Sergei Makarov: Hall of Famer

Former Flame Sergei Makarov has been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Viewed by many as long overdue the two time Olympic Gold medalist joined the Flames in the 1989-1990 season where he recorded 86 points (24-62-86) in his “rookie” season after playing professionally for 11 seasons for the Red Army (CSKA Moscow) hockey team in the Class A Soviet League.

This performance won Makarov the Calder Trophy for the Rookie of the Year at the tender age of 31. Since then, no player over the age of 26 can qualify for the Calder Trophy in what has become known as the Makarov rule.

In four seasons with the Flames, Makarov played in 297 regular season games and 9 playoff games scoring 94-198-292 and 1-6-7 respectively. He would later move on to play 2 more seasons with the San Jose Sharks and retire from competition after a 4 game comeback attempt with the Dallas Stars.

His NHL career statline ended up 134-250-384 with 317 PIM over 424 regular season games in addition to 322-388-710 with 290 PIM over 519 games with the Soviet League.

With 2 Olympic Golds and 1 Silver, combined with 8 World Championship Golds, 1 Silver, and 2 Bronze medals as well as 2 World Junior Championship Gold medals, Sergei Makarov is one of the most decorated professional hockey players to ever play the game and his spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame is more than well deserved as he is inducted alongside fellow players Eric Lindros and Rogie Vachon as well as the late coach Pat Quinn.

Here is a short highlight video showcasing Makarov’s ability to completely undress top NHL defensemen during his long career.