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He can get around using a walker and loves to play Uno, the card game. He goes to rehab, spends time at Costco - he enjoys shopping - likes to go bowling and thoroughly enjoys being around people. “He speaks both Russian and English, not very much of either, but he can communicate, and he responds to either,” Bellanca said. “I think he’s comfortable with his surroundings and the people who take care of him.” Most of the caregivers speak Russian because he has a tendency to mix English with his native tongue. The women cook his meals, feed him, bathe him and help him get dressed. “There are three or four ladies who take care of him, most of whom have been with him for 18 or 20 years. He requires 24-hour assistance from a team of caregivers, who have been with him for years. His wife and daughter live in Florida but visit regularly. Twenty-two years later, Konstantinov lives in a condo in West Bloomfield, where he gets the best care available. He was known as the Vladinator, a tough, physical defender from Russia who helped the Wings win the 1997 Stanley Cup, ending a 42-year drought.īut he also is one of the most tragic athletes in Detroit sports history, suffering a career-ending, life-threatening spinal cord injury in a limo crash just six days after winning the Cup. Konstantinov is one of the most beloved athletes in Detroit sports history. View Gallery: A look back: Detroit Red Wings' Vladimir Konstantinov's career