DETROIT – Vyacheslav Fetisov and Igor Larionov formed two of the most famous playing units that the world has ever seen when they helped the Soviet national team dominate in the 1980s and the Red Wings a decade later.

Known as the Green Unit, the pair – along with forwards Vladimir Krutov and Sergei Makarov and defenseman Alexi Kasatonov – propelled the Russians to five world championships and the 1981 Canada Cup. The group also skated for the famed Central Red Army team that won the Soviet national title 12 times.

With Fetisov, Sergei Fedorov, Vladimir Konstantinov and Slava Kozlov already featured on the roster in the mid-90s, the Red Wings sent a shock through the hockey world when they acquired the final piece of their own version of the famous Russian quintuplets, acquiring Larionov in a trade just eight games into the 1995-96 season.

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