Two Detroit Players Injured in Accident

Detroit Red Wings star Vladimir Konstantinov and a team masseur were in critical condition Friday night after suffering head injuries in a limousine accident that left teammate Viacheslav Fetisov hospitalized with less serious injuries in Royal Oak, Mich.

The injuries to Konstantinov and team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov were life-threatening, said Dr. James Cisek, an emergency doctor at William Beaumont Hospital.

“Konstantinov had significant head injury,” Cisek said of the 30-year-old Russian defenseman. “It will require days to assess the degree of his head injury. Both [with head injuries] will require close monitoring in the intensive care unit.”

Fetisov, 39, also a Russian defenseman, was listed in fair condition with chest injuries and a bruised lung. The driver of the limousine, Richard Gnida, 28, also was in fair condition.

Witnesses said the limousine veered out of control in the Oakland County suburb of Birmingham at about 9:30 p.m. EDT and swerved into a median, hitting a tree. Red Wings spokesman Tony Lasher said 17 players attended a golf outing Friday afternoon.

Konstantinov has played six seasons with the Red Wings after seven years with the Central Red Army team, where he also teamed with Fetisov.

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One week after he said his team was “choking” in the Stanley Cup finals, Terry Murray was fired as coach of the Philadelphia Flyers.

General Manager Bob Clarke cited “problems that existed between the coach and the players” in dismissing Murray, who took Philadelphia to its first Stanley Cup finals since 1987.

Murray, on vacation outside Toronto and not available for comment, has been offered a job within the organization, but Clarke declined to say what it was.

Clarke said he would wait until after the June 21 NHL draft before naming a new coach. He acknowledged that assistant coach Keith Acton is a candidate.

Murray’s record is 118-68-30.