Vladimir Krutov passes away at the age of 52

06 Jun 2012 | Fredrik Pålsson

One of the greatest ice hockey players of the 1980's passed away in a hospital in Moscow today.

Vladimir Krutov was the left wing in the famous Soviet super line with Igor Larionov, Sergei Makarov, Vyacheslav Fetisov and Aleksei Kasatonov. He won two olympic golds, six golds at the World Championships and one Canada Cup title.

Krutov played with CSKA Moskva from 1978 to 1989 before being one of the first Soviet players to move to the NHL to play with the Vancouver Canucks, but after just one season he left North America and played a few years in Switzerland and Sweden before retiring.

The legendary player died after internal bleeding and liver failure. His wife Nina told Reuters "I'm shocked. I saw him this morning in hospital, then came back home and got this phone call that he had died".

Read more about Krutov's career in our article from last summer

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