Vegas favors Sergei Fedorov as next coach of Detroit Red Wings

A Vegas oddsmaker has a Hall of Fame Stanley Cup champion as the front-runner to be the next coach of the Detroit Red Wings.

BetOnline had Sergei Fedorov at 7/2 odds Wednesday, ahead of NHL coaching veterans Peter DeBoer (4/1), Bruce Cassidy (9/2) and Barry Trotz (6/1), among others.

Sportsbetting.ag also released odds and likewise favored Fedorov at +350, ahead of DeBoer (+400), Cassidy (+450) and Trotz (+600).

Fedorov would certainly be a bold choice by Steve Yzerman, who is making his first head coaching hire since being named general manager in April 2019. The position opened April 30, when Yzerman informed Jeff Blashill would not be retained.

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Since hanging up his skates in 2012, Fedorov has served five seasons as GM of CSKA Moscow, transitioning to coaching the KHL team last season. He also was an assistant coach with Russia at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Fedorov is one of the all-time Wings greats, and had he not left as a free agent in 2003, his No. 91 almost certainly would be hanging from the rafters at Little Caesars Arena. Fedorov rejected a five-year, $50 million extension offer made to him in person by owner Mike Ilitch, opting to chase the Southern California lifestyle he craved by signing with the Anaheim Ducks.

The Ducks traded him to Columbus after a little more than two seasons, and Fedorov finished his NHL career playing for the Washington Capitals. He was booed soundly when he’d appear at Joe Louis Arena; it wasn’t until after his 2015 induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame that relations with fans and Wings ownership…