After more than two decades of relative futility, the Red Wings sought to reboot their franchise by acquiring the best players in the world – from behind the Iron Curtain.  After making history by drafting Soviet players, the Red Wings needed to get them out and turned to newsman Keith Gave, whose clandestine meetings worked to orchestrate their unlawful departures from the Soviet Union.  

The stories of Sergei Fedorov, Viacheslav Fetisov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Vyacheslav Kozlov and Igor Larionov read like spy novels.  Keith Gave was there every step of the way and tells the story of the Russian Five from the day Detroit drafted its first two Soviets in 1989 until they raised the Stanley Cup in 1997, then took it to Moscow for a victory lap around Red Square and the Kremlin.

Hear Keith Gave tell their story, which did more to bridge Russian and American relations than decades of diplomacy and détente between the White House and the Kremlin.  Attendees will also have the chance to win a signed copy of his new book, The Russian Five: A Story of Espionage, Deception, Bribery and Courage.