Vladimir Krutov

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Olympic medal record
Men's Ice Hockey
Gold 1984 Sarajevo Ice hockey
Gold 1988 Calgary Ice hockey
Silver 1980 Lake Placid Ice hockey

Vladimir Yevgenyevich Krutov (Russian: Владимир Евгеньевич Крутов; born June 1, 1960 in Moscow, USSR now Russia) is a former Russian hockey forward. Together with Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov, he was part of the famed KLM Line. He is considered one of the best hockey players of the 1980s.

For the Soviet Union national team, Krutov won the 1981 Canada Cup, two golds (1984, 1988) and one silver (1980) in the Olympics, and six golds (1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1990), one silver (1987), and one bronze (1985) in the World Championships.

On the club level, Krutov played for CSKA Moscow from 1978 to 1989. He was one of the first Russian players to make a jump to the NHL, doing so with the Vancouver Canucks in 1989. However, Krutov did not have a successful season, battling homesickness and weight problems (the latter leading to the unflattering nickname Vladimir Crouton).

Krutov went back to Europe after his lone season in North America and played for a number of smaller clubs before retiring. He has since gone into coaching.

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Preceded by
Viacheslav Fetisov
Soviet MVP
1987
Succeeded by
Igor Larionov