move to the NHL, with the Vancouver Canucks, though his single NHL season was not a success. He afterwards played in Switzerland and Sweden, went into coaching, and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2010.