Sergei Mnatsakanov died on Tuesday // Photo Sport-Express.ru
Detroit Red Wings former team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov, 1997 Stanley Cup winner, died in Florida on Tuesday from cancer, as the two-times Stanley Cup winner Slava Kozlov told RG on Friday. Mnatsakanov was 71 years old.
Mnatsakanov and defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov, after suffering serious injuries on June 13, 1997 in a limo crash (defenseman Slava Fetisov was less seriously injured), were in coma for about two weeks after the accident and were at wheelchairs since.
Mnatsakanov was paralyzed from the waist down and lived lately in Boca Raton, Florida, with his wife Yelena. The couple had two sons.
Sergey has been in sports journalism since 2007 as a reporter, editor, and manager. He has covered the Olympic Games, soccer World Cups, the World Cup of Hockey in 2016, the European championships, the Stanley Cup Finals, IOC events, and many others. Sergey interviewed the sport's greatest athletes, coaches, and executives. Since 2016, he has been an Independent Senior Editor of NHL.com/ru.
